Book Description
Do you have too much month at the end of your money? Is your credit card screaming for relief? Are you tired of robbing Peter to pay Paul . . . whoever they are?
Meet Steve and Annette Economides. They’ve been called cheapskates, thriftaholics, and tightwads, but in these tough economic times, Steve and Annette have managed to feed their family of seven on just $350 per month, pay off their first house in nine years and purchase a second, larger home, buy cars with cash, take wonderful vacations, and put money in savings. Without degrees in finance or six-figure salaries, Steve and Annette have created a comfortable, debt-free life for themselves and their children. In
America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money, they show you how they did it- and how you can do it too.
Steve and Annette share many down-to-earth principles and the simple spending plan that they have used since 1982. They have taught this economizing lifestyle to thousands of people worldwide through seminars and their newsletter, and they include lots of real-life stories to make you feel as if you’re having your own private coaching session. Not only will you find solutions to your financial dilemmas, you’ll also discover a whole new way of life.
You don’t need to be a CPA or a math wizard to learn their revolutionary system, which will teach you:
- hundreds of ways to save money on everyday household expenses, including groceries, clothing, and health care
- how to save in advance for major purchases such as homes, cars, and vacations
- how to stop living paycheck to paycheck
- how to eliminate debt . . . forever!
America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money puts meeting your financial goals- and living well at the same time- in reach for every family.
Customer Reviews:
Wow.......2007-10-18
Not only is this a great book, but I really admire this family. There is so much useful information in this book, if it doesn't apply to you, it will give you ideas. For instance, I have no storage space in my small apartment, so it is impossible for me to shop a month at a time. I adapted their advice to plan ahead only for two weeks, which I have enough storage space for. Thank you for writing such a great book.
Love the style of this book.......2007-10-18
America's Cheapest Family is a catchy title, & is written in an engaging conversational style. I especially enjoyed the paragraphs occasionally provided by the kids. A refreshing change from other books, to have their point of view included. The ideas presented are solid, & I like the 3 different "levels" at the end of each chapter. You don't feel like a failure if you can't quite reach to such an extreme level. The stories are endearing, especially about their long vacation. There will be something for everyone to learn in this book. An amazing family.
Practical ideas for frugal living.......2007-10-10
I loved this book! I read it cover to cover and have implememted great money saving techniques into my lifestyle. I feel I am already somewhat frugal, but this book gave me great ways to teach my children and to have an even more detailed budget. I ahve implemented some of the tips to save on groceries and am so pleased! I not only am saving money but also valuable time! I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for practical money saving tips already put to the test!
It's worth reading.......2007-10-02
I'm a pretty good cheapskate myself so some of these ideas were not new to me. However, even though some of their ideas were so draconian I would never personally do them, it was interesting to read and I got a few ideas from them. I checked the book out of the library instead of buying it, proving another way to be frugal.
The budget that set us free.......2007-09-10
I read this book when my family was spiraling into financial doom. We were spending $250-350 MORE than we were earning--per month. We were looking into selling our home and only car because we couldn't afford our lifestyle. And we were totally sinking in debt.
Then I read AMERICA'S CHEAPEST FAMILY and decided to try the budget outlined in the book. It took me many hours of work at first to figure out all our expenses & debts, but it was so exciting when it started to come together. My husband and I were elated because we finally knew what was wrong with our finances. Before we put everything on paper using their worksheet, we couldn't pinpoint exactly why & how we had lost control. Once we finished listing our costs, our overspending was clear and we knew we could change it.
We've been doing this budget for 5 months now. We're now spending less than we earn. We have money set aside ahead of time for all our bills, even the big ones like car insurance. And I no longer have to pay with the payment plans--I pay the entire bill at once. We've got a now-thriving savings account too. We even pay a little extra for our mortgage each month. And we've also got money set aside for Christmas & birthdays, so we can splurge and have no credit card debt.
The one thing we do differently from the Economides' is that I pay all of our bills automatically (and free) online. It's way easier than checkbooks and you save on stamps and grief.
Utilizing their budget system saved our family. We still own our home and car and I am so grateful. Our son can still play in our yard, which means everything to me. I could see how this budget could be too much for some people... however I actually enjoy the time I spend on it. Seriously, it's all good news now! It's also our plan for the future.
This budget set us free. I never thought I'd ever say that, because you always hear how budgets restrict you, but for us it's the opposite. Now we have financial freedom.
Book Description
This expert, one-of-a-kind handbook shows you how to:
- Ensure that your inheritance instructions will he carried out -- the way you want them to be
- Protect your child's inheritance from creditors, ex-spouses, addictions, tax troubles, mismanagement, squandering, and other risks of loss
- Prevent family conflict that can arise when parents die and children divide the "family money"
- Leave more money to your children and grandchildren, and less to the IRS -- and understand the hidden cost of a "death tax" repeal
Customer Reviews:
Lots of mini-cases; Easy to read.......2007-09-28
Only estate book I've seen written in an easy-to-read, mini-case-study format. Very practical and thought-provoking advice. Tends to focus on little worst-case scenarios in an attempt to get people to plan properly for all the things that can go wrong in an estate.
