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Safely Prosperous or Really Rich: Choosing Your Personal Financial Heaven

Safely Prosperous or Really Rich: Choosing Your Personal Financial Heaven

by Howard Ruff
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Release Date: November 2013
ISBN: 9781118826256
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Book Description

Praise for SAFELY PROSPEROUS or REALLY RICH?

"Howard's brilliant concept that the roads to Prosperity and Riches are very different is very liberating. In most financial books, the author would never do what Howard has done-recount with unflinching honesty the big financial mistakes he and his subscribers have made over the years so readers can avoid the same stumbling blocks and pitfalls. Only a very secure man would have the guts to do that."

-Robert Allen

author of Multiple Streams of Income and Nothing Down

"Howard Ruff is back, offering a wealth of powerful new financial advice for America's middle class. In his new manual, Safely Prosperous or Really Rich?, he challenges you to choose between two roads. The older I get, the more I favor 'Safely Prosperous,' but you make the call. I also love Howard's old-fashioned moral perspectives on money."

-Mark Skousen

editor of Forecasts and Strategies

"Safely Prosperous or Really Rich? is destined to be one of the most influential books of the early twenty-first century, just as his mega bestseller, How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years, changed millions of lives in the late '70s. Welcome back, Howard."

-John Mauldin

author of Bull's Eye Investing

Table of Contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Foreword
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction
    1. HOW I LEARNED WHAT NOT TO DO
    2. THE BEGINNING OF THE END
    3. MY BIGGEST PROFESSIONAL FLOP
    4. MY BIGGEST TRIUMPHS
    5. OLD FOGY WISDOM
    6. A REAL ADULT: I'VE BEEN THERE
  8. Book I: The Safe Road to Prosperity
    1. Section I: The Dumb Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes with Their Money
      1. Chapter 1: Two Tracks, Two Heavens
        1. SAFELY PROSPEROUS
        2. REALLY RICH
        3. STARTING BELOW SCRATCH
        4. BOOK II: THE REAL SECRETS OF THE REALLY RICH
        5. FORECASTING
        6. DIFFERENT TRACKS
        7. WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS BOOK
      2. Chapter 2: Worshipping Mammon
        1. SAD EXAMPLE #1
        2. SAD EXAMPLE #2
        3. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN
        4. HAPPY EXAMPLE #1
        5. HAPPY EXAMPLE #2
        6. UNREQUITED LOVE
        7. A PARABLE FOR OUR TIMES
        8. WORKAHOLICS
        9. RULES FOR FATHERS
        10. GET THEE BEHIND ME, GREENBACK
        11. RULES FOR MARRIED WOMEN
        12. RULES FOR THE UNMARRIED
        13. DIVORCE: THE FORTUNE WRECKER
      3. Chapter 3: The Alien in Your Chest
        1. THE INVISIBLE PROSPEROUS PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
        2. COMPOUND INTEREST AS A FRIEND
        3. CHANGING OUTGO INTO INCOME
        4. A VARIETY OF CHOICES
        5. WHAT TO DO ABOUT RISING RATES
        6. NIBBLED TO DEATH BY DUCKS
        7. DOING YOUR OWN PLUMBING: BIG LEAK #1
        8. THE WAGES OF SIN: BIG LEAK #2
        9. CREATING SAVINGS OUT OF NOTHING
        10. TAX-FREE SAVINGS
        11. BIG OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW
        12. WHY THE POOR GET POORER
        13. PAY YOURSELF FIRST
      4. Chapter 4: The Great American Lie
        1. LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!
        2. DOES POLLYANNA HAVE A POINT?
        3. RUFF'S RULES OF DEBT MANAGEMENT
        4. MEASURING UP
        5. A STRATEGY TO EMULATE
        6. “THOU SHALT NOT COVET”
        7. LIQUIDATING DEBT
