I have to say that lately it feels like I’ve read everything there is for me to read as far as financial books go at this time. I’m not about to invest in real estate yet, so I don’t need to read those books (it would be a bad distraction right now anyway, when I have more important things to sort out). There are all the books on trading forex and options, too. I’m going to be learning about forex, but not quite yet. There are other financial things I have to work out first. So this basically leaves the all-generic categories of wealthbuilding, budgeting, and the stockmarket. I’ve read so many great books that I really feel I have all the information that I think I need. But I’d still like to find a great new page-turner that inspires me about fixing up my finances and rockets me sooner to wealth. So I keep browsing through the financial section anyway.

Recently I came across a gawdy-looking hardcover entitled Millionaire By Thirty: The Quickest Path to Financial Independence. I picked it up because the title was so close to Alan Corey’s bestseller A Million Bucks by 30 (read my review of this awesome book here) and I was wondering how this one would be different. This one is published this year, 2008, and written by a father and his two sons - they’re all financial planners living in Salt Lake City. Maybe they’re even your neighbour? They’re churchgoers, they tithe, the one son has married early and they’re both still in their twenties. They’re all millionaires. The oldest son is only about 28 years, I think. They look a bit older in the photo on the jacket, however.

Well, guess how they became millionaires by 30? Same way Alan Corey did. Real estate! There’s a definite pattern here.

Here are some of the highlights of the book (which I’m not done reading yet, but it’s not a slow read. You could easily finish this book in two days if you’re into it):

-it’s fresh and relatively undogmatic: “not your typical financial advice”
-strategies for using preferred debt and getting rid of your non-preferred debt
-become a homeowner as soon as possible: tells you why and shows you how
-how you can legitimately buy a home even if you don’t have a credit history
-shows how to become a landlord and rent out rooms from a second home
-shows you how to save some serious money on taxes
-why IRAs and 401(k)s aren’t really that great of a deal for you
-and more that I haven’t got to yet!

You might be thinking, “wait, isn’t this the kind of wheeling and dealing that got us into the sub-prime housing mess”? Well, to that I can just say that this book was published in 2008, so I am sure the authors were/ are well aware of the housing mess and they’ve said nothing in this book to suggest that they were a part of it or that their techniques are implicated in it or that you shouldn’t follow this sort of advice because it might lead to foreclosures. I’m sure that many people have tried to do some of these techniques and that they fell into fiscal ruin because of it. As with everything, you have to check it against your own situation and see how it could work for you. These authors are advocates of fiscal responsibility by any measure.

Which is why I should add a few “bigger picture” items regarding the context in which this book makes sense. First of all, if you’re not interested in owning a second home and/or being a landlord (having tenants in one home), then this book probably doesn’t have anything for you. They don’t have solutions as to how you can become a millionaire by investing in the stock market alone. You need to rent out rooms. (Mind you, this isn’t all their book is about, for sure!).

The best part so far is how they show you how to race ahead financially by stopping “driving with your car in neutral.”

No, it’s not about making sure you’re not paying fees like crazy on your mutual funds (although that would certainly fit here too). They show you how to not pay more tax to the government than you have to and how to properly utilize the concept of “financial drag” in order to rocket yourself ahead sooner. You might have all the wind at your back, lifting your sails, but if you don’t know how to employ “drag” and “thrust” you’re not going to get anywhere quickly or in the direction that you want.

Overall, this isn’t a paradigm-shifting, shoot-you-to-the-moon financial fix book (though it could easily be if you’re younger or haven’t read many financial books yet). But it is a very accessible resource for how to just plain start getting ahead financially. There are some new and informative concepts and ways of looking at “getting ahead” that have already been useful for me. And don’t think that the book doesn’t apply to you because you already own a home or because you’re in your forties or fifties or sixties. In fact you’re probably already in a better position for putting these ideas into practice since you DO already have one home and a good credit history, etc.

