In between donkeys humping dudes and people get hit in the face with guns I like to stick the latest in the get-rich-quick world (or get-rich-slow - whatever you like). Repetition sells and so do books by David Bach. 2009 was a rough financial year (to say the least) and this created a lot of desperate people. If there's any better time to release a book like this - it's 2010 (see cover). The book has nothing new - it repeats the points of all his other books. Assumes that you are up to your chin in credit card debt, drive a nice car and have premium cable. (I see nothing wrong with that - that's how the US runs. Live by borrowing more and more, declare bankruptcy and Obama will help you out - or whoever else who will be in power). Additionally, the book is targeted heavily towards US residents.
My favourite part of the book - ways to save money (I hope I don't get sued by him for giving out his secrets):
Get rid of your land line and use a cell phone.
That will save you a lot of money! Have you ever compared you land line bill to a cell phone bill? He either assumes that you only use the phone at night and on weekends or he doesn't know what companies charge for a cell line. Don't forget that the phone itself costs 5 times more than a land line phone at walmart (once again, unless you sign up for 50 years plan).
Cutting down on the cable TV packages
assuming you have a package
Shopping around for home and car insurance
I fell for one of those "15 minutes can save you 15% or more on your insurance" and 1.5 hours later the agent told me that I'm getting a pretty good deal with my current company. If you have a clean driving record, your bill is usually lower than what it would cost to sign up with a new company. If you don't have a clean driving record - don't waste your time trying to switch - once again your best bet is to stay with your company. Unless you are with some idiots like Co-Operators, who are not aware of the latest car insurance prices it may be worth a shot.
Carpooling to work
It's a country with roughly 2 working cars per family he's talking about?
Bringing lunch to work and saving $2250 a year
Agreed - but movies like "Fast Food Nation" and "Super size me" come to mind.
Stop buying lotto tickets!
(Americans spend 57 billion on lotto tickets and if each person stopped, they could save $500 a year.) I think its one of the few get-rich-quick schemes that occasionally work. Why give it up? If anything, I would start buying Canadian lotto - it's tax free!
This list can go on forever - "repair your old shoes, instead of buying new ones", "rent a movie instead of going to the theatre", "get a second job", "switch to dial-up Internet", "get the latest David Bach book from the local library, instead of a book store", conserve, conserve, conserve, pump money into savings accounts, RRSPs and 401K plans and you'll be ready for the next recession and a year later - for another book by David Bach.
Anyway, entertaining read - has some amusing anecdotes about real life people (including David Bach). Wouldn't recommend reading it right after reading any of his other books, otherwise it'll sound the same. I'll give this book nine thumbs up (who said that? Homer?)
Book link: http://www.startoverfinishrich.com/
