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New Protection From Identity Theft?

By: Christina
09/25/2008

There is a new identity theft protection act about to be signed into law by the President. This new law will close several loopholes within our current system and enforce tougher penalties for cyber crimes.

Here’s the lowdown:

The Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act was written by Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont in October of 2007. Since then it’s bounced around, been approved by the Senate twice, and then finally passed the House of Representatives. Now it’s just waiting on the President’s stamp of approval before being officially passed into law.

The new Identity Theft Act will make some much needed changes to our current laws:

1) Victims of identity theft can now sue the criminals that stole their identity, no matter how much money was stolen from them. This includes seeking damages for the loss of your wages, time, and any other expenses you ran into while getting everything straightened out.

2) It is now a felony to place spyware, or keyloggers on more than 10 computers. Half the computer programs on the market will have to be pulled! (Kidding…sort of…)

3) Identity theft cases can now be tried in a federal court. Prior to this law, if you and the identity thief lived in the same state then the crime was handled at the state level and was usually considered a misdemeanor, and not a felony.

4) If the law passes, it will now be considered a crime to threaten to steal or “release data” from a computer. It’s punishable by a fine, and up to five years in prison.

The law itself is a small step forward in our favor. The more penalties there are for identity theft, the better off we are all presumably going to be.

Now, whether or not this will have any effect on our friends the Nigerian entrepreneurs , it’s hard to say. What it will do though, is crack down a smidge on the criminals living within the United States.

While to bill does nothing to actually make our personal information safer, at least now we can go after anyone who does try to steal our identities, and sue them in court.

Ahh the American way…

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How Do You Start A Repayment Plan With a Credit Card Company?

By: Brooke Kaelin
09/23/2008

How do you start a repayment plan with a credit card company?

It’s never an easy thing when you can’t pay your bills. You do have options though, and it’s not difficult to set up a repayment plan. After all, lenders want you to pay them back, so they aren’t going to give you much trouble when you call to make arrangement. We get many questions about repayment plans. One of the most recent was from a reader named Gene:

How do you start a repayment plan with a credit card company? I get a paycheck bi-weekly. Can I split my credit card bill payment in half and pay them bi-weekly? Will this help me pay them off quicker ?

Thank you for your questions Gene!

How to start a repayment plan with your credit card company:

Normally, all you have to do is call your credit card company. If you are not currently past due, and you do not plan to be, then you really don’t need to make a payment arrangement.

If you call to make a payment arrangement when you are not past due, your credit card company will probably still tell you that you have to be past due or they can’t set it up.

Credit card repayment plans really only exist to help seriously past due accounts get back on track.

If you are past due with your credit cards, then be sure that you negotiate with the collections department. Collections representatives can set up payment arrangements, remove any of the fees on your card, and possibly even reduce your interest rate. All you have to do is ask.

Now, let’s take a look at your other question:

Will paying your credit cards bi-weekly help you to pay them off faster?

There are a couple of issues with this. In theory, yes you will pay them off faster by sending in bi-weekly payments because you will essentially be sending in a couple of extra payments in a years time. (This is assuming that you are splitting the minimum payments up between two payments.)

However, that is not a good way to pay your balance off faster. Also, some credit card companies may not let you make less than the minimum payment – even if you plan to pay the other half later.

There is no hard and fast rule that you can only make a credit card payment once a month. You can make a payment every day if you want to – they’ll accept your money any time. Be sure that you aren’t getting charged “telephone” or “processing” fees though. If that’s the case you may just want to make one payment a month to avoid an additional fee.

So, the best situation would be to call and make a payment plan if necessary. Promise them only one payment a month (in case you find you need your money) and then make an extra payment with your next check as often as you like.

As long as you are paying more than the minimum payment each month, then you will be getting your balance paid off faster. Just make it a habit to send in as much over the minimum payment amount as you can. Even if it’s only $25. Over time, it will add up.

If you have to make a payment arrangement, whatever you do, stick to the payment arrangement. Make sure you make at least the minimum payment on time as agreed each month, and then send in any extra money you have when you have it. Just don’t miss the payment you agreed to.

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Debt is Slavery

By: Christina
09/21/2008

“Debt Is Slavery” by Michael Mihalik is a short little read that is packed full of thought provoking concepts.