For what it's worth, I thought the book was generally best-suited for estates with $100,000 to about $2,000,000 in assets. Don't get me wrong, there's something in here for all estate sizes - especially for people just starting the process of developing a plan. However, don't buy this book looking for technical discussions of advanced tax-minimizing strategies. If you or your clients have estates over this $2MM mark, this book can be a great thought-provoker, but some of the advice isn't really suitable for larger estates.
Do right by your kids...get this book.......2007-03-15
I have several estate planning books...the "how to" type and they are great. This is the book you need to read before you start filling in the blanks. I wish my parents had read this book. It would have saved my family relationships. This book gives you the basic information you need before drawing up your trust. Protect your beneficiaries and prevent family conflict by reading this book!
So good I bought 4 extra copies for friends.......2007-01-19
Estate planning is so important if you don't want your son in law running off with half your estate in the event of your kid's divorce. This book was a great asset to me ... and a real eyeopener as to what can happen at the reading of your will if you haven't equalized everything. the author even gives you his phone number that readers can call and ask questions free. The book is so good I bought 4 extra copies for friends.
Ditto of "janimac's on April 11, 2006".......2006-12-28
As strange as this may sound, my review is identical to janimac's on April 11, 2006 (except I merely *told* 3 friends about it).
The answer to my prayers.......2006-04-12
What a relief!!! I finally found a book that would help me help my parent plan their estate! Thank you so much for your wonderful, easy to read book. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down! This book has practical, real world examples of inheritance planning issues and considers the "human" side of inheritances. It's a must read if you need to do estate planning. I just came back and bought three copies to give to my friends. It's the best gift I could possibly give them!
Average customer rating:
- PRIVACY CRISIS is an exceptional privacy reference tool. A must read for 2007.
- PRIVACY CRISIS provides information on banking secrecy in the U.S.A.
- Worth a Hundred Times the Price
- A timely guide to preventing stalking and identity theft
- A Must-read for Privacy-conscious Americans!
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Privacy Crisis: Identity Theft Prevention Plan and Guide to Anonymous Living
Grant Hall
Manufacturer: James Clark King, LLC
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Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life (Revised Edition)
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Protect Your Privacy: How to Protect Your Identity as well as Your Financial, Personal, and Computer Records in an Age of Constant Surveillance (Outwitting)
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Stealing Your Life: The Ultimate Identity Theft Prevention Plan
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Bulletproof Privacy: How to Live Hidden, Happy and Free!
ASIN: 0978657306
Release Date: 2006-12-01 |
Product Description
Privacy Crisis? Easy to believe if you ve ever had your identity stolen (America s fastest-growing crime). Or if you ve ever had snoops rifling through your credit files, hackers stealing your most personal computer information, or investigators trying to track you down for something you never did. To say nothing of being hunted by an obsessive stalker, discovering your phones are subject to government wiretaps, that your e-mail is being monitored, or that you re the target of scam and con artists. Your identity, your personal life, is your business and no one should be invading it without your permission. If you want to protect your personal privacy and freedom, this book can tell you exactly how to do it. Threats to privacy are growing rapidly. In the name of security, government intrusions into personal privacy are unprecedented and will only increase. Meanwhile, common criminals are finding, in identity theft, their own personal gold mine. Banks and merchants pry ever more deeply into your personal affairs before they will do business with you. Don t be a victim. Don t be a doormat. Protect yourself. Take back your personal freedom. This book is your guide.
Customer Reviews:
PRIVACY CRISIS is an exceptional privacy reference tool. A must read for 2007........2007-04-12
PRIVACY CRISIS was written by an author who has proved that through diligence, effort and a working knowledge of the system, one can have privacy in their life.
Grant Hall has opened new doors for those of us who previously believed that the road to financial privacy must be traveled by transferring assets to offshore 'havens' in an attempt to control our assets. In fact, Hall uses business resources that cater to the privacy seeker combined with knowledge of the financial system and negotiating skills to keep bank and brokerage funds hidden from those who may want to find them. Hall recommends using a company that rents safe deposit boxes without identification, tax i.d. or Social Security numbers-not even a name for those who want total secrecy. There's examples of cashing checks that leave no trail to the payee. Hold assets and property in total secrecy. These methods were eye openers for me.
I liken this book to an information enemy to the powers that want to control freedom loving Americans. Those who choose to become invisible to identity thieves, stalkers, private eyes can do it by practicing Hall's principles in PRIVACY CRISIS.
This is the best book on the subject I have read and I highly recommend it to those who desire personal privacy.
PRIVACY CRISIS provides information on banking secrecy in the U.S.A........2007-03-22
I have completed Privacy Crisis and this book answered many questions about privacy and the challenges we face today.
