Big Savings Free Interrelated Roadmap

This book is a good starting point for doing your personal taxes. I gave the book the rating I did because it is fun to read and contains information about things other than taxes. For example, there are sections on recording keeping, organization, and surviving an audit. In general though, I’m usually a bit apprehensive about tax books. How long will it be before its outdated? Almost immediately.

However, for the price, it’s a good little bargain. The non-tax information is worth reading through and might give you some good ideas. If you have not done your 2008 tax returns yet, I say get the book and double-check the author’s recommendations with your tax adviser or through the IRS website.

I was really expecting a lot of new, bold information with a title like this: Beating the IRS!

But in fact, this was just an average book. I’m writing from the perspective of a business owner who has read a lot of tax books, from conservative books to the IRS’s own publications, and even some wacked out books by the anti-IRS tax resistance people.

Having a small library of tax books already, I was hoping for something new. And fortunately, I pulled out 5 or 6 useful tidbits from this book. But this is basically the equivalent of a “Dummies Guide”.

So if you need a dummies guide… by all means, this should be fine for you. In fact, this is probably slightly better than the Dummies Guide – it’s easy to read, well organized, and she is a clever person with lots of fun stories. (Actually, however, I did wish she had shorter stories and more substance).

Keep in mind, though – this is not going to provide much useful insight if you are a business owner, if you file multiple returns, or if you have anything out of the ordinary in your tax life.

So if you already have some experience in tax law, or if you are a business owner &/or have unique tax needs, skip this one.

Also, I would recommend the following:

-Anything by Charles Givens – he’s a financial guru with lots of practical advice, for taxes and all other areas of your financial planning.

-Your Money or Your Life – not a tax book, but an excellent financial planning tool.

-And, Rich Dad’s Loopholes of the Rich – I know it sounds like fluff (Rich Dad/Poor Dad Series), and actually, a LOT of the first half is fluff. But the second half, and the appendix and charts in the back, are extremely useful. This is a book that focuses on tax law, and really helps you find deductions and practical tax strategies that work. This is for the average employee, or the small business owner. Again, if you’re a tax expert, no reason to read the whole thing – just skim the last 50-75 pages.

I wish you all the luck in the world with your tax preparation & financial future!

I noticed almost little “mini ads” throughout the book extolling various items (Bounty paper towels, Dawn dishwashing soap, Progressive insurance, Qdoba, Wal-Mart). I believe Bounty and Dawn are both owned by Proctor & Gamble and I see that the author is/was a product spokesperson for P&G and Wal-Mart. I didn’t find the bulk of the suggestions useful (and don’t know how she “calculated” her “savings” – such as saving $125 per year by cooking multiples dishes in the oven at the same time).
Overall, not a good purchase (and, if you want to save money either pass on this book or get it from the library) and miss the ads for items she’s paid to hawk.

My wife loves the book. I bought it for a financial class I’m leading and the students like it too

Saving Big Ben is a captivating story about the naval war in the Pacific Fleet in WWII. Told from the perspective of the U.S.S. Franklin (CV 13), the most decorated crew in naval history, it’s a riveting tale of courage under fire. Unlike many other historical accounts, Saving Big Ben captures the personal side of the story- the hopes and fears, the courage and the heartbreak- of her crew. It includes the stories of two Medal of Honor winners and their shipmates, following them through the incredible drama as they fought to save their crippled ship.

Based on actual ships logs, the story follows the Franklin and her crew through the battles of the Coral Sea, Leyte Gulf and the Sea of Japan. It also provides a birds eye view of the Fleet commanders, Admirals Nimitz and Halsey, painting a compelling view of the strategy, challenges and triumphs of the Pacific Fleet. This story will have you on the edge of your seat, as it could only be told by someone who was there.

In Saving Big Ben, Peter Prato combines the style of W.E.B. Griffin (Brotherhood of War), the narrative drama of Hapton Sides (Ghost Soldiers), and the historical accuracy of Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down). Once you start this book, you won’t want to put it down.

I have read a lot of books about the U.S. Navy but this is by far the worst one. This book contains so many errors that I can only describe the whole book as one giant error – or just fiction. The author does not seem to have the slightest idea about the U.S. Navy.

Even though we all hope we will never have to use the skills this presentation teaches, it provides you with the skills in an easy to understand format and gives you the confidence to know what to do in an emergency

What a fantastic video! From the viewpoint of a firefighter, and a father…this is a video that all new parents should watch before they even consider leaving the hospital. The producers cover material that is important for new parents to review. Honestly, in my job, you would be amazed at what goofy things people do and oddly enough…what they DON’T know. This video puts it all in perspective in an easy to watch and understand format. An excellent video for new parents….or in some cases….’experienced’ parents, also!