About This Book The bad news! This book is not about how to get rich quick. It is definitely not about spending your life accumulating objects that will only turn to dust. The good news! This book takes a back-to-basics approach. It's about living well-for-less. It's about living from the inside-out. Within these pages it makes every effort to present materials in an easy-to-understand format. It is for everyday people who feel the need to live a more meaningful life that reflects their true potential. Never does it make any unrealistic claims to give a cure-all-solution to life's problems. Neither, does it imply that you can improve your life without putting forth honest and committed efforts. Our objective is to stimulate your mind, give you access to simple down-to-earth strategies that can help you to wake up, get up, go up, and stay up in any type of economy. Simply put, our aim is to help you "spend less than you earn and enjoy it." More about This Book Being a real estate broker for the past 13 yrs, I can truly see your vision and where this book is leading this next generation. The message in your book is so clear, and the life that you are living has inspired me and many of my close associates to step it up a notch in the way we handle our everyday finances. You demonstrated so clearly in your book, many of the key fundamentals to getting out of debt, a simple written plan of instructions that's easy to follow, and once you've built the wealth; how to keep it! Parents, I recommend you buy this book for your children before puberty. It's like putting money in the bank for your future. Ruben Surles Real Estate Broker San Antonio, Texas

Is Wall Street bad for Main Street America? "A well-told exploration of why our current economy is leaving too many behind." —The New York Times In looking at the forces that shaped the 2016 presidential election, one thing is clear: much of the population believes that our economic system is rigged to enrich the privileged elites at the expense of hard-working Americans. This is a belief held equally on both sides of political spectrum, and it seems only to be gaining momentum. A key reason, says Financial Times columnist Rana Foroohar, is the fact that Wall Street is no longer supporting Main Street businesses that create the jobs for the middle and working class. She draws on in-depth reporting and interviews at the highest rungs of business and government to show how the “financialization of America”—the phenomenon by which finance and its way of thinking have come to dominate every corner of business—is threatening the American Dream. Now updated with new material explaining how our corrupted financial sys­tem propelled Donald Trump to power, Makers and Takers explores the confluence of forces that has led American businesses to favor balance-sheet engineering over the actual kind, greed over growth, and short-term profits over putting people to work. From the cozy relationship between Wall Street and Washington, to a tax code designed to benefit wealthy individuals and corporations, to forty years of bad policy decisions, she shows why so many Americans have lost trust in the sys­tem, and why it matters urgently to us all. Through colorful stories of both “Takers,” those stifling job creation while lining their own pockets, and “Makers,” businesses serving the real economy, Foroohar shows how we can reverse these trends for a better path forward.

We are in the middle of an economic downturn that is deeper and more damaging to the world economy than anything experienced since the 1930s. This means that to thrive'or even just to survive'company owners, executives, managers and even employees must take action today to remake their businesses in a way that is profound and long-lasting. To do this, it is first necessary to understand that most employees today feel apprehensive, overworked, and underappreciated. During tough and challenging times when we are asking them to do even more with less, they report feeling even more stressed and fearful than ever before. But, there is hope. By focusing on the right things in this negative and challenging time, any company can make a dramatic and marked difference in improving its ability to compete more effectively. And, to keep employees from becoming overloaded and myopic, management needs to especially be proactive and positive in difficult times. In this book, Dr. Bob Nelson, best-selling author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, discusses his recent research, experience and insights as to how managers and organizations can make a practical difference during tight and recessionary times'even with little time, resources or budget. This book uses hundreds of current and practical examples of what today's managers and business owners are doing to keep employees focused and positive in ways that can help their organization to emerge stronger from difficult economic times.

Peter Holtz, CPA, is the founder and owner of Dream Inc Great Valley, headquartered in Stockton California. Peter founded the business in 2004 after more than two decades as a CEO, CFO and CPA for a variety of businesses with sales ranging from the millions to the billions. Peter has one of a kind experience as a CPA who has also been a CEO and has successfully managed near impossible turnaround situations, nationwide sales programs selling to large customers, product design teams, and setting successful sales and operating strategies for an astonishing variety of business. Peter started the business to provide local business owners with a package of services that integrated rock solid business advice with perfect fit tax planning, exceptional measurement tools, and no-hassle tax compliance services. This synergistic power of these services has produced exceptional results for his successful clients leading to substantial returns on investment with machinelike regularity and precision.