Grant Hall has covered all of the important money privacy issues and it is possible to make your assets and money disappear through the application of the principles outlined in the book. And this can be done in the U.S.A. What a break from the other authors who guide readers toward offshore banks and advise giving control to others.
I appreciate the attention to detail. Obviously, Hall has walked where other privacy writers have never gone. I would highly recommend this book to those who fear their bank accounts will be stolen or seized by government agencies or others. Thorough, complete and worth the money many times over, Privacy Crisis will become a big deal in the arena of Privacy Reference books.
This book may be the greatest investment a person could make to escape the threats of stalkers, identity thieves or others who wish you harm.
Buy this book.
Worth a Hundred Times the Price.......2007-03-02
Personal privacy is under siege these days. Mine was first invaded when cyber-crooks drained my checking account in a single day. If you don't take steps to protect yours, it too will go up in smoke. For you, maybe it's when an obsessed former spouse or fan starts stalking you. Or the government--claiming "national security"--begins wiretapping your phone. Maybe it's when your employer snoops on all your emails, a gumshoe rifles through your credit files, or you have to supply your most personal information just to open a checking account or buy a home.
You don't have to give up your God-given privacy. Believe me, this book will tell you everything you'll ever need to know about how to protect it--whether in just one area, or an entirely anonymous lifestyle. This author knows his stuff. He's practiced everything he writes about. So his book is far in advance of other privacy books that just recycle armchair theories or even worse, suggest you do things that are outright illegal.
Protect your identity. Protect the privacy of your home and business transactions--your computer, phone, mail, travel, bank account, stored items, credit files, hard assets, and investments. One invasion of your privacy will cost you ten or a hundred times the price of this one-of-a-kind book.
I wish I'd known about it before they emptied my bank account.
A timely guide to preventing stalking and identity theft.......2007-01-26
During this era of skyrocketing identity theft crimes, violence and death to innocent victims by stalkers, and government's tracking and monitoring of citizens' business, money and communication, Americans are seeking privacy for personal security and survival. Grant Hall writes on how to live an anonymous lifestyle in his new book, Privacy Crisis: Identity Theft Prevention Plan and Guide to Anonymous Living. And he should know. He used a non-traditional 'defense' to avoid a civil court case by disappearing for four years. A number of privacy tactics outlined in Privacy Crisis belong to Hall. I have never seen these in print-and I began reading privacy books prior to the publication of W.G. Hill's first PT book. Privacy Crisis may be the best book of its kind ever written.
According to Hall, privacy living is the answer to preventing identity theft. One can escape from a stalker or disappear-for any reason by using the information in Privacy Crisis. Alternate identification, renting and owning a home in secrecy, driving and working under the radar and establishing a clandestine communication and computer system are covered in detail. This book is thorough and complete and cites case histories and challenges the author of 'How to be Invisible' on the use of nominees.
Hall provides insight on anonymous banking, cashing checks privately, alternate name debit cards and provides a resource for obtaining a safe deposit box requiring no name or Social Security number. There's information on how to keep investments, property and businesses a secret. All of this can be accomplished in the U.S.A. of all places-a welcome change from the many books offering unrealistic, inconvenient, expensive, offshore remedies for domestic privacy problems.
A Must-read for Privacy-conscious Americans!.......2007-01-14
It goes without saying that personal privacy is a rare commodity in America today. Identity theft has become the country's fastest growing crime. Con artists relentlessly target us while greedy lawyers and vengeful ex-spouses threaten to drain our bank accounts and assets. Our personal computers have become open doors into the most discreet corners of our lives. And that doesn't begin to address threats to our privacy from the government, eavesdropping employers, nosey snoops with hidden agendas, eavesdropping employers, and increasingly intrusive marketing-crazed companies.
Privacy Crisis is easily one of the best books on privacy ever written. Through his eye-opening inside perspective, as someone who evaded private investigators and attorneys for four years by living "below the radar," Grant Hall has brought us an authoritative how-to guide for the average American who wants to protect his or her privacy on an practical level. Far superior to the many theory-laden books on privacy, Privacy Crisis is a revealing step-by-step manual written by someone who has walked the walk. This book is required reading for anyone concerned about their personal and financial privacy in an ever-threatening society.
Phillip Townsend
International Consultant and Privacy Expert
Book Description
No More Monday Morning Blues...
You're about to be liberated! Here is the book you've been waiting for-a-step-by-step guide to finding the "work" that expresses and fulfills your needs, talents, and passions. Using dozens of real-life examples, Marsha Sinetar shows you how to overcome your fears, take the little risks that make big risks possible, and become a person whose work means self-expression, growth, and love!
Discover how to:
Tune into your inner world and your unique talents
Evaluate and build your self-esteem--the three key questions to ask yourself
Banish your outmoded network of "shoulds "
Deal with the Big R--resistance
Liberate yourself from an unfulfilling job...and much more!
