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Summary: I'm a PAW, Thank you Mr. Givens
Review: Also read Millionaire next Door (which should be read right along with Financial Self Defense). By use of the strategies in Financial Self Defense, I was able to buy my dream car for 60% less, switch from a overprced Cash Value Life Insurance policy to a Term policy and got three times the protection at 1/2 the cost, cancelled the credit life and disability off two personal oans and the mortgage life off of our mortgage and got a refund (which came in handy) also switched from a 30 year mortgage to a 15. We are forever graeful to Mr Givens for writing this excellent book. It has helped us to make a quantum leap in our finances. By the way, since Mr. Givens paid $27,000 for a $90,000 Excalibur, would you say that it's safe to say Mr. Givens is a PAW??
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Summary: One of three must read financial books
Review: Before reading Charles Givens Financial Self-Defense, I was drifting aimlessly with my finances. I had purchased other financial books by supposed "experts" and listened to financial advice by other so called "experts" and came out on the losing end.Charles Givens was a master at money strategies. He empowers us all to take control of our personal finances and not leave it in the hands of commissioned financial people and other financial authors who are using your ignorance for their bliss. In Financial Self-Defense, Givens uncovers all of the tricks that various professionals do that costs us thousands and thousands of dollars over a financial lifetime. This is one of three must read books. The other two are More Wealth Without Risk also by Givens and The Millionaire Mind. Another book to read is SuperSelf by Givens which will help you maximize effectiveness. For Wealth Builders, I also strongly recommend Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Be careful with other books written by people who do not have your best interests at heart. Givens is on your side. You'llbe surprised to find out who isn't.
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Summary: Charles Givens is the Top Financial Educator for the times!!
Review: Before reading Financial Self Defense, I was suckered in to a 60 month auto loan, because I was told the payments would be lower, that I could afford more car and the interest wouldn't be all that significant! I was one of those people that spent all or most of my money on my lifestyle and I wanted this car in the worst way. (Of course, it was brand new, right out of the showroom) I saw Charles Givens on the Oprah Winfrey show and was very imressed as he was the only guest that day and held the entire audience and me spellbound for an entire hour! One of money wasters he talked about was buying a brand new car. I felt like he was talking directly to me! I went out that night and bought Financial Self Defense. Immediately, I began to make extra principal payments. After applying some of the GIVENS STRATEGIES for a few weeks, I had saved enough money to begin making double payments. In short, I was able to pay off a 60 month car loan in 24 months. What was interesting, was the bank manager tried to discourage me saying all of the upfront interest was already paid. Nonsense! I then told him I wanted to cancel the credit life as well and got back a nice refund. I also found it refreshing that I could use my credit cards to make money when combined with the money market mutual fund strategy that Givens recommends. I am now investing in No Load Mutual Funds as per the Givens Strategies and for the past 7years have averaged well over 15%. Most other books are boring and don't offer any type of immediate results. With Financial Self Defense, I got immediate results! Most other books are also too focused on budgeting. With Financial Self Defense, I found that I COULD SPEND MY WAY INTO WEALTH. Before Givens, I always felt that saving, investing and financial management meant deprivation. Not when you GET GIVENIZED! I highly recommend Financial Self Defense and More Wealth Without Risk to live out your dreams instead of just dreaming about living. I also recommend SUPERSELF, to get your personal life under control.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: Charles Givens does an excellent job in explaining where people really lose money in life...in the red tape of taxes, banking, insurance and investments. I was broke and bought the book for $16. I couldn't put it down. I drove down the street and cut my vehicle insurance in half, after reading a few chapters. The saleman was mad, just like the book said he'd be. He had me overinsured. I can't say enough good about it. One drawback though, Charles Givens isn't for everyone. Read the book, "The millionaire next door". If you are an "Under Accumulator of Wealth" (UAW) then MR. Givens isn't for you. If you are a "Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth" (PAW) then Givens is for you.
