Monday, July 30, 2012

Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey

     I stated as the purpose of this blog that I was going to look at books that I thought were important. I didn't state that they were all going to have the copyright of the present year.
    This is a book worth revisiting. In fact, Dave Ramsey even has now put his seminars on video tape for organizations that want to buy the program and go through the nine weeks, now it is nine weeks, it used to be thirteen.
    The essence of the program is here.
     Ramsey takes you through the program in twenty two chapters and an appendix. The appendix has the paper work you will need to do to follow the program.
     You start with the budget. You should be aware of where your money is going. You need to know where you are to start with and just how much you are going to allocate to each area. He also suggests you use an envelope system where you label each envelope (Food, Gas, Education, etc) and put money in each. When you need food money look in the food envelope. When it is all gone you can spend no more on food.
     When he takes about savings I wonder what he is looking at. He seems to think you can put away money in an account giving you 12% return. I don't know of any bank that is giving 12% interest on my savings. Maybe .01%
      He does that in his seminars also.. saying if you put away money in a saving account that yields 12% over time you can make x amount over time. In this I feel he is a bit out of touch. But if he is using exaggeration to make a point, than that is different.
      Ramsey wants to help people and I think this is a good addition to the genre of financial planning. I would recommend this for all.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Reunited by Pamela Slaton with Samantha Marshall

  Have you ever wondered just what a person who is looking for their birthparents is going through?
  Pamela Slaton is the person to ask. She is an adoptee as well as one of the people who makes a living looking and locating the birthparents.
   They first must want to be found. Some of the stories in here  are just that way. Some birthparents don't want to be found. Others are looking but don't know what to do.  Slaton tells both stories.
    I found this book to be very informative. There is a lot you don't know about the process. Some adoptees want to keep it quiet. Others actively seek. Some hide it because it is a family secret. Some just want to forget it happened. But for those who seek and find there is a form of completeness achieved.
    I recommend this book for everyone.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Jackson-The Iron Willed Commander by Paul Vickery

Jackson          For people who like history, especially history that covers the early days of our nation , this study of one of our great leaders should satisfy.
            Andrew Jackson was truly a man of the land. He could be said to be a self-made man. That term is overused, I realize, yet Jackson did build upon his reputation. He was a strong military leader, known as Old Hickory , a superior court judge, and Indian fighter, a congressman, a senator and finally our seventh president. All through life he carried two bullets in his body.
            He was a mans’ man. He could be rough but fair. Compassionate but not a  milk toast. People wanted to follow him. He was  a leader.
            I enjoy history especially American history. I found this to be an interesting study of a man who molded the America we have today. The emphasize is on the journey of Andrew Jackson more than on the destination. Only one chapter is on the presidency. Then rest is on the formation of the man.
Vickery does a good job of research and has an easy to read style of writing. I would recommend this book for collateral reading in middle school.
 I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own and don’t reflect the views of the publisher. I am disclosing this in accordance with  the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR  Part 255. .