MONEY SECRETS OF THE AMISH by Lorilee Craker

In a world so focused on consumerism and debt the basic things are labelled as “secrets”, when I think of the title “Money secrets of...” I can’t help but thinking “how sad that we now regard it as secrets”, definitely some years ago it would have been regarded as just simple common sense.

There is no “money secrets” in Lorilee Craker’s book, just some basic common sense that from time to time we should be reminded of. Nowadays we seem to have our priorities in the wrong place and in these economic times is now, more important than ever to have well set our priorities. In the Amish world this seems to be simplicity, family, and among “their secrets”, avoid debt, live with less, shop second hand, buy what you really need, be self-sufficient in whatever you can, trade for goods and services, save more and be as resourceful as you can. I have to say, that most of all the “tips and tricks” were already known and practised in my household, however the book left me completely inspired to continue the same lifestyle and even try a couple of new things.

The narrative style with nice touches of humour make this book a page turner. If you are on the frugal side of life and you value the simple and basic things in life this book will not disappoint you.

Mind your own Mortgage -Book Review

I have received Mind Your Own Mortgage: The Wise Homeowner's Guide to Choosing, Managing, and Paying Off Your Mortgage by Robert J. Bernabe from the publisher in a moment I was actually preparing myself to refinance, probably it was the best moment the book could have come as it was a real eye opener.

The book is divided in four sections: Get a grip on it, shop for it, manage it and finish it.

The first section it is an introduction of the book and explains in general how the mortgage market works. The second section goes deeply into explaining all the shopping process and everything involved in the total cost of a mortgage, provides charts and explains how to compare prices in the same way as you would if you were buying a gallon of gas. The third and forth part are shorter and deals with the payment of your mortgage.

The book is very informative and well written, although this is not an easy subject at least for me. The idea of having your own charts/ tables to compare different prices provided by the lenders was completely new to me as we always tend to listen to the sales pitch and make some sense of it. I doubt that the tables will be valid for the UK market or any other market outside the United States; however it is an interesting idea and inspires you to find a way to adapt it to your own market and situation.

In general the principles and basic rules still apply wherever you are: shop based on total cost versus payments, try to put money aside to “overpay” each month (reducing the length of your mortgage and saving thousands of dollars in the long run), live within your means.