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Summary: We're Chuck_Full_of_Givens
Review: Charles Givens never claimed to have some sort of get-rich-quick scheme, it's a get rich quicker and how to win the fight for financial freedom program. In Financial Self DeFense, Givens shows people how to hold on to their money and how to keep banks, insurance companies and the IRS out of our pockets, using proven and legal methods that most people are just not aware of. Since reading Financial Self DeFense, we went from a 10 year old Chevette to a 3 year old Intrepid. Refused the service contract which saved us nearly $1,000.Thanks to the advice in Financial Self DeFense, we are saving $200 a year on auto insurance and a whopping $1,000 on life insurance from using the Life Insurance Clearinghouse as suggested in the book. We shopped and they had the best rates. So what if Givens had a business interest in the Life Insurance Clearinghouse? He save us a bundle, and we have no problem if Givens made a profit in the process! I found it interesting that a article appeared in Forbes attacking Mr Givens claim of 15% returns with mutual funds. Forbes said it was impossible. We have earned an average of 30% over the last five years in no-load mutuals. So much for Forbes!I believe that success brings criticism. With the exception of More Wealth without Risk, Financial Self DeFense was a best seller far outpacing other financial books. And the advice is more beneficial than listening to financial planners, insurance agents, brokerage firms, automobile sales people, bank loan officers etc.Our family is Chuck_full_of_Givens only for one reason--Chuck Givens was a brilliant financial strategist and his techniques work.Rest in peace Chuck and thank you for teaching us Financial Self DeFense.
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Summary: Thanks Chuck! We needed this!
Review: Financial Self Defense is a perfect complement to More Wealthwithout Risk. Before reading Financial Self DeFense, I was one ofthose people who bought brand new cars (I really liked that new car smell) was Insurance Poor (actually a misnomer, I was Insurance Rich, BUT CASH POOR from being overinsured) spent 120% of my income and thought I was doing okay with the few thousand I had put away in my credit union making that pittance of 3 1/2 % (what the heck, that was more than what my bank was payng) and was living from paycheck to paycheck and figured that was okay because so was everyone else that I knew. Now I buy cars 2 1/2 to 3 years old, have better insurance at 50% less cost, earning 15-20% in no-load mutuals and for the first time in years, have money left over instead of having more month left over at the end of my money! The strategies from Financial Self DeFense came into play recently when I was attending a benefits meeting at work. This was an Insurance Meeting, Health and Dental, and both the benefits director and Insurance Reps were pushing "duplicate coverage" with a lot of emphasis and voice inflection. I asked why we needed "duplicate coverage" when at best we got paid one time, maybe? There was a long pause and no logical explanation so neither I nor the majority of employees elected to sign up for the "duplicate coverage"! If it wasn't for Financial Self DeFense, I would have foolishly signed up for the extra, unnecessary coverages and if it wasn't for my speaking up, so would have most of the others in the room. There is just so much information in this jam packed easy to read book. You'll find yourself referring to it again and again. I also highly recommend "SUPERSELF" as a personal development and effectiveness equalivalent to Financial Self DeFense. Both are "super books" you'll love them. Somethingelse that impressed me about th! is book is the emphasis that Mr Givens puts on values and a! ligning them with goals and your dreams. Values are something that are all to often left out in best selling books and in individual lives and a subject that we need to hear more about. Excellent, results, life changing book!
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Summary: Saved $2,000 in one week!
Review: High hopes is what kept my spouse and I motivated. In our first year of marriage, I found myself working two jobs to pay off huge medical bills due to the illness of one of our children. Working so much left little time to enjoy life. We were living from paycheck to paycheck with nothing left over. Then things changed. We saw Mr. Givens on a talk show and as he talked about money strategies, we felt as though he was talking directly to us. We went out and purchased Financial Self Defense. In one week we saved $2,000 by restructuring our auto policy coverages and switching from a HOLE Life policy to term. Using the car buying strategies as outlined in Financial Self Defense, we were able to buy a Jaguar, something that previously was just a dream for us. Our biggest savings came when we refinanced our existing home mortgage from 30 years to 15 years and saved $146,800 in payments! We also read More Wealth without Risk. Using as many Givens Strategies as pssible turned our lives around. We also began to implement the 10% solution and take the first 10% from our checks and pay ourselves first. This has enabled us to start saving and achieve peace of mind and security. We now can truly say we have an achievable goal for our future. Thank God for Givens!
