Everything You Know About Money Is Wrong: Overcome the Financial Myths Keeping You From the Life You Want

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Everything You Know About Money Is Wrong: Overcome the Financial Myths Keeping You From the Life You Want

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ASIN: 0965876896

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She's So Right

This book helped me think about making money work for me.

This book solved most of my money concerns instantly!

Not just good advice, but a new attitude about money.

The best book I have ever read about personal finances!

Everything You Know About Money Is Wrong: Overcome the Financial Myths Keeping You from the Life You Want
Karen Ramsey
Manufacturer: ReganBooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060392738

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Karen Ramsey, a certified financial planner for more than 14 years, believes that Americans are financially stymied by the things they think they know about money. She takes a somewhat unconventional approach in her Seattle-based practice by first working to separate clients from these various misconceptions before setting them on the proper paths to fiscal happiness. Accordingly, in Everything You Know About Money Is Wrong, Ramsey begins by debunking 21 deep-rooted notions that she says are the cause of our poor national spending and saving habits--including notions such as "More money will make me happier," "I have to pay for my kids' college education," "I should buy a home because it's a great investment," and "I have to fully fund my retirement plan every year." She then follows up with commonsense suggestions for creating a realistic financial plan. "This isn't a book about how to become a millionaire or how to act like one when you're not," she writes. "It's about transforming your relationship with money so it can become a friendlier presence in your life." --Howard Rothman

Book Description

If only I had more money, I'd be happy.

I have to pay off my mortgage as soon as I can.

I can't go on vacation because I can't afford it.

My kids need the "latest thing," brand new.

I'll have the life I want later.

Any of these sound familiar?Of course they do--they're notions that are so well established in our minds, they feel like common sense. But they're all wrong.

For most of us, money is a taboo subject rarely discussed with our friends, family, or significant others. We think everyone else knows more about this important subject than we do -- so like sex, we joke about it and avoid dealing with it. Our lack of knowledge leads to faulty ideas that drive our lifestyle decisions -- often in the wrong direction.

Now, Karen Ramsey, an experienced, fee-only certified financial planner, shatters those myths and shows anyone how to take control of their finances and realize their dreams. Divided into two parts, Everything You Know about Money Is Wrong begins by exploding our twenty-one biggest money myths. Do you think you should pay off your mortgage as soon as possible? Do you have to save, no matter what? Do you think that it's mandatory to fund your children's college tuition? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you need the insights and wisdom Ramsey delivers, using examples from her clients' own lives.

In part two, Ramsey outlines her proven, easy-to-follow personal spending plan that will help you get your financial life on track. You don't have to put off living, depriving yourself of a dream vacation or sticking with a terrible job just to pay the bills. There are other options if you have a plan.

Let Karen Ramsey help you find the road to happiness and financial security -- without deprivation.

Customer Reviews:

She's So Right.......2003-02-19

After reading through a few of the myths at the bookstore, I took the book home and read it in one sitting. Since then, I refer to it often, mostly in discussions with friends and family. Recently, a friend at work was contemplating the purchase of a house -- with dread. When I asked him why he didn't want to buy a house and yet was launching a search anyway, he said it was because he saw several other people at work his age buying homes, and thought it was "time." Well, I copied one of the chapters from this book and left it for him on his chair. He came to my office later offering profuse thanks. He wasn't going to buy a house, and he had this book to thank for it. He literally bounces around the office now, with the pressure of homeownership off, and a new sense of financial priorities in place. And that's the effect of just one myth, on just one person. Do you have to fund your retirement fully every year? Should you pay off your house early? Is a tax deduction a good reason to buy a home? Is a home a good investment? Is it an investment at all? Should you stay in an apartment for the rest of your life? The answers are in this book. They're accessible, relevant and enlightening. They may just change your views about your personal finances. Especially if they're all wrong.

This book helped me think about making money work for me........1999-06-11

Karen has done a great job of presenting the human side of spending and saving. This book has helped me to put money to work for me - for my particular needs and temperament. No longer do I need to look at saving and spending from just an investment standpoint. I can feel good as I weigh how my spending and saving feels to me. As a behavior consultant with children, I consider her advice to be sound for parents trying to teach their children how to save, spend and contribute to the world at large. What a fun and easy read!

This book solved most of my money concerns instantly!.......1999-05-22

Wow! This book is so much more than I bargained for. I bought it in my never ending quest to see how I could earn more money. But the book gave me insights about why I don't think I have enough in the first place! This book really broke the blind cycle that we're all in about spend-consume-spend-consume and still be dissatisfied. It also gave great advice about helping to build character in my kids by setting limits regarding what I will and will not buy them and requiring them to participate in earning money for what they want. This book could be called "Everything You Know About A Lot of Things is Wrong!" I loved it and have sent it to six people already.