Discover how to tune in to your inner world and your unique talents; evaluate and build your self-esteem, banish your out-moded network of "shoulds" and liberate yourself from an unfulfilling job with this step-by-step guide to finding work that satisfies your passions. -->
Customer Reviews:
what is this book really about??????.......2007-05-13
This book harps on a persons' upbringing and if there was enough encouragement, enthusiam and confidence given as a child... The author feels based on the manner in which the person was raised is relevant to their success...I kept reading ( painfully ) because I was sure somewhere there would be something relevant to the title. Reading this book was like a therapy session , that I did not request..
Misleading title.......2007-04-16
I gave this book two stars not because of the writing, but because the title is misleading. If you're looking for courage to quit your high-paying but soulless job for more soulful work--and maintain your standard of living--this book won't deliver.
Perhaps a better title would be DO WHAT YOU LOVE, THE MONEY WON'T MATTER. That would set a reader's expectations more in line with the book's message. The cases in the book were not monetarily successful. However, they show that if you follow your heart, the money won't matter. The things that money can buy when working a soulless career, such as vacations, clothes, cars, and so on lose their appeal as a reward, because what you DO is the reward. You no longer need what money can buy because you have what money can't buy: love.
More than just a Career book!.......2007-02-20
I simply loved this book! It motivated me greatly on a daily basis and I couldn't wait to continue reading it. I felt so positive and good about my quest.
Even though it was written a while ago, it still has much relevance today. If you think this is just another career book, you are severely mistaken.
There is so much psychology packed into it, in an accessable language. It truly is "food for thought" and makes you think about what your priorities in life are.
Highly recommended. Feel good factor!
Great Book.......2007-01-09
This is an inspirational and motivating book. Highly recommended for anyone considering a career change or to revitalize your career goals.
Essential book to have.......2006-08-27
This book WILL absolutely help any person find their way. It gives career advice and great life advice. It is a wonderful gift for anyone who feels stuck in their current job and anyone who is ready to branch out. EXCELLENT BOOK! EXCELLENT AUTHOR!
Customer Reviews:
The easiest to read, most comprehensive debt book ever.......2007-05-07
I bought three debt books the last time I was at Amazon. They were all good, but this was the most comprehensive in easy to read format and sentences that it made things easy to develop a plan from this book. I already passed it on to two other people.
great information - but use with caution.......2006-12-14
This book is full of great information on high to prioritize your financial life in terms of debt reduction, retirement saving and other saving. But the advice assumes the reader has a fair amount of discipline (i.e., ability to budget and constrain extraneous spending). The book goes into great detail on how to balance debt reduction with maintaining financial flexibility, maintaining good FICO scores, etc. But far too many people who are deeply in debt (and seeking help from books like this) have a spending habit that needs more drastic surgery than this book gives. So, I would say this book gives outstanding advice, but only for a subset of the public who have the right discipline. For many folks, the more drastic "surgery" advocated by cheerleaders like Dave Ramsey will be more effective.
Thorough unbaised advice.......2006-02-03
I have known Liz Weston for years as a journalist and have always found her to be very thorough and no-nonsense. This book is no exception. It's well researched with unbaised and sensible strategies for dealing with debt. I had the opportunity to interview Liz on my internet radio show EverydayWealthRadio recently about the book and she clearly has great advice on this topic. She addresses things like 401k loan, pros and cons of different types of debt, and the common questions I hear from consumers,
Average customer rating:
- A very good book overall on personal finance
- Conversational Economics 301
- Very Informative
- Human Finance At Last !
- Pleasing and Easy To Understand
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Right on the Money!: Taking Control of Your Personal Finances
Chris Farrell
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Personal Finance
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0812992598
Release Date: 2000-06-13 |
Book Description
People want to know more about money--their own money. As a new century dawns, with countless new ways to manage money and spend it, Chris Farrell provides what is most needed: reliable and up-to-the-minute information on personal finance.
In the tradition of the great "how-to" series on public television,
Right on the Money offers a practical, hands-on approach to making savvy financial decisions. In each chapter, finance expert Chris Farrell visits an individual or family facing a financial crossroads in their lives and, aided by a team of street-smart experts, helps them take control of their finances. From setting up a budget to saving for retirement, Right on the Money not only gives readers the knowledge and tools they need, but also shows how to make informed decisions among the options at hand. Subjects discussed include balancing love and money, investment, the stock market, dealing with credit card debt, buying a car, buying a home, creating a household budget, and paying for college. Informative and fun, with a "roll-up-your-sleeves-and-solve-the-problem" attitude, Right on the Money is destined to become a new classic of personal finance.
Customer Reviews:
A very good book overall on personal finance.......2004-03-11
A very good down-to-earth book that readers can immediately start putting to good use.
Conversational Economics 301.......2000-11-01
For those of us who have gotten to know Chris Farrell on "Right On The Money", this book is a long awaited and welcomed companion to his public television show. A great introduction to those not familiar with his warm style. Good reading;great information.
