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Automatic Wealth
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Automatic Wealth

The Six Steps to Financial Independence

Michael Masterson
Wiley, 2005
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Editorial Rating

8

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  • Applicable

Recommendation

The world is filled with get-rich schemes and early retirement plans. Michael Masterson’s book stands out because it blends common-sense advice with savvy investment strategies and a healthy dose of reality. Using personal stories and instructive examples, Masterson provides reality-based insights about achieving financial independence. The chapters on wealth-producing habits and investment diversification are especially helpful, although the multiple sections on real estate investments make the book slightly repetitive. It might have benefited from tighter editing. This is a lively book with helpful suggestions and examples about generating wealth and achieving financial independence. getAbstract recommends it to those who seek a healthier income statement, early retirement or both.

Summary

Step One: "Face the Facts"

True wealth is not about money, cars or mansions. Real wealth equals financial freedom, with liberation from boring jobs, bill collectors and lost sleep. Financial freedom means you have sufficient funds and an automatic flow of "passive income" to pay for the nuts and bolts of life (food, home, entertainment, education) and for retirement. "Passive income" is money you earn from real estate, bonds, equities, business ventures, royalties and other investments. It’s called "passive income" because you don’t have to clock in traditional nine-to-five hours to earn money. This kind of income is the key to wealth and a comfortable retirement.

Begin with a savings plan. A strategy for saving money provides the launch pad for your wealth-building journey. The formula is simple: Spend less than your paycheck. Too often people waste extra income on frills and toys. They may make you feel posh momentarily, but they sap your bank account.

Calculate how much money you need for retirement; tally your costs of shelter, food, utilities, entertainment, travel, taxes and other nuts-and-bolts items. Your goal is to accumulate a net worth of 10 ...

About the Author

Michael Masterson is well known for his articles in "Early To Rise," an electronic newsletter published by Agora. During his career, Masterson has launched many successful ventures, including two $100 million-plus businesses.

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    J. O. 1 decade ago
    This was quite interesting to read. Basically this abstract says that you should save money and not to spend it into unuseful things. That is for sure true. Some of the advice given is not in a reach for everyone. I would say that you already need a good job or excess money to get on. If you have no education, doing this might be difficult because you need the start money anyway. But if you are already making some income, then changing your ways might get you started on path of gaining wealth. Anyway, I recommend reading this if you are interested in getting ideas how to improve your financial situation.