        8. PROFESSIONAL HELP: YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO IT ALONE
        9. BIWEEKLY MORTGAGE PLANS
        10. DO-IT-YOURSELF DEBT PLANS
        11. HOME EQUITY LOANS AND REFINANCING
        12. BANKRUPTCY
        13. SUMMING UP
      5. Chapter 5: How to Prosper by Earning 15 Percent in a 1-Percent World
      6. Chapter 6: Social Security, the Ponzi Chain Letter
        1. PONZI REVISITED
        2. THE LOCKBOX MYTH—A GRIM FAIRY TALE
        3. THE GOVERNMENT-CERTIFIED CHAIN LETTER
        4. GOOD MEDICINE: THE ENEMY OF THE SYSTEM
        5. WHY SOCIAL SECURITY WILL NEVER BE REFORMED
        6. SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY?
    2. Section II: Blowing Your Money in the Investment Markets: The Turnpike to Financial Hell
      1. Chapter 7: Listening to Wall Street
        1. THE DINES SAGA
      2. Chapter 8: The Bigger-Fool Theory of Investing
        1. WHY BUY STOCKS?
      3. Chapter 9: Worshipping the Golden Calf
        1. BUYING GOLD
        2. WILL GOLD RISE AGAIN?
      4. Chapter 10: The Financial Death Wish
        1. IGNORANT TIMING
        2. BAD LUCK
      5. Chapter 11: Buying on Margin
        1. MEET A MARGIN CALL?
      6. Chapter 12: Thinking the Unthinkable
        1. WHY SIX MONTHS OF CASH?
        2. WHY AN EMERGENCY COMMODITY STASH?
        3. VULNERABILITIES
        4. OASES OF STABILITY
        5. WHY GOLD AND SILVER?
        6. TERRORISM AND GOLD
  9. Book II: The Secrets of the Rich—The Most Important Things Rich People Always Do
    1. Chapter 13: Surprising Ways Rich People Get Rich with Leverage
      1. NO LEVERAGE?
      2. THE CEO MENTALITY
      3. LEVERAGE IN A NUTSHELL
    2. Chapter 14: Getting Rich by Banishing Fear
      1. THE WAGES OF FEAR
      2. DOING IT RIGHT
      3. OTHER VICTIMS OF FEAR
      4. YOUNG CHOICES
      5. THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY
    3. Chapter 15: The Rich Person's Mind-set
      1. RICH PEOPLE'S MIND-SETS #1 AND #2
      2. RICH PEOPLE'S MIND-SET #3
      3. RICH PEOPLE'S MIND-SET #4
      4. RICH PEOPLE'S MIND-SET #5
      5. RICH PEOPLE'S MIND-SET #6
      6. RICH PEOPLE'S MIND-SET #7
      7. RICH PEOPLE'S MIND-SET #8
      8. RICH PEOPLE'S MIND-SET #9
      9. NO BACKDOORS
      10. Secondary, But Still Important
    4. Chapter 16: Financial Winners in Bad Times
      1. RISING INFLATION
      2. DEFLATION AND DEPRESSION/RECESSION
      3. FOR BUSINESSPEOPLE ONLY
    5. Chapter 17: The Capitalist Manifesto: Creating Wealth Out of Thin Air
      1. CAPITALIZING INCOME
      2. CAPITALISM 101
      3. AMERICAN APPLICATIONS
      4. HOW TO BECOME A PUBLIC COMPANY
      5. FOR BUSINESS OWNERS ONLY
      6. ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT: AN IPO
      7. A SECOND WAY TO SKIN A CAT: A MERGER
      8. A CHEAPER, FASTER WAY TO SKIN A CAT: A REVERSE MERGER
    6. Chapter 18: Getting Rich by Investing in Start-ups
      1. THE ONE INFALLIBLE RULE OF START-UP INVESTING
      2. THE SEVEN NEVER-DO'S
      3. THE PERFECT START-UP
      4. PICKING LOSERS
      5. THE PROFILE OF A SUCCESSFUL START-UP INVESTOR
      6. FOCUS
    7. Chapter 19: Marketing
      1. WHAT MARKETING IS SUPPOSED TO DO
      2. A PATH TO YOUR DOOR?
      3. CREATIVE MARKETING CASE STUDIES
      4. SEND ME A MAN WHO READS
      5. THE END OF THE ROAD
    8. Chapter 20: Was It Worth It?
    9. Appendix A: The Ruff Times Newsletter
      1. WHAT YOU GET
      2. THE PRINCIPLES OF A MAVERICK
    10. Appendix B: Recommended Vendors
      1. ADVISORY NEWSLETTERS
      2. WORLD WIDE WEB SITES
      3. INFORMATION ON HOW TO PREPARE YOUR OWN SURVIVAL PROGRAM
      4. DEBT REDUCTION COMPANIES
      5. PRECIOUS METALS DEALERS
      6. BOOKS
      7. NUTRITIONAL PRODUCTS
      8. GOLD MINING STOCKBROKERS
      9. GOLD MINING AND SILVER STOCKS
    11. Index