I spend about 1 hour here everyday. This has been the most beneficial financial/real estate education I've ever come across! ... I also read for about 20 minutes before bed...and I research properties during the day.

 

I read three forums. I am usualy reading at least one business book and I like sci-fi for my fiction reading. I just finished The 4 Hour Work Week & The Dip and Number 1 Husband(fiction), I am currently reading: Getting things done & Deals on Wheels.
Janet

 

I read four online newspapers daily and I also frequent a couple of boards. I frequent the newspapers because it's nice to be in tune with the "locals". So, when talking to relatives, for example, and they have news to pass along, I usually know the story already. Usually they're suprised to know I'm already in the loop. Now, the boards I frequent are business related, and I like to visit them because it's interesting to read other peoples' point of views and financial IQ. One of those forums is this one and the other one deals strictly with real estate.

At times, I do read hard books but work and school have slowed me down. The last real estate book I read was Buying and Selling Apartments by Berges. SteveO seems to mention it a lot, along with many others on this forum, so I had to check it out for myself.

Reading is good, unless you don't enjoy the subject.

 

I read about a book a day (I speed read).
Why is reading important?
Because the build up of knowledge gained over years of reading
often offsets the negative business aspects of getting older
(one negative - not being able to work 24-7).

I read two types of books, business and romance.
The last business book I read (Friday) was Seymour Schulich's Get Smarter
(Seymour Schulich is a self made billionaire).
Very, very good book (and a fast read - 1.5 hours).

 

I use a service called iGoogle - http://www.google.com/ig

It provides tabs so you can layer up pages of info.
For me one is a page of blog/RSS feeds from such people as Friedman, Yahoo Finance (RK), Freakonomics, SEO/Internet and Trader Blogs (smart trader, investmentU, Chris Perruna).

Another tab is for newspapers, such as the International Herald Tribune, NYTimes, Bloomberg, etc.

And another tab is for my Real Estate news (such as 'The Australian' 'Property Section').
(I also have commodities tab / Politics tab / Tools tab (Mgt Clac, Forex & International time) and a 'Home' tab (which includes a variety of biz and normal news)).

Rgds.
ProInvestor

 

:iamwithstupid:

I read lots of informative internet forums, like the fast lane to millions :smxB:. I subscribe to the economist, read the times on-line, and follow bloomberg.com. Why? To gather different perspectives from different people, and come to my own conclusion based up the information I have gathered. Of course, I am still in college, so I find myself lacking as of late (leisure reading wise.) I can never find the time to read what I would like to read!

Knowledge is the most powerful commodity. Information is a powerful tool. I actually wish that I could do nothing at all, except read (next to the essentials .)

Read anything! If you think reading about business is "dry," pick up a novel that will make business seem interesting. I am deep in "The Great Crash of 1929" right now . "Liar's Poker" is an excellent page turner, while also teaching you valuable business lessons!

 

I can't stop reading forums -- I have to force myself to limit it to an hour or two a day. However, I can and do make sure that the forums I read are helping me to learn. I just found this one and will start reading it regularly. I also frequent the richdad.com forums and earnersforum.com forums on a regular basis.

 

Over the course of the day I try and go through 2 newspapers, a few forum visits, and at least 1 hour of book reading.

 

This forum and other ones that are real estate related;
www.creonline.com
www.flippinghomes.com
www.myrealtydata.com
www.realtytimes.com for market information
Business
www.cnnmoney.com

I am also reading the 4 Hour Workweek right now.

 

For me as of now, I beem reading RD's Retire Young Retire Rich, this forum, I tried to go to Barnes & Nobles at least once a week and sit in there and read a couple books on business, economics, or real estate. And i no its not a book, but i have the CASHFLOW 101 E-game at home, I at least try to one a game in once a day if I can.

 

I squeeze in about a book every week or two unless there's something
I'm working on studying. Then it's pretty much whatever I have to do
to learn the skill. Lately I've been reading financial books in addition to
my normal personal development books.

I especially like The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.


John

 

Traditional Media:
Investor's Business Daily

New Media:
Several top rated stock blogs (a couple focus on options and futures)
Several top rated internet related blogs (trend blogs for online business)

BTW: top rated in my opinion (this can and will differ from others)

Books:
Always in the middle of something (95% market or business related)

 

I read a few forums the major ones change every once in a while. ofc #1 spot would be fastlane right now lol.

