We've been having fun this summer giving away free books and cleaning out our shelves. Two months ago, we gave books away to those who like us on Facebook. Last month, we gave books away to those who follow us on Twitter. This month, we're going to give away books to those who sign-up and post on the WCI Forum.  It's all free to you and you can find stuff in those locations that isn't available on the free blog and the free monthly newsletter. (Notice the theme, everywhere to serve you and all for free.)

The forum has been pretty fun, ever since it was launched last January. Interactions are polite and the discussions can be at a surprisingly high level. Maybe too high level as I worry it intimidates beginners!

Over the years, I've acquired a lot of financial books. Some are books I bought. Some are books I was given. Others are review copies. Some I occasionally go back to and reference, but many I do not. I also have multiple copies of several books. I need to make a little room, and you, dear readers, will be the beneficiaries. Be aware that only a few of these books are in brand new condition. Some are autographed, some are dog-eared, some are review copies, and some even have my notes in them. But the price is right for you! Some of these books are selling on Amazon for over $50 right now.

So here are the rules-

  • # 1 You must sign up for the forum and post a comment on any thread. (There are thousands, surely one is interesting to you.)
  • # 2 If you are already a forum member, you must start a new thread on something interesting.
  • # 3 You must come back to this post, post a comment using your correct email address, state “I'm on the forum and posted a comment” and list up to three books whose drawings you would like to be included in. After a week or two, we'll hold the drawings, contact the winners via email for their shipping address, and ship off the books. Easy peasy.
  • # 4 If you really think the book sounds great, but don't win it, go ahead and buy it from Amazon using the links on this page.

Now, without further ado, here are the books available to win this month:

The White Coat InvestorThe White Coat Investor

Yup, that's right. Not only am I giving away a brand new, autographed copy of my book, I'm giving away three of them as part of this promotion. It is still #1 in its categories more than 2 years after publication and has changed the lives of thousands of high-income professionals. You can be next! Want to read a review first? Here's a totally unbiased one.

Taxing Ourselves

This isn't a do-it-yourself kind of book so much as it is a dispassionate academic treatise easily understood by the layman on the many options for reforming our tax system. It is subtitled “a citizen's guide to the debate over taxes.” It covers the basics of our tax system but spends most of its time talking about frequently mentioned alternatives like The Flat Tax and The Fair Tax. I thought it was really interesting, but it's not going to give you a lot of actionable information. I'd totally hire the authors if I were elected president though. Be aware the one I'm giving away is not the latest edition.

Personal Finance for Dummies

Next up is another book by Eric Tyson, MBA. I've been recommending this one to people for years but after sitting on my shelf for a decades, it's clear I'm not going to take it down and read it again. It's a great personal finance primer.

The $1,000 Challenge

Johanna

Gold Level Scholarship Sponsor

This intriguingly titled book has a subtitle of “how one family slashed its budget without moving under a bridge or living on government cheese.” This book is a guide to frugality with tons of personal examples. I'm glad that doctors only have to be relatively frugal to become wealthy, but if you're looking for ways to cut your expenses without cutting your happiness, this book will probably help. It would certainly be great for a med student, a resident, or anyone else living on an average American income or less.

The Everything Homeselling Book

Here's a book I bought before trying to sell my own house in 2010. Eventually, after failing and hiring a realtor to do the job, I realized it wasn't me or the realtor but rather the market keeping the place from selling and I eventually rented it out. At any rate, if you anticipate selling a house soon, either with or without an agent, this book should function as a “how-to” guide.

Why Bother with Bonds

This is another one from Rick Van Ness, a retired engineer who excels at simplifying investing topics. I reviewed it here and am secretly hoping that forum moderator Johanna Turner (who happens to be rather anti-bond) wins it. It is praised by William Bernstein, Allan Roth, and Taylor Larimore and the foreword is by Larry Swedroe, so you know it is Boglehead approved.

How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Home Mortgage

Buying a mortgage is something you'll only do a handful of times in your life. Trust me when I say the guys selling them know a heck of a lot more about mortgages than you do. If you would like to level the playing field, read this book. The book is 15 years old and some things have changed in the mortgage market since then, but the basics of what you need to understand to get a good deal stay the same.

The Medical Entrepreneur

I reviewed this book by Steven M. Hacker here and still recommend the book whether you need help running your practice or whether you're ready to start a medically-related business.

Pensionize Your Nest Egg

Moshe Milevsky subtitled his book, reviewed here, “how to use product allocation to create a guaranteed income for life.” As you can tell from this article, I'm a little skeptical about product allocation, but he makes an excellent case for the use of SPIAs in this book and his other work.

A Doctor's Basic Business Handbook

Brandon Bushnell, MD, MBA subtitled his book, reviewed here, “Things I Wish I Had Known When I Got Started.” It's a quick read and contains the most important advice out there when it comes to marketing your practice- “Be nice.”

Whew! 12 books total! I'm not sure what your strategy should be, but I'm sure some of these books will be more popular than others so I'd recommend only using one or two of your three picks for popular books and save the other one for a book that few people are trying to win. And if you can't handle waiting a couple weeks to read it, just go buy it on Amazon. Most of these are pretty inexpensive.

Now get on over to the forum, sign up and post a comment and I'll see you in the comments section! Remember- correct email address, state “I'm on the forum and posted a comment”, and list up to three books.