I wish that I could say I enjoyed reading it, but I didn’t. I really expected to like it. Especially since both Get Rich Slowly and The Simple Dollar gave it high marks. Unfortunately, I got aggravated halfway through and was barely able to finish it (it’s only 122 pages!).

So let’s give a quick rundown of what’s good, and what I believe went horribly, horribly wrong.

The good:

Debt is slavery. It’s an excellent concept. I love it in fact. If we could all think about this a little more before carrying a balance on a credit card, or signing a loan on a car we can’t afford, well, maybe it would help us.

Time is Not Money, But Money Is Time – I loved this concept too. Mihalik spends the better part of a chapter encouraging us to think of our purchases in relation to how many hours we will have to work to pay for them. (Or how much of our life we will have to give up to have that item.) For example, If I make $10 an hour, then I will have to work 8 hours, a full work-day, for an $80 item. And that is not even factoring in taxes.

Understanding that I am trading in a portion of my life just to have a designer purse, well, it makes that purse look a little less attractive to me. I’m at least going to try to get it on sale 🙂

The GMM is out to take your money – the GMM being the Giant Marketing Machine. You know the GMM I’ll bet. Anyone with access to a TV, computer, or radio does.

It’s the overall noise that is the background for our lives. Commercials that are constantly telling us to ” this” “Obey our thirst/emotions/impulses” The ones that are continually and constantly drowning out our powers of reason. Ads like this one are definitely the GMM at work:

Mihalik does a credible job of trying to snap us to our senses by pointing out that we don’t really need all that stuff, and that we are probably better off putting it back into circulation or just giving it away.

Ok, so that’s the good part. Let’s take a look at the not-so-good parts.

The Bad:

In my opinion, there are a few sprinkles of VBFA here and there. VBFA would be Very Bad Financial Advice.

Here are a couple of examples:

Mihalik believes in “good” debt and “bad” debt. For someone who openly professes all debt to be slavery, I have to wonder, is there good slavery and bad slavery?

He believes that going into debt to finance your college education is “good debt” yet he encourages people with mortgages to sell their house and rent instead.

I’m telling you, parts of this book just didn’t add up to me. Personally, I don’t believe in good or bad debt. It might be better to phrase it as necessary and unnecessary debt. Mihalik would probably agree on that point, it was just phrased poorly several times throughout the book.

One other bit of VBFA was this little paragraph:

So what about stocks? Are they a good asset to own?
The can be. The right stocks can appreciate significantly and make you wealthy, but most stocks do not pay dividends and thus, do not qualify as income producing assets.

Huh? Well, I can honestly say that the stocks I own that do not pay dividends have still been real assets. I have my dividend paying stocks in a tax deferred retirement account at present, and they haven’t really produce all that much income anyway. Either he’s wrong or I am, but I definitely consider my stocks assets. Might be just a difference of opinion, but I respectfully disagree with his assessment, and his definition of an asset.

The Ugly:

The first half of this book I thought was really good. But as the book wore on, the tone began to grate on me. It just….reminded me of a young man who thought he had “everything all figured out” and was looking down on those that didn’t. You are all SLAVES…SLAVES I TELL YOU.

I’m not in debt personally, and it still got on my nerves.

I give Mihalik full credit for digging himself out of his own debt in a single year, and I know that he must have worked very hard to do it. However, he flippantly suggests that you sell your home and rent somewhere just to get out of your mortgage without batting an eye.

Now, let me tell you, I have rented all of my adult life and it’s no joy. Especially when you have a family. Sometimes people have to make tough decisions, and sometimes that means selling their homes.

It’s just that Mihalik suggests selling your home in the same tone you would use if you were to suggest going for ice cream. Just because you say something in a cheerful way does not make it less painful, or easier to take. Depending on your situation, it’s not necessarily good advice either.

I will be positive and say that I truly hope Mihalik will write another book in about ten years that delves even deeper into the issues of debt and slavery. I would love to read it. Mihalik is a great author, and he’s got his foundation in order. I think, season that with a little time, and you have a true recipe for success.

For now, I would actually recommend Debt is Slavery for all teenagers, and young college students. I think that this is the audience it is best suited for, and I think it has a much needed message. I do plan to pass it on to my nephew, and I sincerely hope that he reads it. It will be an excellent stocking stuffer for anyone in the 16 to 21 age group.

Debt is Slavery is also an excellent read for any adults out there who may have trouble with ing things on impulse. For everyone else, check it out at your library, or give it a skim in the bookstore to see if it resonates better with you than it did with me.

