Why You Should Consider PaperBack Swap

PaperBack Swap is an online book database advertised as “Your Source for Swapping & Buying Books Online!” made up of people across the United States.

Ease of Use
The concept is simple:

1. You enter the ISBNs of your unwanted books into their database
2. Someone requests a book from your posted library
3. You print the already created shipping address (I used paypal to fund my account)
4. Wrap your book and ship
5. Mark the book you shipped “mailed” and receive a credit to request a book of your own

Money Saved
PaperBack Swap has a running ticker touting how much money its members have saved. At the time of writing, their members have saved over $22,000,000. This amount is figured by subtracting the average shipping cost from the average cost of a used book:

Like Minded Community
When you join PaperBack Swap, you have access to book reviews from readers like yourself, recommendations from the staff, and a way to “connect” with others like yourself.

Easy Way To “Get Rid” of Unwanted Books
If you hate throwing away unwanted books, PaperBack Swap is a viable alternative option for prolonging the life of your unwanted books. Not only are you not throwing them away, you are sending your books to people who have specifically requested your unwanted books. You just print and ship.

Items To Be Aware Of

The Costs
It still costs $2-$4 to ship each book. I posted 30 books one night. When checking my email the next morning, I had requests for 15 of my posted books, resulting in over $50 in shipping charges.

Patience
Popular books often have a long waiting or “wish list.” Even if there isn’t a waiting list, once you request an available book, the owner has 4 or 5 days to accept your request. Once they accept, they are allowed 1-2 days (or even longer) to print the shipping label and drop your book in the mail. It appears that all printing labels are marked as “media,” meaning most arrive 7-21 days after they have been marked as mailed.

Time Commitment
It takes 10 seconds to enter your ISBN but it can take 5 minutes per book to wrap correctly. Depending on your shipping label decisions, you can either drop the book off in your home mail box for pick-up, or you may have to take it to your local post office.

My Recommendation

I had several unwanted books that had never been unpacked since moving into our new home over a year ago. I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away, so I entered them into PaperBack Swap’s system. Just 2 days later, half of them are gone, and to good homes. I like that. As long as you are aware of the limitations mentioned above, I would definitely recommend giving PaperBack Swap a try.

Discovering a book I’d like to read, only to forget the title of the desired book when I begin my search at Paperback Swap, Amazon, or the library has become what seems like a daily occurrence for me. So I’ve decided to write down my “to be read” list of personal finance, business, and personal development books. These books aren’t listed in any order, just books I’ve run across recommended from several other sources.

Books To Be Read

I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Seth Ramitt
Your Money Or Your Life – Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin
Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferazzi and Tahl Raz’s
The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing – Multiple Authors
Mindset – The new Psychology of Success – Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
The Wall Street Journal’s Guide To Starting Your Financial Life – Karen Blumenthal
Escape From Cubicle Nation – Pamela Slim
Get A Financial Life – Beth Kobliner
1001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget – The writers of “Wisebread”
Getting Things Done – David Allen
The Complete Tightwad Gazette – Amy Dacyczyn
Made to Stick – Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
Crush It – Gary Vaynerchuk
The Four Hour Work Week – Tim Ferriss
The Incredible Secret Money Machine – Don Lancaster
The Millionaire Maker – Loral Langemeier
New Job, New You – Alexandra Levit’s
Happier – Tal Ben-Shahar
Failing Forward: Transforming Mistakes into Success – John C. Maxwell
The Quite Millionaire – Brett Wilder
Debt is Slavery – Michael Mihalik
All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan – Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tygai
The Four Pillars of Investing – William Bernstein
Work Less, Live More: The Way to Semi-Retirement Robert Clyatt
Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes (and How to Correct Them) -Garry Belsky and Thomas Gilovich
The Paradox of Choice - Barry Schwartz
Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist
Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression – Studs Terkel
The New Coffee House Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get on With Your Life – Bill Schulthesis
One up on Wall Street – Peter Lynch
The Money Game – Adam Smith
Personal Finance For Dummies – Eric Tyson
The Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham
Parlay Your IRA into a Family Fortune – Ed Slott
Stop Acting Rich – Thomas Stanley
The Millionaire Mind – Thomas Stanley
Smart Couples Finish Rich – David Bach
Quarterlife Crisis – Alexandra Robbins, Abby Wilner
Thou Shall Prosper – Rabbi Lapin
Integrity – Dr. Henry Cloud
Flipping the Switch – John Miller
QBQ – The Question Behind The Question – John Miller
Scratch Beginnings – Adam Shepard
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
Becoming A Person of Influence – John C. Maxwell
Guerilla Marketing – Jay Conrad Levinson
The E-Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber
No More Mondays – Dan Miller
Tribes – Seth Godin
The Rules of Money: How To Make It And How To Hold On To It – Richard Templar
The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner – David Bach
Founders at Work – Jessica Livingston
Talk to Me – Dennis O’Grady
The Goal – Eliyahu Goldratt
Freakonomics – Steven Levitt
Superfreakonomics – Steven Levitt

Some books I’ve recently read in this genre

The Wealthy Barber – David Chilton
The Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey
Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
The Automatic Millionaire – David Bach
Good to Great – Jim Collins
How Full is Your Bucket – Donald Clifton
The No Asshole Rule – Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t – Robert Sutton
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
The World is Flat – Thomas Friedman

This list should keep me busy for a while. What books am I missing? Any good reads that you recommend?

