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VirginiaR

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Hi guys, Hope you're having a nice day.

I was checking out the Tony Robbins book Money Master the Game and I was wondering if it's worth the read in the sense of: Does it follow the Fastlane or Slowlane perspective? Is it worth my time?

My mission is to get more Financially savvy and the Fastlane view of MJ to me sounds the most logical and successful. So what kind of books would you guys recommend me reading to get more financially savvy? And did you read Tony's Money book, and what did you think?

I hope I didn't post a topic that was already done...I checked..If I did, could you tag me the link?

Thanks everybody for reading my post and I am looking forward to your recommendations!
 
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You have to understand that most (like, the vast majority, even from credible sources) often given advice that they think MOST people could use, and will be easy enough to implement and be 'good enough' for the average hard working citizen.

In that sense, many personal finance books are great for most average people.

Dave Ramsey is probably the most popular personal finance guy out there, for that purpose.

That being said - you need to understand the logic behind the advice and decide (for yourself) what makes sense and what does not.

The simple fact is a lot of "good advice" is bad math.

Most books will tell you that even if you have debt, you should:

1. Put money into your retirement fund
2. Put away 3-6 months saving into an emergency fund
3. Snowball your debt repayment (pay off lowest amounts first).

This is "good advice" because it assumes most people are undisciplined (and that's true). It treats them like babies and says "save for retirement, save for a rainy day, and pay off some low-hanging debt so you feel good".

However, it's bad math.

1. If you are sitting on 19.99% credit card debt, why are you focusing on 1-3% returns on retirement accounts you can't touch for another 30-40-50+ years?
2. If you are sitting on that debt, why are you putting anything into an emergency fund that will give you 0-1% returns?
3. If you are sitting on huge interest debt, why are you focusing on the one you can pay off soonest instead of the one with the highest interest rate?

This kind of plan has you HEMORRHAGING cash in the form of interest. It's terrible.

You know what good math would be?

1. Consolidate your debt at the lowest interest rate possible. Usually opening up a credit line will help with this.
2. Pay off your debt as quickly and aggressively as possible - it's financial cancer.
3. Once you are debt free, NOW do that emergency fund and retirement thing.

Oh... and start a business and build up your assets. You will never get rich by saving up for retirement.
 

VirginiaR

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You have to understand that most (like, the vast majority, even from credible sources) often given advice that they think MOST people could use, and will be easy enough to implement and be 'good enough' for the average hard working citizen.

In that sense, many personal finance books are great for most average people.

Dave Ramsey is probably the most popular personal finance guy out there, for that purpose.

That being said - you need to understand the logic behind the advice and decide (for yourself) what makes sense and what does not.

The simple fact is a lot of "good advice" is bad math.

Most books will tell you that even if you have debt, you should:

1. Put money into your retirement fund
2. Put away 3-6 months saving into an emergency fund
3. Snowball your debt repayment (pay off lowest amounts first).

This is "good advice" because it assumes most people are undisciplined (and that's true). It treats them like babies and says "save for retirement, save for a rainy day, and pay off some low-hanging debt so you feel good".

However, it's bad math.

1. If you are sitting on 19.99% credit card debt, why are you focusing on 1-3% returns on retirement accounts you can't touch for another 30-40-50+ years?
2. If you are sitting on that debt, why are you putting anything into an emergency fund that will give you 0-1% returns?
3. If you are sitting on huge interest debt, why are you focusing on the one you can pay off soonest instead of the one with the highest interest rate?

This kind of plan has you HEMORRHAGING cash in the form of interest. It's terrible.

You know what good math would be?

1. Consolidate your debt at the lowest interest rate possible. Usually opening up a credit line will help with this.
2. Pay off your debt as quickly and aggressively as possible - it's financial cancer.
3. Once you are debt free, NOW do that emergency fund and retirement thing.

Oh... and start a business and build up your assets. You will never get rich by saving up for retirement.

Hi JAJT,

Thanks for taking your time to reply. Yes, this is exactly what I mean and thank you for sharing your perspective on this matter! Once you read the Fastlane, it opens your eyes to these things and you see that a lot of books are the Slowlane thinking. So what books do you recommend? Or websites?
 

JoannaGl

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I have read this book. Please, do not waste your time - about 800 pages with 95% non-specific information. Cannot recommend. After reading so much general about financial freedom, I try to avoid this bullshit. TMF gave me a kick and I started execution and began to read books about entrepreneurship, social media, marketing etc. looking for the answers to my problems in the company and strategy. Read more about what you want to do. Not general. I wasted a lot of time on reading generally about financial freedom.
 
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VirginiaR

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I have read this book. Please, do not waste your time - about 800 pages with 95% non-specific information. Cannot recommend. After reading so much general about financial freedom, I try to avoid this bullshit. TMF gave me a kick and I started execution and began to read books about entrepreneurship, social media, marketing etc. looking for the answers to my problems in the company and strategy. Read more about what you want to do. Not general. I wasted a lot of time on reading generally about financial freedom.