Very Informative.......2000-06-20
For a young man who does not know much about personal finances, this book has been great. It told me all the things that everyone is supposed to know, but I didn't. I am young and inexpierienced in handling my finances, and this book appealed to me because I do not think it was written to appeal to the know it all Wall Street audience. This book is already helping me get my finances together, and hopefully will see more from Chris Farrell in the future.
Human Finance At Last !.......2000-06-20
I totally disagree with these other reviewers. This book puts the "personal" back in personal finance. Other books are like automotive manuals - look up the problem and find the answer. This book has great narrative and puts a human face on the problem
Pleasing and Easy To Understand.......2000-06-20
The book "Right On The Money" is a very informative book on controlling your personal finances. Finally a writer does not assume everyone has all the knowledge needed to set up your finances. If you are a middle class person this is an excellent book that is helping get my finances together.
Book Description
Meat Market elevates the debate over animal agriculture. Erik Marcus exposes and clears away the exaggerated claims and counterclaims put forth by the meat industry and its opponents. In the process, Marcus presents a thorough examination of animal agriculture'ss cruelties and its far-reaching social costs. Marcus then considers the discouraging progress made by the animal protection movement. He evaluates where the movement has gone wrong, and how its shortcomings could best be remedied.
Customer Reviews:
An invaluable addition to vegan literature.......2007-08-20
In the 1990s, frustrated by the lack of literature in the vegan movement, animal advocate and former technical writer Erik Marcus turned his communications skills to creating books and other material that vegans and non-vegans alike would find accessible and informative. His first book, the groundbreaking Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating, introduced many readers to a new kind of activist writing: prose that makes its case without overt emotional appeals - the facts eloquently speak for themselves. "Vegan" showed that Marcus didn't mind challenging some of the movement's cherished tenets. The book was well received, regarded by many critics as on par with the work of John Robbins, and has become an indispensable guide to vegan living.
Among the few critical remarks reviewers offered of "Vegan" was that Marcus could have gone into greater depth on how meat production strains the environment and natural resources. Rather than simply an oversight, perhaps that was in keeping with the author's broader philosophy, which becomes clear in his latest book, "Meat Market: Animals, Ethics and Money." This is a powerful indictment of factory farming, examining the abuses perpetrated by corporate agriculture, but Marcus also offers his assessment of how the animal protection movement can claim victory - and the good news is his proposal makes sense.
The book is organized into three main sections, beginning with an exploration of how the mega-corporations that rule the agriculture industry have created many of their own problems - and, by extension, misery for animals - by striving for consolidation and economic restructuring. When we read of agriculture's often-ridiculous assertions (the beef industry, for example, claims that it cares about animal welfare, yet it persists in rejecting animal welfare reforms), we have to wonder how factory farms can even stay in business. They do so, says Marcus, by maintaining an efficiency that disregards many of the basic needs of farmed animals and, ultimately, by keeping their cruel conduct out of public view. "Meat Market" will likely bring the compassionate reader, perhaps uninitiated in the methods of intensive animal confinement, to an emotional crossroads. Of course, this is the book's ideal audience: those flexitarian and ethically minded diners most likely to fully embrace a vegetarian or even vegan lifestyle, if only they were confronted with the compelling documentation found in a book like this one, which presents the cold facts of modern agribusiness.
And what cold facts they are. Even for those familiar with the horrors of factory farming, "Meat Marke"t is at times a distressing exposé of what those in industrialized agriculture euphemistically call "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations." Marcus invites readers to witness the brief, tortured lives of animals raised for food. We meet cattle who are butchered while still alive because the slaughterhouse line must not be interrupted; barely hatched male chicks who are cast into grinders, also alive, because they have no value (male chicks grow too slowly and don't lay eggs); and pigs who die from respiratory ailments because the air inside pig sheds is so fouled with contaminants. Many readers will be familiar with these tragic practices, but there are surprises for the engaged advocate, too, such as Marcus' assertion that consuming eggs contributes more to animal suffering than consuming meat products. This is an example of the author's unconventional thinking - he boldly offers new perspectives on accepted wisdom - and is one reason Marcus' work is such an important contribution to animal advocacy. (Indeed, a 2000 poll conducted by thevegetariansite.com ranked Erik Marcus as one of the most influential people in the vegan movement, placing him in the company of such activists as Peter Singer and Ingrid Newkirk.)
