Thinking of something to read? Reading books is
definitely more than knowing about amazing stories and fantasies or
getting inside the lives of your favorite figures; it can also be
the seed to your financial success!
So go ahead and add some reads on personal finance to your
reading list for the year 2016. If you are wondering where to
start, below are some suggestions of the latest bestsellers in
personal finance.
Author/s:
Laura Vanderkam
The Gist of It: You probably saw one of those posts
about how you will have to sacrifice some aspects of your life
(school/career, family, relationship, friends, etc.) in order to
succeed in another on your Facebook news feed. However, whoever
posted those things probably either do not know anything
about time
management or have not read this book.
Take it from the stories and testimonials of women who
somehow managed to find some solutions to the work-life balance
problem. Let these serve as proofs to finally debunk those myths
you heard and probably demotivate you in even trying to
balance.
In this book, Vanderkam provides us with 1,001 days’
worth of accounts by women who proved to themselves and the world
that even as dutiful and responsible mothers, they can also
be successful
entrepreneurs.
Author/s:
Margaret A. Neale and Thomas
Z. Lys
The Gist of It: Opportunities are everywhere, but not
all of us are able to see them every time, let alone grab them.
However, by the end of this book by Neale and Lys, change is
definitely going to come in your life.
How exactly will this book help me recognize and take
the opportunities in your life? As made obvious by its title, the
two authors make use of the recent researches and studies in
Psychology and Economics. What this book teaches all of us is that
opportunities do not just come to us; we have to know when we can
get them and to actually do something to take them for
ourselves.
One way to take the best opportunities in life is by
negotiating. Given the assumption that everything can be discussed,
this book provides lessons that not only people in the world of
business will find valuable. It gives us tips on how we can
negotiate – from haggling for that lampshade to sealing a big
business deal – by understanding the psychology between the actions
and responses of people in deal-making.
Author/s:
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen
J. Dubner
The Gist of It: If you are a fan of Freakonomics, you
will definitely enjoy this compilation of the best blog posts by
the same authors, Levitt, and Dubner. Truly, there’s a reason why
their book is a best-seller and was even turned into a film.
The said book addresses, with entertaining wit and
humor, the weirdest questions on life and
finance with economic principles and phenomena. What makes
this amazing is how academic the discussions are no matter how
otherworldly the topics are; the topic covers from why flight
attendants are not tipped, to when to rob a bank, as predicted.
It being a compilation of past blogs make reading it a
great learning experience without being too flashy with economics
jargon that may scare away those who are new in the field; in other
words, it is a light and easy read that is fun and fruitful at the
same time.
Author/s:
Gretchen Rubin
The Gist of It: This quote by Stephen Pressfield
pretty much sums up how important our habits are, especially when
it comes to our career and financial progress: “The difference
between an amateur and a professional is in their habits. An
amateur has amateur habits. A professional has professional habits.
We can never free ourselves from habit. But we can replace bad
habits with good ones.”
This thinking is not new at all. However, it leaves us
pondering how exactly are we going to change our habits. This is
where Rubin’s book becomes quite insightful. Operating under the
premise that more positivity and happiness leads to more progress
in aspects of your life (including financial progress), Rubin
provides up to 21 strategies that her readers can use to make
more positive changes
in their lives.
This includes one step that we have always emphasized
in our past posts: giving yourself some time and budget to indulge
or in short, giving “treats” to yourself.
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