I loved this book!

My Tuesday lunch buddy, Missy, accidentally left this book on my counter this week. She said I could just give it to her Friday at our YW "late over". I thought it would be nice to flip through it a little, but I am reading about 3-4 other books at the moment. I am a bit ADD when it comes to reading.

Just for fun, I'm going to think through the books I am reading - Eldest by Christopher Paolini, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants book 1, the Doctrine and Covenants (a book of scripture in our church), the Joseph Smith R.S. lessons, Keeping a Nature Journal by Clair Walker Leslie, Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, and The Nature Handbook by Ernest Herbert Williams. (see pics below) Oh yeah, and I've been trying to read Stephanie Meyers "Midnight Sun" online - it is hard to read a book online, but I have really enjoyed this book too.

So my point is, I wasn't looking for anything else to read at the moment! But then I started flipping through the pages. I started flipping yesterday and finished this afternoon. It's a pretty fast read. I loved it and wrote down notes so I can remember all the good ideas when I give Missy back her book! This guy is a no nonsense financial expert. His advice is sound, conservative (no weird, scary investing, borrowing, etc.) and makes a lot of sense to me.

While Kip* and I are in much better shape than many people's stories told in the book, there are some tidbits of wisdom and ideas for saving and avoiding debt that really inspired me to do better and to be excited about saving like crazy. I love that he says that every one's best ticket to wealth is their income, plain and simple. No crazy real estate buying/selling, not winning the lottery, not doing risky investments, etc. And you don't have to make a ton of money to do well on his plan. Most of the scenarios he talks about are very middle of the road incomes. It takes a long time, discipline and sticking to it, but it will be worth it.

I especially love how his advice really aligns with all the things that I have learned from our church leaders my whole life. Avoid debt, save for a rainy day, do good and serve with your money when you start doing well, etc. He offers sound advice on how to help others so you don't get burned, how much you should save, what college funds to put money towards, whether to refinance, why you should pay off your house ASAP, etc. I definitely recommend this book, even if you aren't in debt, it is a valuable tool.

Here are some pics of the other books I am reading from the library ... I am on a nature kick right now - so excited for spring and summer!! I want to be out in nature more this summer and have the girls keep a nature journal with me. The Nature Handbook is cool because it covers patterns and more broad knowledge of nature. The Handbook of Nature Study is more like an old school (the book was first published in the early 1900's) "bible" of plants, animals, etc. It is fun to look up different bugs, animals or plants and read her specific findings after the author's own lengthy observations of these living things. It also has fun, probing questions to ask children to get them wondering and looking for answers themselves while observing nature.