Although his latest book shares some similarities with "Vegan" - both cover the latest information on vegan advocacy, for example - "Meat Market" goes beyond the popular three-pronged argument for veganism, which says that a plant-based diet is good for our health, the environment and the animals. Put another way, if "Vegan" can be compared with Diet for a New America, then "Meat Market" could be the "Uncle Tom's Cabin" of the 21st century. While Marcus isn't the first writer to suggest that the struggle to end animal exploitation is similar to the abolitionist movement, he recommends in Part Two that animal protectionists learn from anti-slavery proponents and focus their attention on the evils of factory farming. Abolitionists recognized that 19th-century America was not ready for racial equality, but most Americans could agree that slavery was abhorrent. The lesson for the animal welfare movement, according to Marcus, is to avoid debates about veganism being good for the planet or our bodies and instead invest the full force of its energy into the position that factory farming, like slavery, is inherently evil. He also cautions against diluting the animal welfare issue with arguments pertaining to hunting, medical research or companion animals, since such discussion shifts attention away from farmed animals and allows the animal agriculture industry to win a wider share of public opinion.
A change in policy, Marcus believes, would lead to the dismantling of animal agriculture. This is a startling premise, and the author devotes much of the middle section to defining a new movement to finally liberate animals from factory farming. "The surest way to eliminate animal agriculture's cruelties is to seek to eliminate animal agriculture itself," he writes. "To accomplish this, we need a new movement expressly designed to go on the offensive, with the purpose of ushering animal agriculture out of existence."
It's in this second section that "Meat Market" truly excels. The writing is cogent and immensely readable, and his insights should appeal to anyone interested in animal advocacy. It is exciting to read a book that introduces fresh ideas to frustrating struggles, and I felt like a kid reading the latest Harry Potter story, devouring page after page of hopeful recommendations. Marcus' proposed movement might not seem radical on paper, but it would call for a paradigm shift that most activists are probably not prepared for. He also makes a tenable argument against militancy (destroying property in the name of animal welfare).
The final third of "Meat Market" consists of a wealth of supplementary material: eight activist essays and nine appendices covering the most fundamental arguments in favor of a plant-based diet. The essay writing varies in quality, but the activists, who range from a retiree to an MD, offer some sound advice for aspiring advocates and demonstrate that anyone can be involved in vegan outreach, something Marcus considers critical to bringing down factory farming.
The appendices, meanwhile, cover some familiar ground, starting with the health and environmental consequences of eating meat. But there's additional material that, while not part of Marcus' main proposition, nonetheless supports vegan ethics and will come in very handy should you find yourself having to defend the activist position on hunting, selective breeding, animal testing or the meatpacking industry, still one of the most hazardous in the country. The author concludes with a recommended reading list and an extensive collection of explanatory endnotes that add a significant layer of texture to his well-woven polemic. Meticulously researched and devoid of lectures, "Meat Market: Animals, Ethics and Money" is an invaluable addition to vegan literature.
Mark Hawthorne, author of Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism
Difficult Topic.......2007-07-31
The author knows his stuff and is well informed on the economics of the situation. A very good read for animal rights activists.
A Thoughtful Wake-up Call.......2007-03-09
Eric Marcus has been able to capture in a thoughtful and well-researched work the often extreme (and always inhumane) treatment of animals in modern factory farming. His writing is clear, to the point, and persuasive.
This book, in conjuction with his regular Erik's Diner podcasts, are a great place to begin to explore our relationships with food, animals and industry.
Meat Market is a must read!.......2007-01-12
I've given Meat Market as a present to many people and its been consistantly praised as a life-changing read. I encourage everyone to purchase this book and pass it on to the next person. You'll never regret it!
great book for activism.......2006-12-13
When i frist became a vegan a friend of mine gave me this book and that got me started into activism. Erik Marcus really lays it out and tells it how it is which no sugar coating, i was horrified and amazed at what people can do though. I also let a friend read this book and it changed her life too, she became a vegan and now me and her are active activist for animal rights.
Book Description
Every Rental Property Manager's Complete Handbook
How would you like to own multiple rental properties, make money from them, and have lots of spare time in this typically high-maintenance business? You can! Although many property managers lose more money each year on maintenance or long vacancies than they make in profit, with the right management system and some business savvy, you can rent out a house or condominium and still have enough time to enjoy your growing profits—or purchase more properties!
Greg Perry shows you how! With more than 40 of his own properties, he has created a foolproof system for rental management that has turned his rental business into a virtual turnkey operation. And now, in this revised edition of his book, he shows you step by step how you can profit from and enjoy managing your rental properties.
Inside, you'll learn valuable money-saving tips, such as how to:
·Market your property to attract droves of prospective tenants
·Keep good tenants happy and get rid of bad tenants
·Save a fortune on renovations, advertising, and other expenses
·Buy new properties and turn them into the most attractive houses on the block
·Use the Internet to market your rentals
·Choose the right insurance and prepare your taxes
·Plus much, much more!
Also included are up-to-date samples of leases, rental applications, eviction notices, and other important documents you can copy and customize.