Have You Read Debt Is Slavery? Tell Us What You Think of It!

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Madness and Mayhem and Bailouts, Oh My!

By: Brooke Kaelin
09/20/2008

This week has been a real ride financially. I thought it might be fun to take a “wide angle” look at how the personal finance community is reacting to the current market turmoil.

As for myself (and I’m no economist believe me!) I cut an unfortunate loss (*cough* Lehman *cough*) but didn’t take much of a hit. Mostly I am enjoying the discounts, ing what I can afford, and wishing I had even more money to invest. I “called” the market bottom in August, and I was incorrect. It’s taken a little longer, and it’s a bit rougher than I figured it’d be. All in all I expect that it will eventually come out in the wash. There will be spectacular losses, spectacular gains, and we will go on. So, there’s my uneducated two cents, for what it’s worth.

Now, let’s take a look at how everyone else is doing!

No Big Deal?

I’m Undecided:

Editor’s Choice:

My favorite article of the week is a two way tie!

  • 20’s Money has a worthwhile rant on “America: The Land Where It Doesn’t Pay To Be Financially Responsible” Hear hear! It certainly seems that way lately.
  • I also loved Squawk Fox’s article: Reasons to Build and Love an Emergency Fund. It cannot be stressed enough that if you don’t have this fund in place, you shouldn’t be investing anyway. As fox points out, starting an emergency fund is “neither rocket science nor “knee injury” painful.” It’s a basic necessity that can start with a small amount of money and grow larger with time.

    Editor’s Choice Honorable Mention: NCN at No Credit Needed did a short post on how to check and see if the funds in your bank are FDIC insured. If you’re worried about losing the money you have in the bank, check this link out – you’ll sleep better tonight.


    Carnivals, Festivals and Celebrations:
    Thanks to these carnivals for featuring our articles this week!

    That’s it for this roundup. Wishing you a stable bank, and a large return on your investments very soon.

    • Do You Know Who Is Looking At Your Credit Score?

    By: Brooke Kaelin
    09/19/2008

    Do you know your credit score? Do you know who else is looking at your credit score? The answer may surprise you.

    Credit card critics want you to believe that your credit score is not important – that having and using credit cards is not essential. While it may not be essential, having a good credit score will save you money, and may influence more things than you realize.

    Here’s a short list of people and businesses that use your credit score to make decisions about you:

    1) Your Bank – Online banks like ING check your credit score when you open up a checking account, and all banks will check your credit score if you apply for a loan.

    2) Your Employer – In virtually every job application you will ever sign you will find a clause that allows your employer to pull your credit report and score. Your credit score may not be the only factor that decides whether or not you get a job, but it is one of them.

    3) Your Landlord – If you rent, then it is very likely that your landlord will use your credit score as an indicator of your trustworthiness. We rent, and every landlord that we have ever had has checked our credit scores. I know because they usually charge us an additional $50 fee to cover the cost of running the report.

    4) Your Utility Company – If you are opening up an account with them for the first time, or even if you are switching addresses, it is very common for electric and water companies to pull your credit score. They use it to decide how much of a deposit you will need to give them before they provide their services to you. Again this is a situation where people with low credit scores are required to pay more than people with higher credit scores for the same level of service.

    5) Your Insurance Agent – Most insurance agents do not use your FICO score to decide your insurance rates. Instead, they have their own set of credit scores that they use to decide how much they will charge you. The credit scores that they use are still based off of the information in your credit report though. Again, people with low credit scores are increasingly being charged higher premiums for the same level of insurance.

    6) Your Cell Phone Provider – Cell phone companies always pull your credit score before they allow you to sign a contract with them. If you have a low credit score, then your best option is to go with a pre-paid cell phone, otherwise you may find yourself without any cell phone at all.

    7) Credit Card Companies – Obviously, when you apply for a credit card, the issuing bank pulls your credit score and uses it to make a decision about whether or not to give you a credit card. Sometimes credit card companies pull your score just to decide whether or not to send you an offer of credit. If they do this without your authorization (meaning you did not apply for the card) it is known as a “soft pull” and it does not affect your credit score.

    Again, this is just a short list of the people and companies that use your credit score to make up their minds about you. It’s becoming so common that it may very well feel like everyone knows your credit score but you!

