 | My favourite investment books |
| I've been getting a few emails recently asking which investment books I would recommend. Obviously there's a vast array of good books out there on this topic and I haven't read them all. |
| If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is |
| We all want to believe in easy answers. The idea that there's some secret door nearby though which we can walk through and solve all our problems is a seductive one. Nowhere is this more dangerous than in the game of money. |
| Develop additional sources of income |
| I was once doing a contract for one of the largest investment banks in the world, when something horrible happened. I'd been there a few months and had got to know a few of the other people. In general, they were nice, dedicated, hardworking people. Many of them had mortgages, families and other commitments. |
| How to get out of debt |
| I meet people all the time who have debt problems. They've taken up banks and finance companies on their offers of easy money, and spent it on consumer goods like holidays and cars. Now they've got the bill, and they're finding it's bigger than they expected. They passed on problems to their future self and now the future is here and they're regretting that decision. |
| Increasing your hourly rate in order to get rich |
| When it comes to making more money, a lot of people think about working harder or working more. They equate the amount of money you get out with the amount of effort you put in. |
| If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging |
| Years ago, I overheard interesting conversation between two friends of mine, one of whom is a lawyer. Basically, the first guy say his company hadn't paid him for over a month, even though he was supposed to get salary money weekly. |
| Financial success advice for young people |
| I received an email from a young man who lives in a tough community in the US. He wanted to know how he can break out of his difficult circumstances and live a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. Rather than responding to him individually, I thought I'd write a general success article for young people. |
| The easiest way to get rich |
| Judging by their behavior, most people have an obsession with wealth. Politicians promise to create it, most popular magazines are filled with gossip about those who have it, and the average person spends much of their adult life trying to obtain it. |
| Enough hyperventilating about AdSense |
| There's been a popular theme on lots of blogs lately about how much money there is to be made from Google's AdSense advertising program. For those not in the know, this basically involves earning money from Google ads like the ones on this site. Now AdSense is a great program, and I'm happy to make some good spending money from it every month. |
| Focus on total cost, not just price |
| W Edwards Deming was an American college professor who played a big part in Japan's growth to industrial dominance after the Second World War. He boiled down much of his philosophy of business into 14 simple points, many of which are as relevant to the person in the street as to big corporations. |
| Don't rely on the charity of others |
| When we see a man begging in the street, most of us realize this isn't a very good strategy for building a happy life. That's not to say the beggar necessarily has any other option, but that the option he's trying is unlikely to be successful. |
| How to work out if you're better off renting or buying a place to live |
| It's a decision we all face sooner or later: Should I rent or buy? We all need a roof over our heads - somewhere to have some privacy and bring up a family. |
| The best type of business to be in |
| In the 1967 film, The Graduate, an experienced and successful Mr McGuire gives the main character Benjamin a piece of advice on what type of business to pursue - "Plastics". This sums up many people's attitude to business. |
| My eight best negotiation tips |
| Negotiation is a part of life we all have to deal with. Being able to do so successfully can make a big difference to our outcomes. Here are eight tips that have helped me. |
| Cut all your credit-cards in half |
| I've never owned a credit-card. Most people are pretty surprised when I tell them that. They look at me like I've just said I've never had a glass of Coke or made a phone-call. |
| The easiest way to fool smart people |
| There’s a saying among con-men that smart people are easier targets, because they don’t think they can be conned. I’m not sure if that’s true, but there’s one scam that’s almost guaranteed to make smart people switch off their brains and reach for their wallets. |
| Seven ways to get richer |
| Most of us could use a little extra money in our pockets, but sometimes we feel stuck on how to get it. Here are some simple suggestions to increase your income and wealth. Not all of them will make you "rich", but they should make you "richer". |
| Ten good rules-of-thumb for investing |
| I've been investing money for about 14 years now and have had more success than failure along the way. I've also read a large number of books and articles on good investment strategy. Here are my rules-of-thumb if you want to get ahead in the investment game. |
| The secret of wealth is working easier, not harder |
| Want to get rich? Just work hard and you will is the conventional wisdom. But the conventional wisdom is wrong. Since the dawn of humanity, the road to wealth has been through working easier, not harder. |
| Are you one of the 95% trapped in a financial prison? |
| Most people in free countries still have one master with absolute control over their existence - money. No matter how much we like to pretend it doesn't matter, our financial situation has a powerful hold over us. |