Waaww Joanna! Thank you for this great answer! It was very helpful! This is some great advise I can use! Thank you for sharing your experience! I really appreciate it for you taking your time, have a nice day!
 

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I have to agree with @JoannaGl , although I would have put the book at around 20% useful (for me personally it was since I reassessed my portfolio because of what I read) with the 80% filler.
 

MJ DeMarco

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I haven't read the book...

However, anything that can help you become financially savvy might be worth a read. If 10% of the book is helpful, that 10% might make a difference between losing big or not.

Once you're aware of Slowlane concepts (and the shitty math that comes with it - thanks @JAJT ) you can be in a better position to pick and choose what works for your situation when reading these books.

I've heard a lot of bad stuff about this book, but I'm sure it is has some great financial education topics in it -- afterall -- it's a huge book.

Dave Ramsey I hear is also good for learning some fiscal savvy.
 
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Kung Fu Steve

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Yes and no.

I finally finished the beast of a book a couple months ago.

The book is really about asset allocation and portfolio balancing... after all, big buddy went and interviewed 50 self-made billionaires... what do you think those people would talk about?

If you don't have any money it's pretty hard to balance a portfolio and talk about what percentage of your portfolio should be in which asset classes for growth or protection.

However, one of the biggest benefits of this book is that it uncovers the bullshit fees most people are paying in their 401k, IRAs, or any other typical investments... for example: 1% extra fees from your broker ultimately results in a loss 10 years of retirement income down the road.

It talks about the affect taxes have on a growing portfolio.

It talks about where you should put your cash from your business after you've made it.

It talks about how to minimize and eliminate downside risk in investments and how these billionaires such as Ray Dalio, Warren Buffest, Carl Icahn, Kyle Bass, and others do it.

What it DOES NOT talk about is how you can build a business or generate wealth in the first place besides a meager retirement account.

Let's face it -- there are billions of people who just don't give a shit about building a business and making money... so what is the best advice you can give those people to protect themselves? ... the same advice that's always been given:

spend less, invest the difference... and big buddy adds in "don't pay fees, pay as little tax as is legal, and invest with a proven strategy and portfolio instead of trying to pick things off a board you think might make you money... because you're not a trader... so stop trying to be a trader..."

In my opinion: At the end of the day you're going to find this book useless unless you have a portfolio of 250k+ -- but this IS information I wish I would have had when I sold the first biz...

I spent years studying and trying to build big business and learn how to sell more stuff... I didn't focus on how to keep that money. 3 fortunes come and gone later -- I'm a little wiser and better educated on the subject.

P.S. The asset allocation portfolio in the book is worth reading through the entire thing... if you're bored start with chapter 18 and go from there.
 

VirginiaR

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I have to agree with @JoannaGl , although I would have put the book at around 20% useful (for me personally it was since I reassessed my portfolio because of what I read) with the 80% filler.

Thank you @p0stscript for you feedback and view on this matter!
 

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MJ DeMarco

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Philip Marlowe

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I HIGHLY recommend anything by Jack Bogle. Start with "Enough" and then read "The Bogleheads Guide to Investing". Solid advice abounds.
 

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I listened to it on CD in the car. It's got a few gems, but it's largely about the merits of stuffing money into mutual funds and bonds. It's not geared toward entrepreneurs like MJ's books are. Honestly, even though it's not "fastlaner" material it's something most people need to read. When I say "most people" I mean it. Most people are going in reverse, spending more on credit than they earn and generally screwing themselves. I don't think the advice in "Money, Master the Game" is going to make people rich, it's better than what people learn in school (which is nothing.)

A good money book is "Taking the Mystery out of Money" by Lonnie Skruggs. Really straight forward. Shows how to structure a note, how to use a financial calculator, basic stuff you can use. No BS, straight to the meat and potatoes reading.
 
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Iammelissamoore

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...and do not forget "Unscripted : Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Entrepreneurship" - while it is a Superb expansion of The Millionaire Fastlane with additional philosophies/concepts to help us stick at our Fastlane A-Game, creating successful businesses, MJ dedicated a great section of it to investing and financial management as he recognised a lot of Fastlaners were doing well in business but not everyone fully grasped the best ways possible to invest profits coming in, it is a great introduction and forms a strong basis on understanding money, understanding your profits and how to proceed in investing them in proper long-term portfolios so they can generate the best returns.
 

VirginiaR

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I haven't read the book...

However, anything that can help you become financially savvy might be worth a read. If 10% of the book is helpful, that 10% might make a difference between losing big or not.

Once you're aware of Slowlane concepts (and the shitty math that comes with it - thanks @JAJT ) you can be in a better position to pick and choose what works for your situation when reading these books.

