NF

A review of Bach's basic principles here, but good advice about saving, no matter what your age. ( )

100% common sense. Written circa 2004 so some of the comments about investments (eg.,real estate) are super optimistic and perhaps a bit dated. ( )

Practical advice from the pay yourself first and delayed gratification school of saving your way to financial freedom with some modern, practical caveats of what to do with your savings to ward against the you can't simply save it, you've got to apply it within today's financial environment.

This is the third time I read this book, but it was also actually the first in which I read it in its entirety. Back at the age of 18 when I first picked up the "Automatic Millionaire", a lot of the concepts Bach covers were unfamiliar so I grew bored and simply skimmed the pages. Fast forward 5 years later, after finally paying off my credit card debt and now starting on my student loans, I wish I paid better attention.

Though I took my time deliberately in going through this book, it still took me 2 days to finish because I literally couldn't put it down. A lot of the things he says make sense. I liked what he had to say a lot because the concepts were easy to comprehend; the author was honest and he also provided a lot of resources to further help you with your personal research and goals. In addition, the writing style was different from most finance books I've read. It was humble, down to earth and simplified--no big snobby CEO listing his major life accomplishments and the names of celebs he's rubbed elbows with. Most importantly, Bach doesn't go too all out on how wonderful this plan is, and how easy it is to become a millionaire overnight. He's realistic. He says it's possible, but it's hard work and becoming rich certainly does not happen instantaneously.

Unlike the workbook, this book was clear cut and included tangible strategies on how to immediately take action. Only downside is, I think he threw everything in this book towards the end. It's good to have various ways of increasing income, but I started to feel a little overwhelmed. You don't have to do everything. Pick and choose what's best for you.

Overall, Bach wrote a good book. No frills. Just good old fashioned advice and common sense. ( )