    Since credit scores are becoming increasingly more important in everyday life, the best thing you can do for yourself is to get your credit score as high as you can. The easiest way to raise your credit score is to make your payments on time, and keep the balances on your credit cards low.

    Have a question for us? Leave a comment below!

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    Disappearing Rewards

    By: Jason Steele
    09/18/2008

    You have to love reward cards for their ability to refund a small but significant reward from all of your spending. Unfortunately, there are some situations where your reward is not worth the expense.

    Annual Fees

    Annual fees can soak up enough of your reward that it just isn’t worth it for people who are spending lower amounts on a particular card. Let’s say you find a great card that gives you two cents of value for each dollar spent, but has a $60 annual fee. If you were to spend $1,000 a month on that card, you would obtain $240 in value a year, yet the $60 annual fee would negate one quarter of your reward. If you spend $500 a month on that card, now you are really only getting $60 reward value per year, a mere one percent value for every dollar spent.

    International Transaction Fees

    All Visa and MasterCard programs come with a one percent international exchange fee, however most banks who issue the cards tack on an additional one or two percent to each transaction. Frankly, the whole thing smacks of greed run amok, and the bank’s failure to disclose the fees has resulted in a class action lawsuit.

    What is the point of earning a one percent cash back reward, and then being socked with a two percent “exchange fee”? On the other hand, people traveling on business who are being reimbursed by their company for their purchases exchange fees shouldn’t care, but everyone paying out of pocket is getting taken.

    Fortunately, a leading reward card issuer, Capitol One, stands almost alone in not charging any foreign transaction fees beyond Visa and Mastercard’s required one percent.

    Interest Rates

    The hard truth is that anyone who thinks they are earning “rewards” while paying interest on an outstanding balance is deceiving themselves. It cannot be stressed enough that reward cards should only be used by those who pay off their balances in full every month. The reason is simple, interest fees will almost always add up to an amount far greater than your reward. People who carry a balance should be shopping for a card with the lowest interest rate, not the highest “reward”.

    If it helps you to control your spending, you can think of credit card rewards as a gift to yourself that you have earned by not spending more than you can afford to pay off each month.

    Reversing Charges On Your Credit Card

    By: Christina

    One of our readers, Tony, sent us this question:

    Just curious, can a vendor come after you for the reversed charges and if so what can happen?

    Thanks for your question Tony!

    What Is A Chargeback?

    Basically a chargeback is a refusal to pay for an item or service that you charged on one of your credit cards. There are a lot of reasons why you might want to do this. Maybe you never received the item, it arrived late, the item that arrived was not what you ordered, or possibly even because someone else took your credit information and made the charge without your knowledge. All of these are valid reasons to “chargeback” an item.

    What Happens When You Chargeback A Credit Card Transaction?

    When you charge something on your credit card, the bank that issued your credit card pays the merchant, and then sends you a bill. When you “chargeback” an item, the bank removes the total from your bill, and re-bills the merchant.

    Too many chargebacks to a single merchant can actually hurt them because there is a “Merchant Black List”. Any time a merchant regularly exceeds their number of allowed chargebacks then thy are placed on the black list and are no longer able to accept credit cards.

    So, what is my liability? Can a merchant come after me for a chargeback?

    In short, yes. It is uncommon, but it does happen. In fact, there is an entire group of legal experts that companies can hire to dispute chargebacks. This usually only happens if you repeatedly chargeback to the same merchant, or chargeback a very expensive item that you may have been able to use before returning. In other words, the merchant will only come after you if they feel like you are trying to defraud them.

    It is very, very rare for a merchant to come after a customer over a chargeback, and it pretty much always involves suspected fraud combined with a large amount of money. The current laws are set up to protect you, the customer. Businesses have a tough time fighting chargebacks because of this, but it does happen.

    Thanks again for your question Tony!

    Have a question for us? Leave a comment below!

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    How To Lower The APR On Your Credit Cards

    By: Brooke Kaelin
    09/17/2008

    One of our readers, Teresa, sent us this question:

    I don’t have any delinquent cards. In fact, my credit score is about 680. I simply have too many credit cards and would like to pay them off before any trouble arises being the economy is what it is.

    I would like to achieve a higher credit score, pay lower apr’s and reduce my monthly payments on those credit cards.