I've heard a lot of bad stuff about this book, but I'm sure it is has some great financial education topics in it -- afterall -- it's a huge book.

Dave Ramsey I hear is also good for learning some fiscal savvy.

Thank you MJ, for sharing your opinion. It's true. The 10 % can be helpful too. Thanx for the suggestions.
 
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VirginiaR

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I HIGHLY recommend anything by Jack Bogle. Start with "Enough" and then read "The Bogleheads Guide to Investing". Solid advice abounds.

Hi Philip, Ok nice! I will check them out! Thank you for your time to let me know!
 

VirginiaR

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I listened to it on CD in the car. It's got a few gems, but it's largely about the merits of stuffing money into mutual funds and bonds. It's not geared toward entrepreneurs like MJ's books are. Honestly, even though it's not "fastlaner" material it's something most people need to read. When I say "most people" I mean it. Most people are going in reverse, spending more on credit than they earn and generally screwing themselves. I don't think the advice in "Money, Master the Game" is going to make people rich, it's better than what people learn in school (which is nothing.)

A good money book is "Taking the Mystery out of Money" by Lonnie Skruggs. Really straight forward. Shows how to structure a note, how to use a financial calculator, basic stuff you can use. No BS, straight to the meat and potatoes reading.

Waw, JLWilliams! Thank you for sharing your insight on this book and recommending Lonnie Skruggs book! I will definitely look into that one! Thanx! Very helpful!
 

VirginiaR

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...and do not forget "Unscripted : Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Entrepreneurship" - while it is a Superb expansion of The Millionaire Fastlane with additional philosophies/concepts to help us stick at our Fastlane A-Game, creating successful businesses, MJ dedicated a great section of it to investing and financial management as he recognised a lot of Fastlaners were doing well in business but not everyone fully grasped the best ways possible to invest profits coming in, it is a great introduction and forms a strong basis on understanding money, understanding your profits and how to proceed in investing them in proper long-term portfolios so they can generate the best returns.

Hi Iammelissamoore! Thank you so much for sharing your opinion and information! I am really looking forward reading Unscripted . I just bought it yesterday and nice that those topics that you spoke about comes to matter in the book. That could really help me out! Thank you for your time to let me know! So kind. Have a nice day!
 

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And did you read Tony's Money book, and what did you think?

I put this into most money management books category, its not bad advice, but it won't make you rich. A lot of it seemed like lead gen for folks mentioned in the book.
 
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VirginiaR

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I put this into most money management books category, its not bad advice, but it won't make you rich. A lot of it seemed like lead gen for folks mentioned in the book.
Hi Dave! Thanx for your input! Appreciate it!
 

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the problem with this book is that it is written by a a guru who does everything on stage :

NLP, motivation, self help, money, fitness, love coach

whatever

the guy does everything on earth . maybe i should call him as well to fix my car

you get the idea.

money is a serious thing

it can't be a NLP guru thing.
 

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Hi guys, Hope you're having a nice day.

I was checking out the Tony Robbins book Money Master the Game and I was wondering if it's worth the read in the sense of: Does it follow the Fastlane or Slowlane perspective? Is it worth my time?

My mission is to get more Financially savvy and the Fastlane view of MJ to me sounds the most logical and successful. So what kind of books would you guys recommend me reading to get more financially savvy? And did you read Tony's Money book, and what did you think?

I hope I didn't post a topic that was already done...I checked..If I did, could you tag me the link?

Thanks everybody for reading my post and I am looking forward to your recommendations!
The 10 pillars of wealth by Alex Becker!(It's in the Fastlane bookstore)
 
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PureA

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Hi guys, Hope you're having a nice day.

I was checking out the Tony Robbins book Money Master the Game and I was wondering if it's worth the read in the sense of: Does it follow the Fastlane or Slowlane perspective? Is it worth my time?

My mission is to get more Financially savvy and the Fastlane view of MJ to me sounds the most logical and successful. So what kind of books would you guys recommend me reading to get more financially savvy? And did you read Tony's Money book, and what did you think?

I hope I didn't post a topic that was already done...I checked..If I did, could you tag me the link?

Thanks everybody for reading my post and I am looking forward to your recommendations!

Hi,

I've read Money: Master the game and honestly didn't get much out of it that I didn't already know. TMF , and Unscripted are BY FAR more useful, actionable and even more entertaining.

I do like some of Tony Robbin's stuff though, and will say his newer book Unshakable is better, and is a much shorter, updated version of Master the game.
 

p0stscript

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I've read Money: Master the game and honestly didn't get much out of it that I didn't already know. TMF , and Unscripted are BY FAR more useful

This is one of the reasons I believe it was about 20% valuable, the other 80% either covered things he has already written about (not bad in itself since repetition mother of skill and all that) and the fact I don't live in America therefore the savings and pension parts where not that relevant to me. The 20% was worth it though.
 

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