Contemporary, well-researched and smartly written; a fresh way of thinking about accumulating and spending money.
Dying broke and enjoying it is the theme of this lively debut book by a physician with a penchant for investing.
Riggs, a physician and successful commercial real estate investor, begins his book with a sobering mea culpa: His mother wound up in a nursing home with too much money because “I advised my mother and father how to save, when I should have advised them how to spend.” As documented in his eloquently written book, this became the impetus for Riggs’ developing a plan to “spend down” his assets by the end of his life and to “die broke—insolvent but not illiquid or destitute.” Part 1 is fairly standard fare about assets and liabilities, economic cycles, and generational attitudes toward finances. In Part 2, Riggs issues a warning about retirement plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs, which, he writes, face “planned nationalization.” He also cautions investors to be wary of the real possibility of a U.S. default; still, he contends “it is only the [your name here] economy that really matters. You only need to concern yourself with…building your own wealth.” His prescription for building and keeping that wealth is to focus on “income-producing hard assets” and understand the country’s economic cycles. Part 3 is clearly the most intriguing; here, Riggs contrasts being rich (“earning and spending large sums of money without building net worth”) with being wealthy (“having enough passive income to enjoy the lifestyle you aspire to live and to still build your net worth”). He explains his philosophy of enjoying wealth during one’s lifetime through a fascinating “Dying Broke Converting Curve,” in which he visually depicts how to gradually convert net worth into “meaningful gifting and Fun Stuff.” His conclusion: “Before they take it away and before you die…spend it all.” The author’s prose is both informative and enlightening; throughout the book, he demonstrates his command of investment know-how. Not every reader will be comfortable with the unconventional notion of purposefully dying broke, but Riggs’ argument is certainly persuasive.
Contemporary, well-researched and smartly written; a fresh way of thinking about accumulating and spending money.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0991521500
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Monetary Publishing LLC
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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