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Summary: To Those Who Have Read David Bach's Other Books ....
Review: I am a fan of David Bach's book "Smart Couples Finish Rich." As part of a promotion, I also received "Smart Women Finish Rich" and recently purchased the "Automatic Millionaire."I admire David Bach's communication ability, easy reading style and clear presentation of simple yet powerful ideas ?integral qualities for "self-help?personal finance books. I have found Smart Couples Finish Rich to have motivated me to action more than other books in the field and for this I truly appreciate reading it (and David Bach for his persuasive call to take control of my financial future). However, I would like point out that these three books (and most likely Smart Kids Finish to Rich which undoubtedly will pop up sometime in the future) are very similar. Smart Couples Finish Rich and Smart Women Finish Rich are close to identical to the core themes they present. The Automatic Millionaire really left me with a bad taste in my mouth especially since I spent my hard earned on it. The book was a regurgitation of many of the themes presented in his other books. The Automatic Millionaire talks about the "big secret?to successfully executing a lifetime savings and investing plan ?make it automatic. To illustrate and explain this, David Bach introduces us to a couple that he says, "changed his life? A couple that he supposedly met when he was starting out as a financial advisor in his twenties who provided him with the secret to successful implementation of a life-long financial plan. If this was the big secret, why provide it in his THIRD book especially since he got this secret early in his career? I can't help but think this was just a ploy to sell more books ?if so, the only Automatic Millionaire will prove to be David Bach himself! Again, I strongly urge readers out there to pick up ONE of his books unless you've read David Chilton's "The Wealthy Barber??David Bach's books could be considered "The Wealthy Barber ?U.S.A. version.? Regardless, David Bach is a financial advisor with a great ability to communicate and get you to act. At the end of the day, it's about finding good information to improve your personal finances and make a change. Regardless of my thoughts, the benefits of reading ONE of the David Bach books will more than justify the cost ?my only warning (and reason I felt compelled to write this review) is that you might feel like I did with the strong urge to get all of his publications (lest some golden nugget of information fall through the cracks). Don't succumb to this urge because you won't find that golden nugget - the message is the same. I would suggest getting one of his books and then putting the money you might spend on the other two into an account earning compound interest. Good luck to all!
Rating: 
Summary: Condensed Guide to Finanical (un)Common Sense
Review: Over the years, I've read many books on finance and usually you find a few gems of wisdom in each. This book "The Automatic Millionaire" is a condensed version of many other books. While the knowledge therein isn't really anything new, David Bach works overtime to be sure you get your money's worth by: 1. Making the book easy to read and concise
2. Giving you the required information on each topic
3. Including many fundamental financial diagrams and charts The book's title is perfectly correct, though a bit misleading to those of us jaded against the many books claiming free and/or effortless finanical success. Truth is, he walks you through designing your financial future and then explains how and where to setup automatic deposits and withdrawals. The key being that we become accustomed to automatic financial transactions and forget they're occurring in the background, thus saving much more than possible with pure willpower alone. An impressive little book that most of us can still learn alot from.
Rating:
Summary: Opened up my eyes
Review: I don't know what impressed me more, David Bach's financial advice or the total lack of financial education if not outright financial ignorance (based on 1 star reviewers)that exists in this country. I guess the financially clueless find some pleasure for their lack of financial success by bashing good books like this one by Dave Bach. 1 star reviewers; you need to get the cow minure out of your head. Stop rationalizing for your financial inadequecies by attacking Dave Bach. Stop reading those antiquated 1,000 page books by financially clueless authors (the blind leading the blind???) and get on the path to financial success by reading Dave Bach. I also recommend Rich Dad Poor Dad and How To Get Rich Without Cutting up your credit cards by Robert Kiyosaki. A lot of these financial authors are telling people what they want to hear, but not what they need to hear. People like Bach and Kiyosaki are telling it like it really is and offer advice that works. I also agree with the other reviewers who like the fact that Bach encourages you to contribute to an investment plan even while you are in debt. Some of these other reviews (1 stars) would be funny except that we are talking about personal finance and tells me that these people never really read the book and perhaps are overwhelmed with credit card debt which says a lot about their ability to manage money, especially debt. And also says a lot about how responsible they are. Yeah, these are exactly the kind of people that I want to give me financial advice! Can't invest because it will bankrupt them? Having their cars repossed? House in foreclosure? Being evicted from their apartments? And these are the people bashing Bach? Think I'd rather listen to Bach.
Rating:
Summary: Great advice that really works
Review: Dave Bach is doing Americans a big favor by sharing this advice and helping people clear debt while creating wealth. I like Bach's idea of taking 1/2 of your 10% money to pay off debt and using the other 1/2 to invest. This method is a lot better than just trying to pay off debt first. Regarding credit cards, minimum payments can be negotiated and even 2% is a small sum to pay, even for people with high balances. Some financial advisors recommend that you take money out of your 401 (k) or IRA to pay off debts. This is bad advice. You will be paying taxes on retirement money and even worse, will be losing the potential returns on your investments. Not a good strategy. Bach has a better plan that is better than just budgeting. In reality, budgets only work for Budget Rent-A-Car. Like dieting, it sounds good but doesn't really work in the real world. There are a lot of financial books and advice out there. Most are not worth the paper they were written on. Bach's advice is different. It works. Biweekly mortgages is another strategy that non financial people will tell you does not work. But darn if it doesn't work!