“Real estate investors as well as professional property managers can profit from following Perry's practical advice."—
San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle
“On a scale of 1 to 10, this excellent book rates a 10!"—
Chicago Tribune
Customer Reviews:
Managing Rental Properties for Maximum Profit, Revised 3rd Edition: Save Time and Money with Greg Perry's Foolproof System for: .......2006-10-07
Very informative book on how to manage and increase your property's cash flow with realalistic approaches. Well worth the money and time reading
For beginners without rentals only!.......2005-07-10
Rating for beginners: 4
Rating for others: 3
This author goes through the motions on what you can expect from running a rental property. As the title indicates, his focus is on maximizing profits. Of course, the tradeoff is greater time outlay on the landlord's part.
If you're just starting to consider landlording and don't own any properties, this book isn't a bad starting point but much of it is common sense.
A better addition to your library would be "Property Management for Dummies". It is more complete and a great source for all levels of landlords (newbies on up). The Dummies' author, Robert S. Griswold, covers all the subject matter in Perry's book plus insurance, evictions, and other lawsuits in greater detail with more graphs and charts to illustrate the author's points.
A Beginners Guide to Rental Management.......2004-10-07
This book is good for those who have very limited experience in managing rental properties. It's main focus seemed to be on managing time and for those of you who don't know the secret I will let you in on it. Excellent Tenants = Minimal Time. It's finding and keeping the excellent tenants that require some time. This book goes into detail about how to do just that. If you are a struggling landlord or a complete newbie than this book is for you.
However, if you have some experience in this area, or are an effective manager outside of rental properties you will probably be an effective rental manager. Other things to consider is that Mr. Perry seems to specialize in very low cost rentals so much of his ideas are drawn towards those crowds. For Example
Getting Tenants the book says advertising the local newspaper is the best, it does work but for higher cost rentals I average about 70% of new tenants from the internet.
Dishwashers and Garbage Dispoals - you might be able to get away without them in cheap units, but try renting a unit at 1500 a month without them - it just wouldn't work.
Wainscot - Again nice idea for those low income units, but most people look at wainscot as that cheap stuff you had on your vacation home when you grew up.
Electric Water Heaters - Keep gas if you have it already, electric heaters are always more problems and will cost more in the long run - gas is always easier and better. BTW, if you go to a plumbing wholesale warehouse (usually open only to licensed plumbers) the gas units are cheaper than electric.
When buying a home Mr. Perry seems to think that plumbing problems are easily fixed. Caveat Emptor - A person who bought a house that I passed on due to plumbing problems just spent $22,000 in getting it re-plumbed. From my experience I walk away from any house that 1) has foundation problems 2) has flooded recently 3) has major plumbing problems. I am highly suspicious of any house that has 1) Roof Problems 2) Electrical problems.
Things not mentioned that might help you out.
Automatic Rent Payments - I have about 50% of my tenants on automatic rent payments. It's easy to set up (talk to your bank) and you get your money every month on the same day.
If you have more than 5 units I strongly urge you to look into incorporating. It limits you liability and there are positive tax reasons to do so. This book barley mentions corporations and in a slightly negative way too.
If you buy in the right area and market your unit accordingly it is very easy to get some long term leases written up. I have approximately 70% of my tenants on 3 year or longer lease agreements.
While mentioned I have had a great deal of success with Townhomes and Condos - just be aware that this is very AREA sensitive. The plus side to these is that you can be a truly hands off landlord. Write your rental agreements that the tenants agree to take care of all repairs inside including AC/Heat. The associations take care of everything outside and all you do is collect the rent. True your returns are not as high, but it is the simplest form of rental management that I know of. Also, if the townhome/condo is slightly upper scale you will find that your vacancy rates drop considerably. The shortest tenant I have ever had in a townhome/condo was 1 year with my average being around 6 years.
Anyhow, This book is good for the beginners, that is why I gave it 4 stars.
One Tip is Worth the Cost.......2004-03-05
You'll get MANY tips in this but the open house concept that Perry teaches is brilliant and one I'd never thought of.
The book just gets better for the struggling landlord (or landlady as Perry says). But for me, the first 2nd chapter changed my life as a landlord.
I needed only one answer.. and got much more!.......2004-03-03
We had a problem. We wanted to get rid of our rent house and get out of the business.
We looked through lots of books and settled on this and another one. The other turned out to be for more professional rent house owners.
This one spoke DIRECTLY TO US.
We were surprised at how this author seemed to be talking directly to us, in a manner that a friend would do. He told US advice, not just on how to sell our rent house but how to make it work if we kept it. We decided to give it another round of tenants but ony if we followed the advice in these pages. Much of it, such as the open house concept that we'd only thought applied to houses for sale, dramatically worked to change EVERYTHING about rent houses for the better! We now love being rent house investors and we are looking for more properties. If this book had cost twice as mich, it would be worth only a fraction of its value even then. I strongly encourage you to read this if you really dislike being a landlord.
Amazon.com
Can you really make money in collectible coins? And can you make it *right now* -- not after holding them for a decade or more? Scott Travers, an international coin dealer and author of four previous books on the investment/hobby, believes you can. In
How To Make Money in Coins Right Now: The Ultimate Insider's Guide to the Coin Market, he dispels the myths and whispers the secrets that improve your odds in this potentially lucrative marketplace.
