Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You to Be Rich is currently putting the final touches on his first published book, aptly named, I Will Teach You to Be Rich. He’s probably tweaking the final paragraphs as I write this. Ramit’s new book, which will be released on March 23, includes a few pages I’ve contributed focusing on smart ways to get out of debt. As long-time readers might guess, my contribution focuses on what I’ve been calling the Debt Avalanche, but doesn’t stop there. There is so much more in this book, and I’m planning to write a full review. But the two of us have more plans, including something we think is going to be fun.
Ramit and I are setting up a one-hour call to answer reader’s questions about absolutely anything, no holds barred. Of course, the call will focus on personal finance, including saving, investing, debt, budgeting, just about anything you can name if it’s related to what people need to know about money. I’m looking forward to this chat, I imagine the two of us on the phone are going to be quite entertaining.
We’ll be making a recording of this phone call available as an MP3 to certain readers, and details concerning how to receive the recording will be forthcoming in the next two weeks. Until then, Ramit and I want to get started on planning the discussion so we need your questions. You can ask more than one, and feel free to be creative. Either leave your questions here as a comment below this post, or, if you’d rather not share just yet, email your questions directly to me (flexo at this domain name).
Ask your questions now and listen to Ramit and I discussing the answers in a few weeks.
During previous economic downturns, publications have often done stories about saving money by borrowing books, music and movies from the library. This is true not only in recessions, but every time you want to save some money. Libraries aren’t just for research; they have plenty of entertaining material as well.
But of course, they suffered from a problem that many bookstores didn’t: if a book was popular, you’d have a hard time finding a copy. It’s the 21st century now, most things have been digitized, so a perfect copy of anything shouldn’t be hard to find.
Well, with actual books printed on paper, you might still have to wait to get a copy of a popular title, but we recently found that our local library system is partnered with a service that enables it to offer digital downloads to anybody with a library card.
What’s more, it looks like this service, called “Overdrive”, has partnered with many many libraries throughout the world. Search their site to see if your library is offering this sort of thing. And if necessary, pick up a library card. They’re not expensive, I promise.
Suze Orman, the guru of personal finance gurus, is offering her latest book, 2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe & Sound, for free. Through January 15, you can download this 209-page book without paying a cent.
Here is the download link for the free PDF version of this book.
The book tackles credit, retirement investing, saving, spending, paying for college, emergency funds and insurance. Suze’s approach is forward, demanding and aggressive, but that may be what some individuals need to experience.
This book is available as a free download through January 15 only. You can also download this book in Spanish.
A little over a year ago, Russell Bailyn, an investment adviser who crossed the barrier into the blogosphere with his Financial Planning Weblog, contacted me to let me know he was beginning work on a book. As Russell and I were both music education majors in our respective undergraduate universities, I was eager to support his endeavor. I’m happy to report that Navigating the Financial Blogosphere: How to Benefit From Free Information on the Internet was published earlier this fall.
In Navigating the Financial Blogosphere, the author takes twenty-six of the most popular financial questions and dedicates a chapter or two to each. The questions run the gamut from basic financial knowledge to intermediate investing techniques, professional financial designations, and the mystery of variable annuities. 
Russell takes a real-world approach to answering financial questions, such as, “Are Credit Cards My Enemy?” and “What Are My Chances of Getting Social Security?” In this book, the author is able to present two sides of a story, particularly when addressing a hotly debated issue. For example, Russell tackles the question of dabbling in real estate as an important part of an investment portfolio. He discusses the pros and cons and allows the reader to decide how real estate can fit into their own overall investing scheme. I applaud Russell for not making many blanket recommendations other than the most basic. He understands that financial advice is personal and the right answer for one investor is not always the right answer for another.
I have not yet mentioned this book’s strongest selling point and what makes Navigating the Financial Blogosphere unique. It’s apparent from the title, however. Not only does the book cover the essential aspects of financial planning, but it is full of references to online resources, all free. These resources can be used by the reader with an Internet connection to research any issue. Many of the resources are personal finance blogs, like Consumerism Commentary, Free Money Finance, and My Money Blog.
Russell goes beyond blogs as well, pointing the reader towards Motley Fool, FinAid, and BankRate. Each chapter concludes with a summary of the online resources available for that chapter’s topic. All of the resources listed are still active as today, and they are the types of websites that should be around for a long time. These summaries function as a filter. One could simply enter the topic about which they wish to read more into Google, but the quality of these results will vary. Russell has picked the best for you.
The methodology of including current websites also provides the author with a reason to publish updated editions periodically.
If you’re familiar with the world of free online information, particularly personal finance blogs, and you feel you are confident in your ability to pick the wheat from the chaff, then you might not be the primary audience for this book. However, if you are just starting to become aware of the importance of personal finance and enjoy online research, this would be an excellent book for you. The value of this book is in the financial advice and information coupled with the best online resources.
Russell’s first paragraph on the hardcover sleeve explains his philosophy in writing this book:
While many of us trust the advice of so-called “experts” when it comes to our financial well-being, the fact is that many of these professionals either aren’t objective enough or simply have an opinion that they want to push on us. This is ironic in that finance is a very subjective discipline, and many financial issues can be resolved by combining a few simple rules with a solid understanding of your own personal preferences.
I’m quite flattered that Russell included Consumerism Commentary as a resource in several of the chapters, and it’s an honor to be mentioned alongside the other great financial resources available for free online. I highly suggest reading Russell Bailyn’s Financial Planning Weblog if it’s not all ready part of your personal finance blog reading.
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I’m not quite sure how the winner was chosen, and the canned audience is kind of cheesy (but fun). However, I’m always happy to be a part of anything that brings attention to personal finance and the blogosphere. My “acceptance,” which is more of a rambling interview including an inordinate number of filled pauses vocalized by me, starts at time stamp 14:20.