    Can I reduce my apr’s by simply calling the creditor and asking them to lower my apr? If they refuse to; should I threaten to close the account? I ask about the threat process because that is usually when they take you serious and then pass you along to management with authority to negotiate.

    I can follow through on account closure threat up to about $5,000. I have some accounts with 26.9% APR and a max credit line of $1,000. My highest major credit card line is $7,000 and the APR is 14.9%. My current balance is about $4,500. All the other cards are $1,000 less with higher APR’s.

    I am willing to pay off up to $5,000 in debt on the higher interest cards but I would rather negotiate lower APR’s, get the payments reduced and then pay them off. Is that possible with the threat process? Where do I start? How should I professionally and seriously approach the creditor?

    Thanks for your question Teresa!

    You can absolutely call your credit card companies to have your APR lowered. There are a few key things to keep in mind when you do:

    1) The better your payment history is, the better chance you have to get your APR lowered- If you have been a customer in good standing for a while, and you do not have a history of late payments, this this will be a pretty standard procedure.

    2) You are probably going to have to talk to a manager, no matter what you do – General “customer service” representatives probably do not have the authority to do anything to help you.

    3) Keep your cool, and be prepared to call back multiple times if necessary – If you get an unhelpful rep, don’t be rude. Just ask to speak with a manager. If the manager does not help you, then don’t be afraid to hang up, and call back a little later to speak with someone else. Don’t let a rude rep, or a manager who is having a bad day keep you from saving money. After all, this is your money we are talking about not theirs, so you are obviously going to care more about the situation than they do. Be friendly, professional and above all, persistent until you can come to an agreement.

    Now, about threatening to close the account. I would not do this unless you have no other recourse. The problem here is that if you close out the account you will be stuck with the high interest rate, and no account. The best thing to do here is to tell them that you have several attractive balance transfer offers (whether you do or not.)

    From the bank’s perspective: Whether or not you close the account, they get to collect your balance and your interest. However, if you balance transfer they lose your debt and all the interest that they would have been able to charge you. So the best thing to do is not threaten to close the account, but threaten to transfer the balance.

    Also, you do not have to accept the first rate reduction that they offer you. At first, they might be willing to knock off two to five points. Be prepared to negotiate further. Keep telling them about your good payment history, how happy you have been with the company, and how you really hate to have to transfer the balance, but if they can’t work with you a little more then that is what you are going to have to do.

    The best thing that you can have happen is to be transfered to an account manager, or to someone in their retention department. Just be calm, polite and keep negotiating until you get the best rate they can offer you.

    Also, you need to be very sure that when they lower your APR that it is a permanent change, not an “introductory rate”.

    You can also ask them to simply move you to a new account with a better interest rate. In other words, see if they can upgrade your card completely.

    I cannot stress enough that just being firm, and keeping your cool will win out. Since you have some cash on hand, you can also offer to pay your balance in full on a couple of these cards – especially if they are willing to upgrade you to a new card with better terms.

    Also, be sure that you get your last statement together before you call them since it will reflect your most current information.

    As a final note, if you are trying to raise your credit score, then do not close out any of your accounts unless you absolutely have to. It will be a very bad thing because it will lower the average age of your accounts, and increase your debt to credit ratio. If you have to you have to, but it would be best for your credit score to leave them open.

    Hope this helps, good luck in your negotiations!

    Have a question for us? Leave a comment below!

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    Understanding The Statute Of Limitations

    By: Christina
    09/16/2008

    One of our readers, Jennifer, sent us this question:

    I have a cc from 10 years ago that my late ex husband opened in my name and charged it up and now the cc company has said that they were gonna take $600 a month out of my check until the card is paid off. Is this correct?

    Hi Jennifer, thanks for your question!

    Here’s the deal:

    The credit card company cannot take any money out of your check unless you specifically authorize them to, and then it would still not normally be removed from your check. Usually a payment arrangement would come out of your bank account at regular intervals that you agree on. If you haven’t agreed to it, then no money can come out.

    One exception:

    If you have a judgment against you for the debt, then yes, they can legally garnish your wages. If you have a judgment, then you should have been notified of it. If you have moved several times, and are not sure whether or not you have a judgment against you, then you need to check your credit reports at all three credit bureaus. It will be listed there as a public record.

    Now the thing that bothers me about this is that the debt is ten years old. Usually by this time, the statue of limitations has expired. So, let’s take a better look at that.

    What is the statue of limitations?