#1 New York Times Bestseller “Significant...The book is both instructive and surprisingly moving.” —The New York Times Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals. In 1975, Ray Dalio founded an investment firm, Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Forty years later, Bridgewater has made more money for its clients than any other hedge fund in history and grown into the fifth most important private company in the United States, according to Fortune magazine. Dalio himself has been named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Along the way, Dalio discovered a set of unique principles that have led to Bridgewater’s exceptionally effective culture, which he describes as “an idea meritocracy that strives to achieve meaningful work and meaningful relationships through radical transparency.” It is these principles, and not anything special about Dalio—who grew up an ordinary kid in a middle-class Long Island neighborhood—that he believes are the reason behind his success. In Principles, Dalio shares what he’s learned over the course of his remarkable career. He argues that life, management, economics, and investing can all be systemized into rules and understood like machines. The book’s hundreds of practical lessons, which are built around his cornerstones of “radical truth” and “radical transparency,” include Dalio laying out the most effective ways for individuals and organizations to make decisions, approach challenges, and build strong teams. He also describes the innovative tools the firm uses to bring an idea meritocracy to life, such as creating “baseball cards” for all employees that distill their strengths and weaknesses, and employing computerized decision-making systems to make believability-weighted decisions. While the book brims with novel ideas for organizations and institutions, Principles also offers a clear, straightforward approach to decision-making that Dalio believes anyone can apply, no matter what they’re seeking to achieve. Here, from a man who has been called both “the Steve Jobs of investing” and “the philosopher king of the financial universe” (CIO magazine), is a rare opportunity to gain proven advice unlike anything you’ll find in the conventional business press.

As the economic pendulum swings, it’s time to start living smart Living Well in a Down Economy For Dummies offers ideas for keeping more money in your pocket during a topsy-turvy economy. With more than 100 tips, it shows you how to tighten your belt without feeling a big pinch in your day-to-day life. Discover innovative and effective ways to cut expenses and boost your income in today’s economy. It isn’t about making sacrifices. It’s about setting priorities. Gain the skills you need to take control of your spending, make smarter choices, and stop the financial drain that can accompany a downturn in the economy. Inside, you’ll find practical advice on how to live and thrive when prices creep up or your income falls. Get tips for spending less in all areas of life—utilities, groceries, pet care, entertainment, and beyond. And figure out how to slip in some self-care without breaking the bank. You can do this, thanks to this no-judgment For Dummies guide. Reduce your expenses by cooking at home, doing your own car maintenance, cutting your own hair, and more Discover creative ways to increase your income, interview for better-paying jobs, and continue to save for college or retirement Save money on home maintenance, insurance, and other reoccurring costs Minimize your tax bill, improve your credit, and avoid foreclosure If you’re looking for practical tips on how to make ends meet that you can implement today, this For Dummies guide is for you.

"In much the same way that Good to Great uncovered hitherto hidden secrets of highly successful companies, Navarro’s Always a Winner uses extensive research to reveal the overriding importance of learning how to forecast and strategically manage the business cycle for competitive advantage. In doing so, this book provocatively explores a critical aspect of successful management virtually untapped by the existing strategy literature." —Dan DiMicco, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nucor Steel " Always a Winner is an important and timely guide to thriving in challenging economic times. Prof. Navarro deftly bridges the academic and business communities, showing corporate leaders how to read economic tea-leaves to anticipate business cycles. His "Master Cyclist" credo offers many practical tips and real-world case studies for steering companies through turbulent economic seas." —Mark Greene, Ph.D, Chief Executive Officer, FICO (Fair Isaac Corp.) "Navarro’s Always a Winner shows why forecasting the economy with a ruler can be lethal for corporate executives and money managers. He demonstrates how to skillfully anticipate the ups and downs of the economy and successfully navigate through them. The current economic crisis clearly demonstrates why this book is so important to have on your bookshelf." —Mark Zandi, Chief Economist and Cofounder of Moody’s Economy.com "Always a Winner is required reading for every entrepreneur, money manager, and independent investor hoping to outperform the market and retire one day." —Mark T. Brookshire, Founder of StockTrak.com and WallStreetSurvivor.com " Navarro’s wealth of real world examples will show you how to make both economic recessions and recoveries invaluable allies in executing competitive corporate strategies. A must read!" —Lakshman Achuthan, Managing Director, Economic Cycle Research Institute Why recessions are far more dangerous than any 10 competitors Most companies make a lot of money during economic expansions-and lose a lot of money during recessions. That is the way it has always been. That is the way it need not always be. This book will show you how to "always be a winner" over the course of the entire business cycle-not just when economic times are good. To do this job, this book will arm you with all the strategies and tactics and forecasting tools you will need to profitably manage your organization through the business cycle seasons-from the best of boom times to the worst of recessionary times. In this book, you will learn to Forecast movements and key recessionary turning points in the business cycle Implement a set of powerful "battle-tested" strategies over the course of the business cycle Rebuild your organization with a strategic business cycle orientation and thereby make it much more recession-resistant and resilient over the longer term The forecasting tools and management strategies revealed in this book have been developed over the last five years by the author-the world's leading expert on managing the business cycle for competitive advantage. By learning to strategically manage the business cycle, your organization will be able to create a powerful competitive and sustainable advantage over its rivals and thereby find the grail sought by every executive team in the world-superior financial performance. In this way, Always a Winner provides you with the in-depth insight and practical advice you need to help your company survive and thrive in the increasingly risky conditions of the 21st century.