I also do alot of investigating on google. couldnt even begin to list all the things ive looked up!

I read lots of kids books dont know if those quite count here(they sure do to the kids tho!)

when Im in major reading mode I will read several books (usually concentrated on 1 subject) hours on end for days at a time.

I have my forex stratigies I keep reading over and over but those arent really books... more like how to manuals. lol.

 

I frequent this forum a lot. I'm more of a reader rather than a poster.

Other stuff that I read are CNN Money, Forbes, WSJ, and a little bit of local news to see what's going on in my area. After that, I read more stuff about cars!

This has been my daily routine for a while now. I try to read as much as I can. I figured that I'm not gonna be able to achieve my goals if all I do is hang out with the wrong people especially most of my friends who knows nothing but work.

 

A very successful real estate developer recommended the book "The E-Myth Revisited" to me. E-Myth stands for Entrepreneurial-Myth, not Internet-Myth. :smxB:

 

I read the bible at least once a day, followed by a good book for men called Every Man, God's Man by Stephen Arterburn. Then through out the day I'm cracking open the E-myth or something related to a area of my business that I'm working on.

 

I start out by checking marketwatch in the morning before I head off to class. After I take care of my history reading requirements in the library, I head home to do the fun stuff. Browsing this forum is the first thing I do when I get home. Currently, I am reading two books: "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller and Ron LeGrand's "Quick Cash with Quick-Turn Real Estate." I must say, I am about 35% through with LeGrand's book and it is the best RE book I have read yet. I highly recommend it (it is the original one, found for $5 at half.com).

 

I try to read at least an hour a day of...if we are including forums like this, most days it's closer to 2 hours a day...I'm kind of a knowledge junkie and my job requires me to always be upto date on world news (especially financial news). Right now I'm reading a new book called 'Masters of Sales', it's kind of a best of type book with excerps from books and short articles from some of the world's most reknowned authors/sales experts like Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, Martha Stewart, and more. I'm only about 15 pages in but I've already read some pretty good gems. When I'm driving or doing housework or anything that doesn't require my brain to do a lot, I'm ussually listening to audiobooks as well.

 

I have been reading a lot of public company financial statements and industry trade magazines.

 

RSS feeds have made my web reading a lot more simple, now I can just browse the headlines from BBC, Slashdot, WSJ, Reuters and Mises, and if need be click on the headline to get the full story.
Magazine wise, I get a wide range of industry mags as well as Forbes. And I try to read a couple each day.

As one of my college professors use to say:
You've got to be in the stream of information, even if you're drowning.

 

The books I have read in the past couple of months are:

Rich Dad Poor Dad
Rich Dad's Guide to Investing
The Tipping Point
Blink
7 Habit's of Highly Effective People
How to Win Friends and Influence People

These are all great and would recommend them to anyone

 

I have generally found that most non fiction reading materials fall into about 5 categories...

1) News guides, static websites, forums and blogs
2) Idiots guides... Most how-to books fall into this category
3) Textbooks
4) Professional Handbooks
5) Research Materials

It is my practice to be balanced... avoid being too general and spend all my time in the news type reading... I have friends that are "experts" in almost every field because they have visited a couple of websites... On the other hand I have friends that know nothing about other fields but the one they are at the research level on.

Text to Speech to ipod is how I read a lot of my level one and two material. That is if you can get the grasp of what is being said on you ipod its generally level 1 and 2 reading. I listen to this stuff on my way to work and back that is about 2 hours.

I spend a bit of time every week reviewing or reading new textbooks on subjects that I will need in my work and business activities.. Economics, Accounts Organizational Psychology, Law, etc...

I only read professionals handbook when I need to tackle tasks that the profession has cool way to deal with but it does help if you know your way around these.

I read research material rarely... Those are mainly for academics when the knowledge becomes useful It will filter into the handbooks and eventually into the idiots guides.

 

The Economist, though not necessarily a daily read is an amazing source of international news and perspective. I think all Americans could use more information and less ethnocentrism. It is quite sobering to realize that every domestic news program comes from a slant that kind of placates the American Way. The Economist, being European, has not patience for it. It's the best $100/year you'll spend. Write it off.