Summary Of The Millionaire Factory By Andrii Sedniev

    The Millionaire Factory by Andrii Sedniev's tagline is that it is a complete system for becoming insanely rich. The first section is a wealth formula: Income  - Expenses (Cost of Living)  = Money to Invest. Invested Money x Rate of Interest earned = Growing Wealth.  This is a solid wealth formula that those who have grown rich have known for centuries. Benjamin Franklin talks about it in his autobiography.  Thus, to grow wealthy you must maximize your income, decrease your expenses (ideally to less than twenty-five percent to what you earn), and then you must invest what you have saved into an investment that grows at a high rate of interest but that has a low chance of risk (loss). 

     The second formula offered is a Millionaire Triangle. This three-part formula is (1) to provide value to people,  (2) to do something you are passionate about or can become passionate about, and (3) to use your natural talents.  I think life is more enjoyable if you can find a way to earn money doing what you are passionate about but my passions are reading books and going to the beach. I haven't uncovered a way to get people to pay me for these activities yet, but I am forever hopeful. Also, many people believe their art provides value, they are passionate about art, and many people are incredibly talented in that area, but few artists make a large amount of money. The same can be said for singers and actors. 

    For investments, the author suggests (1) entrepreneurship, (2) an S and P 500 index fund in the stock market, and (3) a credit card that will return at least 2 percent of what is spent so long as the balance is paid monthly.  The author does not suggest real estate as viable as an investment.  But real estate is the area where many people have earned their fortunes.  In fact, surveys have shown that most people who do not retire owning a home, they retire in relative poverty.  

   Overall, this book is good. It offers a very clear wealth-building formula that is clearly stated in the first section of the book. Although I disagree with the author about real estate not being a good investment vehicle, this book can help people on their path to earning wealth and is worth the purchase price.  

  

Summary of Measure What Matters By John Doerr

It's a new year and most of us are thinking about making and achieving some goals for 2022.  I usually write these in the back of my personal planner.  Last year I am embarrassed to report that I achieved none of the goals I set out to achieve. Thus, I hoped that by reading Measure What Matters I might gain some tips on how to set better goals and that is exactly what happened.  

In Measure What Matters, John Doerr explains how and why some of the leading tech companies set objectives with key results that are analyzed and measured every quarter, as well as how doing so improves productivity and can change a company's culture. An objective is "what" you seek to achieve.  Key results are the "how" used to achieve the objective.  They are incremental steps that will reach the objective. When all the key results are complete, the objective should be met. 

Generally, only a handful - about three to five objectives should be set each quarter.  These should all be broken down into key results that will lead to meeting the objective.  Thus, with each objective, a person or an entire company can see how close or how far away they are from reaching an objective at any point in the quarter as they measure what has been accomplished to achieve the objective. 

For example, if one of my objectives for the first quarter of 2022 was to pay my credit card balance in full during 2022 and keep it paid off, and my current balance was $1,000 and the deadline was to have it fully paid by April 1, I could list, "Pay Off Credit Card" as the first objective. Then I would need to list the steps or the strategy I will use to achieve this objective. I might decide that I need to pay $350.00 for January and February and then the remaining balance for March. I would also need to list how I would generate that money every month. Would I sell stuff that was not being used to generate cash?  Would I pick up a part-time job? Would I get a side gig?  Whatever strategy I  decided to use would also be listed. Then each week/month I would measure the amount that was actually earned and the amount I paid toward the card and compare that to the amount I planned to pay.   

Objectives and Key results can also be used with more aspirational and stretch goals. When the companies set out to achieve these types of goals, they allow more flexibility into the grading so that  70 percent is considered a good result. 

I don't have a tech company - I have only myself to lead, but I can easily see how this would be useful in getting people to work together and to see what others are working on that will lead to a company's goal being achieved.  I will be using objectives and key results this year to achieve a few goals.  I am optimistic that by constantly measuring whether my activities are getting me closer or further away from goals every week, I will stay on track and achieve them.  

If you have a small company, this book could be priceless. But if you have only yourself to lead, the first few chapters are more than adequate to get the idea of how to use objectives and key results.  

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review.
Copyright @2022 Christine Esser

Summary of The 5 Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me by Richard Paul Evans

 The 5 Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me by Richard Paul Evans can be used by anyone to build wealth or at least to avoid debt.   The first lesson is the most important lesson. That lesson is to decide to build wealth. This decision means that you will learn the rules to building wealth and follow them.

      The second lesson is to be responsible with your money.  You are responsible when you: (1) track how much money you earn, (2)  know the source of the income, (3) track where you are spending the money, know what your money is doing (e.g., is it earning a fair rate?)  You spend a lifetime earning money, you and your family deserve to know if it is being used well.

     The third lesson is to save a portion of all you earn. It is suggested to save and invest at least ten percent in assets.  Some people have debt and for those who do, it is suggested they use 10 percent of income to repay debt and ten percent to save and invest.

       The fourth lesson is to win in the margins.  Work a day job to cover all expenses and have medical insurance but also work a side job and invest all the money earned from the side job. Another way to win in the margins is to save money by getting the best price on large purchases. One way to do this is to ask, “Is this the best you can do?”  Also, ask yourself if each expenditure is necessary. Scale back spending. Find ways to enjoy life without spending money.  For each expenditure, ask if the expense is adding to your wealth or taking away from it.        

      Another mindset of millionaires is that freedom and power are better than momentary pleasure. Thus, think long-term.  Cars depreciate in value fast.  Thus,  for most people, it does not make financial sense to pay a lot for vehicles.

       Most successful people who have earned wealth know that spending does not equate to happiness.  Being grateful for what you have helps to prevent consuming as a strategy for seeking enjoyment.

       The millionaire mentality protects the nest egg. Once the nest egg starts to grow it will be tempting to spend it on something you could not afford before you saved the money. Millionaires resist this urge and let their money continue to grow.

    The fifth lesson is to give back.  No one leaves this earth with their money. We leave the wealth behind when we die. Thus, smart people give while they are still alive to enjoy seeing how their money works to help others.

   This is a practical book everyone can use to improve their financial life. It is highly recommended. 

 This book was purchased, not a gift.   

Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review.

Copyright @2022 by Christine Esser