As stated in a previous post, I will review one book per month that covers personal finance topics.

According to the cover, this book is an “incredible national bestseller that is changing people’s lives – and  increasing their net worth.”  My interest was initially piqued after reading other personal finance blog reviews, but I ultimately chose to read this book after skimming the introduction.  It was clear that the authors had spent a great deal of time researching America’s affluent.  For instance, the introduction pointed out the following millionaire traits:

• Usually the wealthy individual is a businessman who has lived in the same town for all of his adult life.
• This person owns a small factory, a chain of stores, or a service company.
• He has married once and remains married.
• He lives next door to people with a fraction of his wealth.
• He is a compulsive saver and investor.
• And he has made his money on his own.
• Eighty percent of America’s millionaires are first-generation rich.

My decision to read this book was finalized with the following statement on page 3, “…we have determined how ordinary people can become wealthy.”  The results of their research illustrate just how simple it can be to reach the millionaire milestone.  While it may not be easy, it is very simple. If you don’t find that statement inspiring, then you may want to set this book aside and look for something else to read.

In chapter one, the authors define “wealthy.”  While Webster’s refers to the wealthy as people who have an abundance of material possessions, this book defines wealthy in terms of one’s net worth, or assets minus liabilities.  They considered someone with a net worth of $1 million or more wealthy.  In addition, the authors established two different types of individuals, PAWs and UAWs. PAWs are prodigious accumulators of wealth while UWAs are under accumulators of wealth.  Would you like to know which category you fall under?  Complete this formula below to find out how the authors would classify you based on their research:

Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances.  Divide by ten.  This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be.”

If your net worth is twice this number, then congratulations!  According to the authors, you are a PAW.  If your net worth is half this number, then you are a UAW.  Personally, I’m off to a slow start.  My wife and I are currently working on those pesky student loans, which so many young people have.  I’m not sure how accurate this meausure truly is as I think it is somewhat skewed for the younger generation.   But this is the measure used to draw the line between the over spenders and wealth accumulators, and the authors continuously explain the differences between PAWs and UAWs throughout the book.

The following chapters are based on The Seven Factors wich are the common denominators among those who successfully build wealth. Each of the seven factors receive a chapter dedicated to defining their principles and explaining how PAWs and UAWs differ regarding that particular principle.  These factors include:

1. They live well below their means.
2. They allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.
3. They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.
4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.
5. Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.
6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.
7. They chose the right occupation.

Is the book worth reading?

This book is definitely worth reading, regardless of your age or wealth.  The book debunks many myths the general population believes about millionaires.  One cautionary note – while it isn’t a complex read, it is heavy on the statistics.   However, these statistics are the foundation of the book.  The stats provide the reader with the millionaire’s “DNA” and make it look incredibly easy to become one yourself.  The younger you are, the stronger my recommendation to read this book. The more time you have to practice the simple Seven Factors described in this book, the more you will eventually gain.

This is a book that I checked out at my local library.  I liked this one so much I will undoubtedly refer to it time and time again.  With that in mind, I will soon be requesting a copy for myself at paperbackswap.com.

Check back soon to find out which book I’ll review in January!

As part of my blog's "Grand Opening," I'd like to announce a monthly book review series.  Once a month, I will review a personal finance book and post my thoughts and opinions.  I will ultimately give my recommendation on the following:

• Whether or not the book is worth reading. I'll offer insight into who the intended audience is, what kind of advice the book offers, and why I think it is or isn't worth reading.
• If the book is worth reading, I'll offer my opinion as to whether you should buy and keep a copy on your shelf, or pick up a copy from your local library.
• If I find the book to be a favorite, I will add it to the yet to be created "My Recommended Reading" list.

Yes, I'm still in graduate school, but I promise that I won't review any personal finance textbooks.  I'm almost positive that no one other than me would be interested in reading (much less purchasing) a personal financial planning textbook.  From time to time I may reference some textbooks, but I can promise you there will be no complete review.

There is currently no rhyme or reason to the books I'll pick.  I'll probably start with books that look that most intersting to me.  Please let me know if there is a book that you would like me to review and I'll be happy to add it to my list.

Check back in December for my review on Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko's "The Millionaire Next Door."