Web Stuff and Whatnot

Confessions of a Street Addict, by James J. Cramer: This is not a how-to investing book, but more along the lines of an autobiography, pertaining mostly to Jim Cramer’s investment career. The story begins with his childhood fascination with stocks and their quotes in the newspaper. Cramer then tries his hand at journalism and law school, but he always had that inner desire to be picking stocks and knew that’s where he needed to be. It was quite amazing to me to see that times were rough before Jim finally made his investment career successful and he actually lived out of his car for a while as a struggling journalist. Once landing in law school he made some shrewd investments that paid his way.

The rest of the book is the progression of Cramer from broker to hedge fund manager to ‘retirement’. If you love investing and you love the stock market, this book is a must read. If you are looking for tips on how to pick stocks, you should read Jim Cramer’s Real Money instead. As someone who has been fascinated with stocks and the market since about the 6th grade, I loved the inside look at the hedge fund business and read this book cover to cover in just a few days.

Financial Peace, by Dave Ramsey: I read this book for the second time recently, and I once again find myself excited and focused on cutting expenses, paying off debt, and taking control of my financial life. This book is absolutely a must-read if you find yourself living beyond your means.

Dave does an excellent job of making this a simple process- spend less money than you make! Yes, really. It is possible and it will change your life. I didn’t understand how crazy it is to take on debt (any kind of debt is an enemy of your wealth) until I read this book. You really have no financial security or peace until you pay off your debts, even your mortgage.

Of course there is no magic solution, only hard work and discipline will solve your debt problem. Dave has a simple approach for attacking debt- start by paying off your smallest debts first, putting any extra money you can toward the smallest debt. Once you have knocked out the first, move on to the next and so on until you have eventually paid off everything including your mortgage. Certainly this is a long term plan, but the prospect of having no extra payments, not even a mortgage payment, is quite exciting if you think about it.

Another important part of this plan is saving money. One of the first steps you need to take, assuming you have little or no savings as most Americans tend to not have, is to fund an emergency fun savings account. Dave recommends starting with $1,000, the purpose of this account being to get you through an unexpected financial emergency without relying on a credit card. Your next savings goal is to have 3-6 months of living expenses saved.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is feels the need to take control of their finances. It is easy to read and the advice is easy to follow. Dave also has a radio show and podcast available, both of which are good sources of free advice that you can take advantage of right now on his website, www.daveramsey.com.

My wife and I are now working on implementing the Financial Peace plan in our lives and we can already see many differences. We used to spend money on so many things that are just so unnecessary. Cutting out some things that you don’t need, and truly won’t even miss, can be enough to take down some small debts right away and get you off to a good start. We are now living on a budget and already feeling much more in control of our financial lives. I hope this book and Dave’s advice can help you too!