Not just good advice, but a new attitude about money........1999-04-28

This down-to-earth and refreshingly non-prescriptive book helps put the whole money issue in perspective. The author shows you how to question your existing assumptions and separate out common emotional responses to financial decision-making -- some of which may actually be preventing you from accomplishing your most cherished and deeply held goals in life! In addition to the sensible advice, the client stories add a lot of heart and depth. And I particularly appreciated the notion (explained in detail in the second section) that if you understand what your goals are, and clearly understand your spending habits, you'll change your behavior, not because you *should*, but because you *want to*, in order to make your dreams happen. This is a gift. Highly recommended. P.S. This author is a great speaker and if you get a chance to see her in person, jump at it. You'll be entertained and amused, and come away much wiser as well.

The best book I have ever read about personal finances!.......1999-04-18

Karen's book has provided the forum to acknowledge truisms found deep in the recesses of my mind but heretofore unable to articulate. She has a unique ability to concisely walk down a path of knowledge by shedding long held myths leading to personal happiness, and replacing them with practical, honest, proven, methods of attaining true peace through financial freedom.

Book Description

What happens when politicians substitute their wisdom for the market’s? The result is usually a government subsidy that provides advantage to a special interest group only–but costs everyone and drains the economy. In Unwarranted Intrusions, well-known financial commentator Martin Fridson turns his sharp eye for uncovering opaque financial reporting practices to the U.S. government and examines the economic reality of some of the most popular yet financially draining subsidies. Fridson debunks programs that claim to provide jobs, encourage savings, provide affordable housing, and preserve family farms–among many others. Unwarranted Intrusions is a provocative and exhaustively researched challenge to prevailing political claims of programs that purport to protect the public good.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding presentation of governmental economic nonsense.......2006-10-08

I agree with nearly everything that the author says. His arguments against the economic effectiveness of government subsidies and intervention in the markets appeal to my libertarian streak and it is well known that many (most?) of the government programs are economically counterproductive. Some are downright silly. One of the most ridiculous, primarily because it went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, is the case of Karen Finley. She was an "artist" whose primary area of expertise was smearing her naked body with food. In special instances, she raised money by having people pay to lick the food, primarily chocolate, off her body. When her NEA grant application was rejected, Finley sued. So silly, yet so significant. For the real issue was twofold.

*) Should the federal government use tax money to fund art?
*) If the answer to the first question is yes, what are the bounds on the art?

And this also raises a more general question concerning the use of public money to benefit small groups, the often-reviled "special interests." For if the federal government could not stop funding the fringe artists, there is no hope of stopping the real expensive cases of corporate welfare.
One of the greatest is the enormous subsidy paid to American farmers to raise surplus food. Not only is it an expensive and deceptive program, it helps to keep subsistence farmers in other countries in poverty. As Fridson points out, while politicians demand that the program be kept alive to preserve the family farm, the reality is that there really is no such thing anymore. Billions of dollars in payments go to large corporate farms, which are the only ones that can grow the cheap food demanded by society at a price that it will accept. The hidden costs paid by the generic taxpayer are rarely factored in, and when they are they are conveniently ignored by the policy makers.
Fridson also debunks the so-called "ethanol solution." Namely, take all of the surplus corn, convert it into ethanol, use it as fuel for automobiles and free the United States from having to import foreign oil. Tax credits and other gifts are used to promote the use of ethanol, with the thought being that farm prices will rise. The reality is that the farmer gets very little of the benefit, the bulk going to the distiller and the retailer. In fact, a Department of Energy estimate stated that every extra dollar of farm income from the use of ethanol costs the taxpayer four. Furthermore, since it takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than can be retrieved from using it, ethanol may actually increase the dependence on foreign oil. Finally, in my home state of Iowa, the bumper stickers praise the use of ethanol, as it is touted as a fuel that burns cleaner. This "fact" has been refuted, although ethanol has some advantages, the different disadvantages mean that overall it pollutes as much as the burning of fossil fuels.
Where I disagree with Fridson is in his unwavering belief in the markets and the thought that people will always act honorably and honestly. As the recent corporate scandals demonstrate, there are crooks in low and high places and only the government can make and enforce the rules that will keep them as honest as possible. However, in general, I agreed with Fridson, all the while knowing how futile the task of trying to change these things for the better is.

