I asked Dr_Clairebear if I could volunteer for this one because I think it's such a fun tag. I'm glad that she was quite supportive and agreed. :D The following are the tag rules and they're quite easy to follow and do:
1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
The book I picked up that was nearest to me was titled "The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom" by renowned author and financial management guru, Suze Orman. Ms. Orman became famous in the US in the late 90s for offering people advice on how to save and where to invest their hard-earned money. Unlike other financial authors who tend to just dwell on the technical side of financial management, aside from the technical aspects of investing, Ms. Orman also adds a philosophical and spiritual bent to money management.
This book was, and still is, a huge influence on me as far as managing my financial affairs are concerned. There are a number of passages in the book that help put things into perspective. It so happened that when I turned to page 123 of this book, the following three sentences (per the tag rules above) provide a very good example of the type of message she imparts to her readers:
"The third way to make money is the most powerful and respectful way there is, and that is to invest the money you save during your working years wisely, so that when you no longer want to or are able to work, your money will work for you. The earning years of your retirement money can go on forever--money is a living entity, remember? If invested with respect, if invested in time to let it grow, these earnings will take care of you well and go on to take care of those you leave behind."
According to Ms. Orman, there are basically three ways to make money. The first way is to work for it. The second way is to inherit it and the third way is to invest one's savings wisely. The above sentences also show that for Ms. Orman, the acquisition of wealth is not an end but a means to an end. In this book and in all her other books, she emphasizes that when it comes to decisions affecting money, we should always consider, above everything else, how those decisions affect the ones we love.
For this tag, I'm tagging the following people: Mari, Em Dy, Gizelle, Fingertalks, and BW. I hope you guys won't mind. Thanks in advance for participating.
Photo credits: SuzeOrman.com
Sunday, March 30, 2008
A "123" Book Tag
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
23 responses:
Will do this. Watch for it.
Thanks, Em. I appreciate it. :)
hey! that's pretty sound advice. i am, being a doctor in a charity hospital, such a dunce about money. i've been meaning to take personal finance classes, but i haven't gotten around to it yet.
glad you enjoyed this tag! :)
Dr_Clairebear,
Thanks, I love this tag. :)
With all due respect I think those financial gurus aren't telling anything new.
I read those three sentences over and over and couldn't find anything helpful in them. Just common sense.
That is what I reproach to many of those self-help books. It is full of platitudes. A lot of bla bla.
But I admire that they are able to sell their books and make big money out of it.
I hope you don't mind that I am so blunt in expressing my opinion.
Sidney,
Not at all, Sidney. No worries. :) However, what makes her quite different from the others is that on the technical side, she provides her readers with guidance as to what benchmarks to look out for when investing in mutual funds.
She advises people to stay away from individual stocks and not to put all of one's eggs in one basket. On her books, she provides a list of criteria on what makes a good mutual fund such as consistent growth, its annual percentage growth, good tax management, the number of years managed by the same fund manager, industries the fund invests in, etc.
I do agree with you that a lot of it's common sense. However, we also need to acknowledge that the reason books such as hers sell is that common sense is not that common.
Wow! I'm surprised this meme is still around, I've been tagged with this two or three times already, in the past 2 years... :-D
Rudy,
It's been around that long? Wow! Hahaha
Sound financial advice but hmmm what if you really have nothing to save after you've paid the rent, your bills, your credit card purchases etc etc? ;)
Hi Panaderos!
May I contribute something even if I'm not a financial guru? I think that one of the most important things to remember is to distinguish between NEED and WANT. Being able to buy only what we need and not what we want may not make us millionaires but it will surely allow us to save for the rainy days.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Now I have one more good blog to add to my list - yours!
Ooops sorry... that should read "Buying ONLY what we need, not what we want ..."
thanks for this tag, buddy! will definitely do this..:)
that's a pretty good advice on money matters. i read sometime ago re: passive income. it's what I'd love to work on...money comes while i sleep or do nothing at all. hehe
Hi Daphne,
In the scenario you mentioned, that person would face the prospect of having no retirement years to enjoy. He/she would have to keep working until he/she dies, sad to say. It would be a big problem if he/she gets sick along the way. A lot of Americans are sadly in that situation.
Hi Bugsybee,
That's true. A lot of people fail to make such a distinction and some also fail to distinguish as to what they think they can buy as against what they could afford. Two totally different perspectives.
Thank you very much for the visit. It's much appreciated. I'll link you up too. :)
Hi Fingertalks!
Wouldn't it be great to still make money even when one's asleep? That's making your money work for you. :)
Thanks for doing the tag. :)
i'll do this tomorrow, okies?
Mari,
Tomorrow's fine. Thanks. :)
Oh I was so late to notice...=P You should have said you tagged me hehe...Wait I'll get a book. =D
Gizelle,
No worries for it was my fault too. I went to your site yesterday, looked at some photos, and totally forgot to post a comment to inform you of my tag. Sorry about that. Thanks for doing the tag. Take care. :)
I thought the third was was winning the lottery hehe :)
Great tips - we can never underestimate the importance of saving when we can no longer work. It isn't inspiring to see a 70 year old working full time to support himself :(
No worries about the tag bro :)
BW,
Hahaha Buying a lottery ticket would be considered an "investment" I guess. :)
Saving money is of greater significance today because of the rising cost of medical care, food, and oil. In addition, quite a number of companies, especially here in the US, are getting rid of pension programs. Thus, a retiree can't simply rely on his/her social security checks to survive. He/she would definitely need other sources of income to make sure his/her needs are met. It will behoove everyone to start saving sooner rather than later.
guess what, I finally finished this lol! After 4 days I get to seat and get serious despite the allergies =D I applaud myself haha.
mirage2g,
Congratulations! Thanks for doing the tag. :)
Post a Comment