Rating: 
Summary: Here's what I thought about it all...
Review: This is a book that gives good, commonsense advice on managing your finances so that there will be plenty of money left at the end of the road. While the advice may seem simplistic, you will be much more financially secure for sure if you have the discipline to carry it out. A fun read, I give it five stars easy. Other self-help books I like include "The No-Beach, No-Zone, No-Nonsense Weight Loss Plan, A Pocket Guide To What Works."
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book for Beginners
Review: These are very basic principals. I'm not sure that I would have thought to write a book, as opposed to an article in a magazine, about these concepts, but the truth is that most people do not know or practice these concepts.
The author is correct when he contends that unless people set up automatic savings programs where money is automatically deducted from their accounts, most people will not save, and, as a result, most people will miss out on the miracle of compound interest.
These concepts work! I had one particular job for 14 years. I did not make a "great" amount of money. I simply had the maximum amount one could contribute to a 401k deducted from my account. As a result, I accumulated over $330,000. (Don't forget about stock market ups and downs, since I now have about $230,000!).
In addition, he strongly counsels people to try to pay off their mortgages early through automatic extra payments or bi-monthly plans. My wife and I are doing this, and have already reduced our mortgage by $30,000 in pricipal even though the mortgage is not even two years old yet. We are on target to pay off the mortgage in 18 years instead of 30.
This is the way of the world. If your parents didn't teach you this, then you need someone who will, and David Bach is that person.
Rating: 
Summary: How disappointing
Review: Let me sum up this book for anyone that really wants to know what it is all about. Basically the one-step plan to live and finish rich is to save money. Basically this book is a knock off of the richest man in babylon, where the concept is pay yourself first, and try to make it at least the first 10% of your gross income. This is a very powerful concept which everyone should follow, but just read the classic on the topic it is a much better book.The automatic millionaire then recommends that this forced savings should go into your RRSP because it grows tax free, and the government gives you a tax break. Which is true but this is far from a new concept. The other shockingly bold advice givin in this book is to pay off your mortgage as fast as possible. Increase the frequency of your payments(bi-weekly), and have a flexible mortgage so that you can put all of your excess money, especially around when you get your tax refunds because of your RRSP contribution, towards the principle on your mortgage. Ohh by the way he also recommends owing real estate, as opposed to renting. I know I know, boldly new advice. He also talks about his patented "latte factor", which basically boils down to monitoring your spending habits. All the little expenses add up and over time saving this money can make you a millionaire. So brown bag it and only buy what you can afford. The major flaw I see with his "advise" is that all of his numbers are based on high rates of return. Today it is hard to achieve 10% rates of return with the "financial advice" being give out. Most people go to "financial institutions" and those wonderful places try to SELL you whatever is best for them. Whatever has the highest commision and management fees usually is what is "recommended". On a sidenote does anyone ever wonder why "financial institutions" never recommend index funds like the s&p 500 which beats 95% or better of all mutual funds. I wonder if it could have something to do with a lack of commisions and management fees??? Just a guess I would say that this book is good if you are completely financially illiterate. I borrowed this book from the library and I felt like I got ripped off at that price. I could only imagine how I would have felt if I purchased this book.
Rating:
Summary: IS THAT A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL, OR . . . .
Review: This book, like David Bach's new book is full of good ideas and advice. But the light at the end of the financial tunnel portrayed is in fact an oncoming train - The critical piece of the picture that is missing concerns the nearly 100 million strong baby-boomer demographic tidal wave. In just a few years, it is going to absolutely unavoidably plunge us into the greatest depression in our history, upsetting everyone's best laid "millionaire" plans. Such an event will undercut all efforts to reach financial nervana by those who don't know this catastrophic depression is coming. By all means read and take the advice of David Bach in this book, but for heaven's sake also buy and read The Great Bust Ahead by Dan Arnold (www.thegreatbustahead.com) to get a shocking reality check on the bigger picture. For those who are worried about social security and Medicare, they will hardly give them a thought after reading The Great Bust Ahead, which hits us years before and dwarfs these two crises. But, of course you'll safely be a millionaire by then!
Rating:
Summary: helped me automate my investments
Review: because of this book i now have money automatically taken out of my checking account into my ING account as well as my personal mutual fund account (for mutual funds read lazy guide to investing! great book). As well, i am taking advantage of my 401k...all automatically without having to remember or not remember to do it. great read!