Book Description
THE COIN FIELD'S TOP INSIDER OFFERS THE SECRETS TO SUCCESS!
Consumer advocate Scott A. Travers blows the lid off the coin industry while telling you how to make huge profits from small coins. Completely overhauled for the new millennium, this prize-winning guide shows you how to:
* make the most of your on-line experiences by understanding the perils and pitfalls of Internet coin auctions
* outsmart the grading services with secrets that could make you a fortune
* understand coin pricing and identify coins to buy and sell right now
* use America's 50-state quarters promotions to your advantage
* save money with tax-slashing strategies
* negotiate deals like a professional insider
Includes a never-before-published, tell-all interview with a veteran dealer!
Customer Reviews:
Narrow and outdated........2007-03-08
While well-written, this book comprises of one theme throughout: cracking older PCGS graded coins and re-submitting them in the hope of a higher rating and a higher value. The book is very well detailed in this respect, but many of the older holders have long ago been cracked and re-submitted. Very little in other advice as far as making a profit.
Written by the professional.......2007-02-16
When you buy these kinds of books, you tend to expect some secret techniques of making money. Many books even manage to create the impression of telling you something previously undisclosed, until you try it and realise that it does not work.
This book is written by the professional in this field. Making money in coins is a business, and not such an exciting one, after all. There are a few ways of making a profit honestly (or almost honestly) in numismatics. And there is no guarantee of being succesful. Very sobering message, and this book gets it across well.
I learned a lot from this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in this business.
I tried it. It works........2005-07-30
I bought this book with the idea of picking up some investment coins, salting them away for a few years, and cashing out. While that may indeed work, it's not the essential theme of this book. After reading and thinking through some of the strategies, I became fascinated with the grading arbitrage game that is covered in great detail. Despite Travers' warnings about doing this online (and ebay specifically) I was able to parlay $600 into $1200 in about two months using ebay coin auctions. There is some risk involved and you absolutely must do your homework, but pretty much everything you need is discussed in this book. You can make your own price guide by using the resources on ebay; you will also need the self-discipline to not over-bid!
Interesting but not essential, lots of the usual suspects.......2003-07-12
Mr. Travers is a prolific author, to say the least. I seem to purchase a lot of his books even though I usually find myself thinking that the book at hand might have included more information, which is probably why I purchase a lot of Mr. Travers' books. I'm certain that this is no oversight from the man. Afterall, he makes his money by being meticulous in his own 'editorial' decisions, when looking at coins. I mention this because this book is not exxentially different from his coin 'survival guide.' In other words, you should buy one or the other but not both. In my mind, the biggest difference between the two books is that in the survival guide Mr. Travers discusses the changes in coin grading standards; a topic so esoteric that this info is going to be barely relevant to the overwhelming majority of collectors. In this book Mr. Travers includes a chapter of information that he tells the reader he has never disclosed in book form: The 'When To Sell' chapter. This chapter is useful, as most of Mr. Travers' advice is, but there is nothing really earth shattering in it, just good common sense advice, most of which can be parsed from the other book. To distill Mr. Travers' views in this book, he strongly holds the belief that money can be made by buying undergraded but encapsulated coins and submitting them for regrades, and also by spotting hidden gems amongst so-called raw coins that are out there whose charms are apparent to the keen-eyed and well-informed, i.e. Gather as much coin knowledge esoterica as possible, look carefully at coins for things that countless others have failed to see, and buy gold coins when the price of gold is down and you can hardly fail to make money. Oh, yes, and always go for quality! The one thing that I find to be of enormous help in both books is the excellent and comprehensive discussion of coin grades from AU 58 through MS 70 (and, in this volume a corresponding discussion of Proof coins). My problem with the capsule cracking scheme is that it seems like a mug's game. This view, by the way, is shared by the subjects of the interviews with a couple of coin world heavyweights which are included in this book. To sum up, any book by Mr. Travers is filled with helpful information, but this one has so much shared information with the survival guide that if you have one don't buy the other. If you don't have either, my bias is for this one.
TRAVERS IS A GENIUS!.......2000-07-17
but there is a catch. Yes I am following Traver's advice. I don't plan on making a cent for 6 months. In fact, I plan on being in the red! I loved coin collecting when I was a child. The title IS misleading. But I assume that this is what Western Civilation calls "marketing". I have many of this man's books and a CD. If you love coins...If you are not looking for a fast buck...If you are willing to study hard...If you are willing to follow graphs on the net...If you are willing to subscribe to weekly coin magazines...If you are willing to study different grading systems for evaluating coins - Then you can do it! As I will. Thank you Mr. Travers. You're a Godsend.
Customer Reviews:
Feel Good and do well doing the right thing!.......2007-02-19
This is a must read for anyone who feels they are just trying to get by. It also releases you from the chains of drudgery in work you really don't want to do.
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