    The statue of limitations is the legal amount of time that creditors are allowed to attempt to collect a debt from you. Usually the statue of limitations is between 4 and 6 years, but the laws vary by state.

    Problems with the statue of limitations:

    If you speak to a creditor about your debt, set up a payment plan, promise to pay the debt, or even call to inquire about it, then you effectively reset the statue of limitations. This means that if the laws in your state say that they have four years to collect from you, and a collection company calls you and speaks to you about the debt at three years and eleven months, then the statue of limitations is reset for another four years.

    So, if you have not spoken to anyone about the debt then you should be protected under the statue of limitations. If you have spoken to them however (and it sounds like you have) then this will probably not apply to you.

    Now, there’s another issue here. You said that your ex-husband opened up an account in your name, and then charged the account up. If this is the case, and you are being sued for the debt, then you are either going to have to treat the debt as identity theft (meaning that he did not have your permission to open the account) and possibly attempt to prosecute him for it, or you are going to have to find a way to pay the debt back.

    Regardless, this is a very old debt, and the collections agency cannot garnish your wages without a judgment. So, the first step for you right now is to pull your credit reports and see if you have a judgment against you. You can request a free copy of all three of your credit reports here.

    If you do not have a judgment against you, then rest assured that they cannot take any money out of your check without your permission.

    Thanks again for your question.

    Have a question for us? Leave a comment below!

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    A Review of The Prosperous Peasant

    By: Brooke Kaelin
    09/14/2008

    The Prosperous Peasant by Tim Clark and Mike Cunningham is a fun, quick little read about the five secrets to fortune and fulfillment. Set in ancient Japan it is a series of stories that begin with two peasants who wish their lives could be different. They are not content to live out their time as farmers, sowing the fields, and bending their backs to the seasons.

    One day they decide to take a small journey and seek out a notable samurai named Hideyoshi – an accomplished man who started out as a peasant like them. When they find him, they beg him to share his wisdom, and to reveal to them how he found success in life. Hideyoshi agrees, and the stories that follow each highlight one of his five “secrets” to fortune and fulfillment.

    The Five Secrets of Fortune and Fulfillment:

    1) Gratitude Attracts Luck – This is my favorite chapter in the entire book, and it includes one of my favorite quotes as well.

    If you drink from a spring, remember the stream

    This chapter focuses on working diligently with a glad heart. The story itself is enchanting. It speaks of a noble’s son who lost his wealth and suddenly found himself with no money, no skills, and no employment. It follows his journey as he learns to be grateful for newfound employment, and learns to work hard. He works for his master in the daytime, and for himself at night. He does find fortune and fulfillment through thankfulness.

    2) Know Your Gift – This chapter is a different story, and focuses on knowing your own talents. Just because a person is born to a particular station in life does not mean that they must remain in that station for their entire lives. It deals with looking deep into yourself and finding what it is that you are meant to do.

    3) Conceivable Means Achievable – If you can think it, plan it, and conceive of it – then you can do it. This chapter highlights the story of one of the most accomplished men in Japan’s history – Nobunaga. He started small, but with a plan, and perseverance, he nearly united all of Japan under his rule.

    4) Effort Determines Results – No matter what your goal is, in the end it will be your effort that decides whether or not you will reach it. You can put forth average effort, and achieve average results, or you can put forth extraordinary effort and gain extraordinary results.

    5) Collaboration Breeds Success – No man can accomplish greatness alone. The story in this chapter illustrates how working together as a team, and having one focus for the whole team, together you can literally overcome any challenge.

    Now, please understand that these tenets, when they are laid bare like this sound almost trite – common knowledge right? But set as they are against the tapestry of feudal Japan, they come to life. The authors did an excellent job stepping into popular historical fables and really bringing them to life.

    I think the book delivers exactly what it promises. These really are the secrets to fortune, fulfillment and prosperity. This is a book that I may re-read at some point, and I will certainly keep it around for the others in my family to read. It was relaxing, quick, and at times enchanting.

    If you are looking for investment advice, or even direct financial advice, this isn’t it. What the Prosperous Peasant does do though is reach out and embrace the true tenets of success, whatever path you take to get there.

    If you’re interested in this book, you can visit the official website, or read a sample chapter at Amazon.com

    What do you think? Will following these principles help you to find fortune and fulfillment? Have you read the book yourself? Tell us about it below!

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