Why We Want You To Be Rich

About the book and its Contents:

As the title goes, this book should answer why the authors want you to be rich. There are several questions posed to the authors, namely Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki. Each of them then provide their own answers to those questions.

Review

For me, this is one book I learned very little from and is quite a disappointment. This is more a question and answer biography instead of a book that provides brilliant advice on how to become financially successful. I suggest you read other books from different authors instead.

Difficulty Level = 1/5

 

This is easy to read but.

 

Personal Rating = 1/5

You will not learn a thing from this book.


Personal finance tip for today:

It is easy to say that one must save at least a big portion of one's monthly income for savings. The difficult thing for most people is how to implement it. There are certainly a lot of things that we want in life or 'need', which our incomes cannot always satisfy. With that in mind, we have to practice sacrifice and budgeting. We need to sacrifice some wants so that we can enjoy life after retirement. Before making any major purchase, check out other customer reviews and alternative products.  

The Dhandho Investor

About the book and its Contents



Dhandho (pronounced as dhun-doe) is said to mean 'endeavors that create wealth.' In this book, Mohnish Pabrai, shares his accumulated investment knowledge and lessons to his readers. He also  believes that it is indeed possible (but difficult) to find high returns using a low-risk value method. This method he developed was patterned after Warren Buffett's early business partnerships and has earned outstanding annual returns for his investors in the Pabrai funds.

Review

This 200 page book provides an explanation of the Dhandho Framework as well as real-life examples of Dhandho investors. Furthermore, the author does a good job of keeping his explanations simple and understandable. In providing examples, he uses basic math and probabilities. In addition, his investing lessons are worded not in generic terms but in more specific jargon. An example of this is: "Dhandho 201: Invest in Distressed Businesses in Distressed Industries" instead of saying 'find businesses that offer good value.'

Difficulty Level = 2/5

Personal Rating = =4.5/5

This is a book worth reading and ordering from Amazon (if you fail to find it in our local bookstores).


Personal finance tip for today:

To succeed in investing, it is not enough that you buy a so called investment. You must purchase that investment at a bargain value. By bargain I mean that you bought a really valuable asset at a good price that benefits you more. In other words, you were able to buy gold at the price of silver. If you bought your gold at the price of diamonds, then it is very difficult for that investment of yours to go up in value. 

Investing The Templeton Way

About the book and its Contents

Sir John Templeton (he was knighted), was one of the most successful and charitable billionaires, until he passed away in 2008. He founded the now famous Templeton Funds and pioneered mutual funds that were globally diversified.


In this book, he shares some practical advice on fundamental investing and adopts a contrarian view. In other words, he does not go with the crowd. One of his most famous quotes are: 'Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria.'

Review

This book contains chapters about the legendary bargain hunter's investments in the past that have made him successful as well as provides lessons that apply even today. He also provides some guidelines as to when he considers it a good time to buy and to sell.

Difficulty Level = 3/5

This book is not about technical stuff. However, to appreciate the work, you should know at least a bit about the stock market. 

Personal Rating = 5/5

This is probably the only resource book that is available about the legendary bargain hunter, Sir John Templeton. Readers will certainly benefit a lot from his experience and knowledge.


Personal finance tip for today:

Although it may sound like cliche, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Since no one can predict the future direction of any type of investment accurately and consistently,  it would indeed be wise to place your money in investments that do not have a positive correlation.

Stock Valuation

About the book and its Contents

A 360 page work, Stock Valuation is definitely one of the most essential books you will need to understand how to know how much a company is worth. 

Review

This is one book I've learned a lot from. It teaches you everything you need to come up with a valuation of the company (not a simple task). Firstly, it will give you an orientation of the investment and finance market. Secondly, it will discuss the time value of money. Thirdly, it will teach you how to interpret and analyze systematically a company's financial statements. Fourthly, it will teach you how to compute for a company's cost of capital. Finally, it will teach you several valuation models, one of which is the discounted cash flow model.

Difficulty Level = 4/5

If you aren't interested in how to compute for a company's net worth (a must if you truly want to be a long-term investor), then you might not want to invest in this book, yet. However, if you truly want to learn and gain a new edge, then studying this book, even slowly, will reap rewards.

Personal Rating = 5/5

Although a bit more expensive than the usual investment books, this is worth the knowledge you will uncover.


Personal finance tip for today:

Having the mindset on how to manage money is very important. Even if you have little money but know how to manage it, then you will have a comfortable life. However, if you have a lot of money, but do not know how to properly utilize it, then you will end up losing that wealth and keep looking for more and more.


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