Rating: 
Summary: Mixed Review
Review: This is the third financial book I have read. I got the feeling that without a Financial advisor I am doomed to failure. I also got the feeling that It doesn't matter what your rate of return is on your investments...a "dont worry about that" attitude. Some of his advise I dont buy, such as "buy and hold" and maintaining debt. Debt is a four letter word. If your new to the World of finance, It's an ok book. Continue reading more books on finance for a different view.
Rating: 
Summary: An Extraordinary Wealth of Information
Review: Ric Edelman has a way with ordinary people and their money. This book is great for anyone from those who have an unspoken fear of investing to those with already extraordinary wealth. Edelman explains strategies for personal finance with humor, straitforwardness, and just enough reality to spark action in even the most hesitant of his readers. His advice is further aided with the personal details from his clients' lives generously discolsed in the "In Their Own Words" sections at the end of every chapter.
Rating: 
Summary: Scrimping all the way to the bank
Review: Oh Gosh: another personal finance writer who talks down to we poor mortals who spend too much. Does he really think that I want to reuse aluminum foil (like the woman he featured on Oprah) in order to get by? I'd rather work a few more years than get that penny pinching. There is a little good content, but it is undermined by his holier than me tone and constant ads for his other books.
Rating:
Summary: Pompous and useless
Review: Maybe I'm just a bit slow, but I found a lot of the advice in this book, like "Don't pay down your mortgage", to be completely against everything I've ever been told about money. I wasn't convinced by any of his arguments about why he thought it was better to carry a lot of debt if you had the ability to pay it down. I was also annoyed by the author's writing style, which was pompous and made him seem like a real "know-it-all" like those kids I always hated back in school. In the end, I was really disappointed and left with the impression that the only way to get ahead was to buy more of the author's books or else to hire him as an advisor (fat chance considering the size of my tiny portfolio).
Rating: 
Summary: OK if you need a jump start
Review: I see that this book rocketed down the bestseller chart as fast as it went up. This book is OK if you have a poor background in personal finance but if you're already saving then don't get this book. The strategies are very basic and the focus on attitude is brushed over at the end of the book. If you're hopelessly in debt and have never saved a dime, get out the credit card and buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: borrow it from the library and invest the money you save!
Review: I made the mistake of buying this used, I should have borrowed this form the library. The points the author makes are very simple and you defintely don't need to keep the book around. The book has a lot of filler, including many redundant quotes from successful people (How many times do I need to hear "I wish I started saving money earlier?") One thing that bothered me was the chapter that said most people purchased their investments for less than $1000. However the book is very vague about what these investments were. Also, If these investments were purchased 20-30 years ago, that was a lot more money then. There are a lot of examples in which people bought stock, only a few shares, that they made a good return on. Well that's great, but you can't buy a few shares of stock anymore; you have to buy lots of 100, so that's just useless info. Yes, you can buy stock mutual funds with very little money, but it's not the quite the same in terms of risk/reward. The tone of this book can get rather nasty and condenscending. Also the constant plugging of his other books is just horrible. It makes you feel like this book was just a scam to get you to buy his other books.The editors should have put their foot down on this issue, it really cheapens the book. I did find the book useful, though, in convincing me that wning my house "free and clear" might not be my best option. That is why I do recommend getting the book from the library; the explanations are short but decent.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and Superb!!!
Review: I am a 23 year old preparing to graudate from college and get married. My fiancee and I have been working to establish our names with creditors, banks, etc. in the present, but are also concerned about our financial future. This book has proven to be a great starting point for helping us plan our financial future. We have learned the importance of stocks, funds, and securing a good financial planner that is in touch with the goals you have for your retirement and how to get there. This is by no means the end all be all of financial books, but gives a great introductory look as to what it takes be financially secure. The advice is practical and applicable to anyone with money from 12 to 122. The book is a quick read and I recommend it to anyone concerned with their financial future.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a look
Review: Always looking for new ways to increase my finances, I ran across this book. Full of great tips and new ideas, I decided that even I could undertake a few of the suggestions like saving change. Two months later, I had almost $200 just in excess metal. Although the book can be a bit tedious at times, it is still a collection of fresh, proven approaches to increasing your worth.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading
Review: There is some good information in the book. One problem I had with it is that Edelman endlessly self-promotes his other books in a manner that he seems to think is humorous, but is actually annoying. It makes the author--writing on a serious subject--come off like a carnival huckster.
Rating:
Summary: Is this a marketing focus group transcript?????
Review: In this 300+ page book, the author tells us his 8 "secrets". The problem is that those 8 "secrets" only take about 40 pages, the rest is fluff, notes on his interviews with clients, clients' opinions and experiences. This "book" looks like the transcripts of a marketing focus group. The author also has the irritating habit of promoting his other book about once every 2 pages. You can only read about 5 pages at a time before being totally turned off by the excessive self-promotion. Leave this PoS on the shelf!!!!! I returned my copy for a refund!!!!
| 