Rating:
Summary: Long-term returns in the stock market
Review: Another commenter says that they are skeptical that they can get a 10% annual return rate over the long term from any source, contrary to what author David Bach suggests. Well, check out the stock market. Despite current popular perception (perhaps brought on because many people buy into the market late=high and then sell after a disaster=low), the stock market performs quite well over the long term. If we look at the DOW index, it was under 4000 in early 1995 and today (2005-01-12) it is at 10618. Even though it is still recovering from the dot-com meltdown and is down 200 points from just a couple of weeks ago, the return over the past 10 years is still a total of 165% or 10.25% compounded annually. I believe Bach says somewhere in the book that the 10% he mentions is the average return of the stock market over the past 50 years.
I rate the book 4 out of 5 since it's quite a good book for beginners at personal finance, but it contains the same information as many other books and the presentation is rather redundant.
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Summary: Basic Common Sense
Review: I found this book to be an excellent, no nonsense approach to organizing and planning for financial security. I have since read Smart Women Finish Rich, and have given many copies of both books as gifts to members of my management team, friends and young family members starting out on their own. It is well written in terms that are easy to comprehend and apply as well as some valuable resources to utilize in order to build a solid plan for future financial independance. My only objection is to the reference to the 'latte factor'. I am sure that other more glaring sacrafices can be made an example of for financial security just please not the coffee!:)
Amy Carlson
Retail Operations - NJ
Starbucks Coffee Company
Rating:
Summary: commonsense kickstart
Review: The author states clearly and MANY times that the information held within is nothing new, it is COMMON knowledge that almost everyone knows about, but fails to 'get around to implimenting'. (which makes half of the negative posts about the book moot).
Everyone knows that 401ks are important, that owning a home is better than renting, that credit card debt is bad, that the 7 dollars spent on that pack of cigs could be better spent [into your future], that money just rots in a bank savings acct earning next to no interest [where a mutual fund may be a better option]........but how many people you know actually USE this commonsense knowledge they claim to have hold of?
I cant tell you how many people I work with that are not enrolled in our companies 401k, and if they are, how many of those that do not contribute enough to get the max company match [not fully understanding they are turning away free money]. Every smoker i know knows it's bad for you, and that they are upset with the recent increase....but they continue to purchase that pack tonight and are always going to quit tomorrow. Every renter, including me until last year, tosses money out the window while trying to save that big nest for the down payment (instead of looking into other options). Almost everyone I know, still uses their credit cards, while making the minimal payments on it.....
you see, just because things are commonsense, doesnt mean they are always [and rarely are] practiced.
This book tries to offer insipriation through stories and basic advise to get people proactive in their financial futures.
Bach also offers basic information about companies that handle setting up IRA's, mortgages, mutual funds, credit card debt advise as well as lots of [free] goodies on his own web site.
I gave this book 5 stars because bach never claims that this book is something it is not. If nothing else, it offers you that kickstart needed to get off your duff and start to enroll in an automated financial future....and the topics he does not cover in depth, are merely a google search away.
...
Just to address the post that claims the bi-monthly mortgage payments is an illusion. Bach states to make sure you ask if the paying company truely makes 2 monthly payments or holds onto your money and makes only one...if the latter is the case, you do not go with them. He also, how ironic, offers the same alternative that you do....to make one extra payment a year on the mortgage. He even offers a 3rd alternative to avoid the fees, to just add 10% of your monthly payment, onto your monthly payment, which over the year, will also add up to one extra payment a month. The reason he states that it is worth paying the fees to have a 3rd party company do this for you, is that once it is set(AUTOMATED as he puts it), it is done. for good. Now you cannot make any excuses as to why you cannot make that extra payment a month. He goes on to say that in all the years he has been a financial advisor, there has only been ONE person that was disciplined enough to manually write that extra check a month for a prolonged period of time.....everyone else usually does it for a little bit, but then starts to come up with excuses as to where that money could be used. If its automated, there is no chance of this happening. The fees assessed for the setup/transactions are so miniscule compared to the savings over the course of the entire mortgage that it barely warrants mentioning.
Rating:
Summary: There are better books even for beginners
Review: This book has almost no substance. Anybody can give an advice, start investing in 401K, IRA etc but what abt the real questions like what mutual funds, what cap, fees, tax are not addressed at all. I think Suze Orman's books are much better for beginners.
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Summary: Cruise Control for your finances - speed is up to you
Review: Many negative reviewers here miss the boat. Argueing that it's common sense misses the point that in order for knowledge to be profound, it must be immediately actionable (e.g. Light bulb goes off immediately) and EASY to implement. Bach's spin is that he takes proven methods and makes them trivial to do (I automated all his recommendations in 1 day including biweekly mortgage, 401k, emergency fund, and charity). Of course, no-one can predict exactly when one becomes a millionaire, Mr. Bach provides a well-written, financial cruise-control that may assist you in your financial travels. Well done Mr. Bach!
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