5 Financial Books to Help You Through This Recession

Entire sections of bookstores are dedicated to teaching people how to become superstar millionaires.  Well, with the National Bureau of Economic Research declaring the United States to be in an official state of recession, I’m thinking more people will be interested in how to survive.  In the last 12 months over 10.1 million Americans have lost their jobs, with many more job cuts on the horizon.  So what are people to do?  There are no courses in University on how to manage your personal finances or how to financially survive a recession.  So amidst a sea of books on “How to Become Stinking Rich,” here are five extremely valuable reads which can help you get out of dept once and for all, how to live below your means and actually save money, how to simplify your cluttered life and ultimately, how to discover what you truly want out of your time on this planet and how to succeed financially while achieving your goals.

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
by Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey is no stranger to going broke.  By the age of 26 had built himself a real estate portfolio worth over $4 million dollars.  Well over his head in debt however, that same year the banks forced him into bankruptcy.  He declared to never borrow money again, and by reading every book he could get his hands on and by attending every seminar available on personal finance, he not only crawled his way out of debt but he’s amassed a fortune by helping others through radio, television, and over 14 books.  The Total Money Makeover promises to do just that: to completely makeover your money habits, offering tested and true methods for getting out of debt forever and for creating financial security for you and your family.

Secrets To Creating Passive Income and becoming financially free - even in a slow economy
by EJ Thornton & John Clark Craig

Thankfully, this book will not tell you how to invest in the stock market. It will teach you how to invest in yourself, and how to employ your own creativity to transform your skills, knowledge, and talents into money.As many people are beginning to realize during this recession, one source of income simply isn’t enough.  That job could easily disappear tomorrow and you’re up the proverbial creek.  And even if your job is secure, it’s very difficult to get ahead living paycheck to paycheck.  The only way to increase your income is to work more hours, which of course leaves less time for the things in life you truly enjoy: friends, family, vacations, videogames etc…This book offers tested and true, how-to, practical methods for developing a solid financial foundation through various streams of income.  And the best part is, these incomes are passive!  Meaning money is coming in and you don’t physically have to be there!  If the idea of getting paid for gallivanting and frolicking sounds appealing, give this book a read. The book offers great advice on how to save your personal income but does not offer any tips on grant writing which would be useful to maybe get a nice government bailout.

Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
by Joe Dominguez, and Vicki Robin

Perfect for people worried about their finances during this unstable economy, this book focuses on how to align yourself with your core values and how to achieve financial success by adhering to these values.  At the outset of the book, the author presents a scenario where a mugger sticks a gun in your ribs and asks for your money or your life.  Placing a much higher value on our lives, we would obviously hand over our wallets.  And yet so many people spend the most valuable hours of the day, and the healthiest years of their lives chasing paychecks, instead of enriching their lives.  The book will help you figure out what you really want in life and by doing so will liberate you from the mundane forty hour week, working for someone and towards something you couldn’t care less about.

The Joy of Simple Living: Over 1,500 Simple Ways to Make Your Life Easy and Content– At Home and At Work
by Jeff Davidson

Now is the time to tighten our belts, not to go out buying belt racks and belt buckles.  As the title suggests, this books offers over 1,500 practical tips on how to make wiser decisions concerning how you spend your time, how you spend or invest your money, and how to stop chasing your tail in this past-paced, overly-complicated world.  From helping you organize your office to getting out of dept, this book will get you back to the basics of happy, healthy living.

How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie

Recession or no recession, rich or poor, vegetarian or carnivore, this book belongs in the hands of anyone interested in getting ahead in life.  There is a reason why it has remained successful for over 70 years, selling over 15 million copies worldwide.  It’s based on principles, and principles never change. It’s all about putting other people first.  Try forgetting about what YOU want for a few minutes and you’ll soon discover that by focusing on the needs of OTHERS, you’ll end up with more than you hoped for.  The book teaches simple concepts like remembering people’s names, how to actually LISTEN during a conversation, how to show interest in other people’s lives, and how to stop criticizing others.  Concepts which seem to have long been forgotten in today’s ego-centered world.  During an economic crisis, its easy to become overwhelmed with our own problems and issues.  But as soon as we take the magnifying glass off of ourselves and start paying attention to the needs of others, we forget about our problems and we are free to make a positive difference in the world.