Check back in here again, because I might have more to say about this book in the next few days. I also came across another great book that I’m really looking forward to reading and telling you about - and it fits right in line with the moneyenergy philosophy. Interestingly, it’s also a book from almost ten years ago. But you know, that’s not really that old when you’re dealing with ideas and paradigm-shifting techniques. These apply in all ages and for all ages.

If you’re new here don’t forget to subscribe (it’s free, of course!) for more updates on the books I’m reading, and/or make a comment below. I’d really like to hear your opinions and thoughts. Have you read this book or the other Andrews’ books? Are you reading a similar book right now? Is there another book that I should be reading? Let me know.

Do you want to hear from current/ past landlords and those bringing in portfolio income (i.e., income from real estate properties)? Check out these blogs:

The World of Wealth
Monetary Maladies (the MoneyBlogga)
The Money Kings

(If you’re a blogger who’s also got real estate investment properties and I’ve missed you, let me know! I’d like to learn more about RE from those currently doing it; perhaps there’s a way I can get started while finishing my PhD even though I don’t have a salary (just research and teaching employment).)

Since this is going to be a site primarily about wealthbuilding and investing globally for cashflow, I don’t like to dwell on matters related to my blog or even blogging in general. The past couple of weeks I’ve done more of that than will be usual in that respect, primarily because I’ve moved to my own site and my head has been occupied with more twittery 2.0 sounds than usual. I’ve developed new interests in blogging (or at least, this business/financial corner of the blogosphere) as a form of cultural expression unique to our time and as a result I’ve been learning more and more about this wider world we live in. It’s fascinating, for example, to meet Angelo Romasanta, a 15 year-old boy from the Phillipines, hard at work on his new blog project:

A Million By 20.

Not only does Angelo seem quite mature and motivated for his age, but I won’t be surprised if he really does make it most of the way to a million by the time he’s 20. More importantly, Angelo’s story has re-inspired me to get motivated again about my own goals and about self-motivating in general. It’s easy to get stuck in our own patterns - even all the good ones - when we know we’re hard at work and plugging away on the paths to our own success. That’s what focus is all about. But to hear from someone like Angelo reminds me of what fresh vision and spirit are all about.

We begin with alot of energy and vision: who doesn’t have lots of creative ideas about how to change or improve this or that, or how you’d most like to help the world? But to get there we need a lot of help. There are obstacles along the way. We forget what we started aiming for. We get tired. We become convinced by others that we look up to that the right path instead is this, or this, or that. We need to find a way to retain that original vision or that original energy - to get it back. Or to create it anew. The challenge is to do this while integrating all the new information that we learn as we progress on our journeys.

Milestones worth a Million

In the spirit of all of this, I would like to thank my readers and fellow bloggers for all the recent support. I’ve only been at this not quite a month, but I’ve received lots of encouraging signs, tips, gestures. In particular, I’d like to thank:

Hank, from My Investing Blog;
Free From Broke;
Jason from Becoming A Millionaire With AdSense;
Pushing30 from Pushing Thirty: My Debt Deadline;
Roman from Financial Jesus;
Pinyo at Moolanomy; and
InvestorBlogger.

And of course everyone else for visiting, commenting and/or sharing feedback on my blog. I’ve made a couple of small gaffes as I learn the territory but I’ve been trying to improve as much as I can along the way and I’m always looking for more advice from the pros. I know that there’s something of a 3-month (5 month?) “probationary” period for new blogs (will they last?), so I thank everyone for coming back and reading and hanging in with me here. My subscriber count has gone up 100% in the last couple of days and, of course, my daily traffic is up quite a bit from even one week ago. I’ve had visitors from 47 states and over 30 different countries (including Ethiopia, Oman, Qatar, and Iceland!). That’s pretty amazing for a newbie like me. In less tangible measures, too, my own progress has been good. I look forward to moving ahead, meeting bloggers with similar interests, and moving towards my own investment goals. Hopefully you’ll come with me!