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Summary: Even more hard hitting than More Wealth Without Risk!
Review: I actually like Financial Self Defense than More Wealth Without Risk. Givens really pulls out all the stops and reveals allof the deceptive practices by banks, insurance people, brokers even the IRS.I highly recommend this book in addition to More Wealth Without Risk.Givens is on your side. You'll be surprised who isn't.
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Summary: Saved $15,000 in our first year!
Review: I first heard of Charles Givens in the early 1980's while vacationing in Orlando, Fl. Givens was even then preaching "Wealth without Risk" and investing in real estate. Interesting is that Mr. Givens suggested that there were only two places in the country that he would invest in, Washington, D.C. and Orlando, Fl. because he felt they were recession proof. When I look at the appreciation of homes in the nations capital and America's favorite vacation spot over the last 23 years, the man was obviously 100% right! Unfortunately we were not in a position to invest in real estate at that time so did nothing with it. Several years later while browsing a book store we saw Mr. Givens first book Wealth without Risk. Again, regrettably we passed at least initially. My spouse and I had started two successful businesses and thought we were doing pretty well and bettering ourselves financially. Then I realized that we were only living at a higher level of poverty. I decided to learn what I could about investing. As I began my crusade and called and talked with different "professionals" I found the more I listened the more confused I became and reluctant to make a change. My fear was that I would probably end up losing everything and so I did nothing. A few years later I saw Charles Givens being interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey Show, as a self made millionaire. His book, "Wealth without Risk" had become the hottest, best selling financial book of all time and now he had a new book "Financial Self-Defense" which had already zoomed to best seller status. As I listened to Mr. Givens, this time he wasn't just talking about real estate but practical, money saving strategies, mutual funds, reducing taxes and personal finance strategies. I remember Givens saying "that your income is not your wealth, only potential wealth. Real wealth comes from investing and the proper use of money stratgies." I could kick myself and I wish I had listened to him years before. He then talked about "cutting your automobile insurance by 50%", "purchase term instead of whole life insurance", "use the 10% solution" "invest with no commissions" "earn 20% or more per year safely" and so on. Mr. Givens also talked about the misleading information we get from so called experts that we typically trust. That got my attention as I had experienced that personally. I started to wonder how much more I didn't know so went out and bought "Financial Self-Defense" and "Wealth without Risk." By using just three of the strategies, we saved over $15,000. Then I recalled something Mr. Givens used to say; "If you think the bill for education is high, wait untill you get the bill for ignorance!" For the price of about a meal, I tapped into Givens 20+ years of experience and $3 million worth of mistakes. And we saved over $15,000 in mistakes that we had been making prior to reading Charles Givens. If you want it, you can do it too. I'm ready for a lot of "Financial Self-Defense" How about you?
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Summary: FINANCIALLY FREE--Thanks Chuck!
Review: I first heard of Chuck Givens back in the mid 80's and attended one of his seminars. I used his Real Estate strategies using the 10-10-10 strategy and built a fortune very quickly. Financial Defense is a excellent book. It shows you how you can afford the home of your dreams and buy cars for 50% less. If that was all there was to this great book, it would be enough. It also shows how to stop getting ripped off by banks and other financial institutions. Using Givens strategies has saved me tens of thousands over the years. I have built a real estate goldmine and parlayed those profits into mutuals, discounted mortgages and tax lien certificates. Life gets real easy when money is out of the way. Thanks Chuck!
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