There is no denying that governments thrive on testing their limits through the usurpation of power. The US government is no different as evident by its current formation, its total disregard of constitutional limits, and its collusion with the Federal Reserve. Your freedoms are incrementally being seized. There seems to be only two ways to protect yourself: take control of your wealth or reform government. Since you have little influence over the latter, you must learn to take control of your wealth. There is freedom in financial independence.

Jeff Nabers and Phoebe Chongchua come together to show you the means to financial liberation. In their book, "5 STEPS TO FREEDOM: How to Cut Your Dependence on Institutions and Escape Financial Slavery", they set out to prove that the customary methods of saving and investing are nothing of the sort. They show you how to take control of your money, revealing the incapacities and detriments of simply stashing your cash or participating in the stock market. We have lost our sense of differentiating between prices and value. We are too often concerned with the nominal value of our holdings and fail to see what they’re really worth. "5 STEPS TO FREEDOM" teaches you how to see true value. I particularly love the way the authors pose the commonly used phrase, “numbers don’t lie”, and then follow with, “yes they do!”

The book is broken up into five parts, each part being a different step to freedom. It is a relatively quick read, written in a concise, minimally technical manner that makes it very easy to absorb and enjoy. Jeff and Phoebe are successfully able to articulately teach how to see investment opportunities that most people fail to identify. It is a great read for those that are unfamiliar with the underlying causes and effects of inflation on your savings and investments. Though much of the book focuses on basic fundamental principles, even seasoned investors and well-informed free-marketeers will most assuredly find themselves learning to think differently.

What I found the most valuable from the reading were the several case studies presented towards the end of the book. These are actual, true-life investment cases that you can learn a great deal from. Some are success stories and others are disasters. I also liked the idea of generating a balance sheet denominated in your own created currency to help keep true value in perspective. A supplemental spreadsheet is even available to readers through the website www.fivestepstofreedombook.com.

The authors also do a great job of educating the reader on how to interpret financial data to aid in investment decisions, in particular the Consumer Price Index (CPI). They describe how the methods of CPI calculation have transformed over time in a way that distorts the reality of inflation. They’ve even coined a term for the modern CPI: “fauxflation”.

The subject matter throughout the book is remarkably up to date with references of several current events that seemed like they happened just yesterday. The writing is done in a spirit that pays a wonderful respect to liberty, free markets, and personal independence. After reading "5 STEPS TO FREEDOM" you will see the world in a way you never saw it before. You will find yourself constantly assessing and assigning value to everything you come across in search for investment potential.