What She Said.......2006-08-03

Check out Dr Trixie above. Then read the book--after you buy it. Then check out the rest of the works of Fridson, as clear a writer on finance and political economy as there is. Blessed with ironic detachment from and a forgiving heart for the stupid and greedy who make our policies and populate our markets.

Stick It Where It Hurts.......2006-06-15

Citizens, rejoice! Marty Fridson, the D'Artagnan of finance, is back with his sharp and delicate sword, this time taking on the world of subsidy. Fridson is the eminently readable writer, historian, and Wall Street financial whiz whose books "It Was A Very Good Year" and "How To Be A Billionaire" offer wicked glimpses into the world of wealth accumulation, happily skewering the institutions from which all our rich fantasies spring. He now takes aim at the perennial use of government (read taxpayers') money to support troubled and misguided programs - Social Security! The FDIC! Fannie Mae! - which, he says, are better off left to the self-correcting forces of the marketplace.

Fridson gives lucid histories of government intervention - starting in 1867 with campaign-finance reform - showing that regulations and subsidized programs, dear to our hearts and psyches, that were created to reduce disparities in wealth and income, have generally achieved the opposite effect.

Politically-motivated bailouts -- aid to farmers, rent control, and property tax breaks for businesses -- create artificial shortages and gluts, making some people (usually the upper tax brackets: agribusiness, landlords, and CEOs) better off, at the cost of making everyone else worse - locally and globally. And the only people these subsidies invariably benefit are the politicians, who promote them to grease whichever wheel of the voters' cart is squeaking the loudest.

Market failure in any sector means disparity: goods and services are not allocated efficiently. Fridson says that government intervention in the economy is only appropriate when the market fails to produce an optimal outcome - in education, for example, where the need for skilled workers outweighs individuals' demands.

Direct income support is also necessary for workers who can't find employment, or who are unable to participate in the labor market. But other subsidies, protections, and regulations (like restrictions on short-selling and margin buying, or federal assistance to the big mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) generally benefit the privileged (brokers; middle- and upper-income home buyers), exclude low-to-moderate-income groups, and contribute to the sequestration of capital in the top ten percent. Fridson provides plenty of credible, readable data to back his points.

"Unwarranted Intrusions" is so sharp that it's painless; this book makes reading the political news fun again. Buy two copies - one for yourself and one for your favorite Congressperson.

Great book!.......2006-06-14

Great text from Fridson - a must-read for anyone with any interest in the inner workings of the U.S. government's involvement in economy. Fridson exposes inefficiencies all over the place without sparing either side of the aisle. The writing is well-versed, but at the same time extremely easy to follow.

Excellent primer on government's negative role in society.......2006-05-26

Fridson is amazing. The research here is exhaustive, but at the same time highly accessible and enlightening.

Fridson quotes everyone from classical economists such as Ricardo to contemporary politicians in showing how unwarranted intrusions by the government into our lives invariably makes us much worse off. For those who love to debate, this book is a must. Fridson uncovers the various myths about Ethanol, payola, and our "low" savings rate. An essential book.

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

After the Thousand Years: Resurrection and Judgement in Revelation 20 (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement)

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After the Thousand Years: Resurrection and Judgement in Revelation 20 (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement)
J. Mealy
Manufacturer: Sheffield
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1850753636

The Book of a Thousand Judgements: (A Sasanian Law-Book) (Persian Heritage Series (Zurich, Switzerland), No 39)

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The Book of a Thousand Judgements: (A Sasanian Law-Book) (Persian Heritage Series (Zurich, Switzerland), No 39)

Manufacturer: Mazda Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Switzerland | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 156859061X

Book Description

Presented in dictionary form with abundant black and white illustrations, every aspect relating to the history and cultivation of tobacco is explained, as well as tobacco production in Cuba. Reprint of the 1940 edition published in Havana, but with the addition of a bilingual (Spanish/English) vocabulary. A book of special interest to all cigar aficionados.

Customer Reviews:

Lexico Tabacalero.......2003-02-22

This book offers not only a complete guide for the cuban cigar aficionado but many interesting cultural insights on the tobacco growers in the island. The reader will be able to answer any types of questions regarding the best cigar in the world. The soil composition, the different ways to handle the cigar leaves, the plagues that can ruin a crop are all addressed in this timeless jewel. I highly recommend the book to the general public and to all those involved in the tobacco industry worldwide.

this book is very good.......2001-03-19

Este libro es realmente bueno, porque abarca desde su origen hasta la fabricación de puros, pero me gustaria que la segunda edicion de este libro, traiga mas acerca de los tipos de semillas, tecnicas de riego y cosecha de tabaco, aunque yo se que es un diccionario.

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