Works like a charm. AND Bach shows you how to do this yourself without paying a fee. I think a lot, if not all of the negative reviews are probably written by financial people who are hoping you never find out this information. Bach also recommends no-load mutual funds when investing in stocks and bonds. Save the money on commissions and use that money to pay down debt or to invest. Stay away from individual stocks and bonds. Ordinary investors have no business playing the stock market or buying individual stocks and bonds. Mutual funds are mathematically 80%-100% safer due to diversification. I also recommend The Truth About Money, 3rd edition by Ric Edeleman and More Wealth Without Risk by Charles J. Givens.
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Summary: Good, solid advice. On the money. Ignore paid bashers.
Review: I am constantly amused by that JBQ shill who shows up on every website for every financial book that comes out that does better JBQ's book--which is just about everybody. David Bach has written a very good book here. Some, you may have heard before but hey, at least it works. Better than th ose frivilous 1,000 page books written by magazine authors who don't know beans about personal finance. Follow David Bach's advice to lead you to the Road to Wealth and learn how to true Make The Most of Your Money. I have been following Bach's advice and it has made a tremendous difference in my financial bottom line. Great advice that really works. I do recommend that you read everything you can about personal finance, just get a little annoyed by people who try to tear down people for no reason other than peer pressure and hate to see a very knowledgeable financial author like Bach for no reason other than he has a formula that works and that is helping other people. I guess I'm old fashioned that way.
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Summary: Buy it if you're clueless. Take it with a grain of salt.
Review: I think David Bach might be a little out of touch with reality. "Imagine you're at the local outlet of a national clothing chain you've picked out $1,100 worth of new outfits (let's say three shirts, two sweaters, a pair of pants or a dress, and a pair of shoes)." Huh? If you're having money troubles and buying clothes that expensive, you don't need this book. You need to have your head examined. Aside from some annoyingly unrealistic example scenarios, the book does offer some sound advice. David hits home the importance of investing everything you can in a 401(k) or IRA. But as many others have pointed out, chances are good that you already understand this. If you don't, the book is worth reading. I find David's claim that his plan requires no budget and no discipline laughable. I was intrigued when he told me that I could throw away my budget, but disappointed when he never quite explained how. He suggests that I take half of my "Pay Yourself First" money and use it to pay down my credit card debt. Okay, let's say I take his advice to Pay Myself First 10% of my gross pay. So 5% goes to my 401(k) and the other 5% to debt. Nevermind the fact that I'm paying the debt with after-tax dollars, so it's really more like 3.5%. If I took his advice, I would never be out of debt. In fact, my credit rating would be ruined because that amount would not even cover my minimum payments. Fortunately, I have a BUDGET that tells me exactly what I can afford to send to my credit cards every month. If you are struggling with debt, forget David's advice to first pay down the account with the smallest balance/(interest rate) ratio. I guess that is his way of telling you to pay down the cards with the highest rates first (he doesn't even explain WHY he like this method). But doesn't he know that some cards have minimum payments of 2%, some 3%, etc? This is NOT a foolproof method of determining which has the highest rate! Make it easy on yourself and just look for the rate at the bottom of each statement. You can also ignore David's advice to go on bi-weekly mortgage payments. He suggests that you pay your bank $300 or so for the privelege of making 13 payments per year instead of 12. Do yourself a favor and bump up your regular payment by 10%, for free. He even admits that you will end up with the same results.
Rating:
Summary: Knockoff
Review: Perhaps this book is good for beginners. However, it's almost a complete knock-off of Dr. Thomas Stanley's "The Millionaire Mind" and "The Millionaire Next Door." Even down to the chapters. Bach even goes and talks about "Big hat, no cattle types," which is the exact wording Stanley uses in his books to describe people who have an appearance of being rich but in reality have no wealth or are in debt. Perhaps you could consider bach having a big hat because of his numerous radio/tv appearances, but his writing contains no cattle. If you want a good book on wealth building, read one of Stanley's millionaire books. They have much more information and they are much better investments. mike@mikepollock.com
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Summary: Good Read for Anyone Who Needs a Reminder
Review: Okay, so maybe you KNOW what you should be doing to repair or improve your finances. But then you think: it's too simple; how can putting aside money for myself first possibly get me on a better financial path? This book reminds you that sometimes a single, common-sense step is what it takes to help you continue (or start) your journey to financial security. That reminder alone is worth the price of admission for David Bach's latest book. Granted, there is NOT a lot new here. But the longest journey begins with a single step, and all that. So if you need a reminder about what you should be doing financially, you'll find it here. Reviewer: Linda Painchaud
Rating:
Summary: For Beginners only
Review: As one reviewer pointed out - Nothing new here. For those of you who haven't started saving or haven't got a clue where to begin, this book is for you. For those of us already using the common sense tips in the book, keep looking elsewhere. A day late and a dollar short still looking for the money.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore that nameless top 1,000 reviewer...great book
Review: It seems that some shills have now switched to remaining nameless. They may as well be because there opinions are worthless. This is a great book for anyone who is seriously interested in building and keeping wealth. Amazon, do you have any idea how much money this guy is costing you?
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