The book doesn’t go into much details on which Vanguard index funds you should choose. But if after reading this book you got a good idea on where to start and what to avoid, you’ve got way more than what you paid for this small book. This book gets on the Recommended Reading List because of its very readable conversational style and because it makes you think about the forest before you look at the trees. There are other fine books that go into the mechanics of choosing the index funds. That said, for the beginning to intermediate investor, the book does an outstanding job as an overall financial resource, and is probably the best introductory book on investing I’ve yet to come across. Everything is factually on point, and it’s all interjected with interesting side-stories the author has picked up through his now 40+ years in the stock market.
The book is a nice guide through the maze of investing and particularly good at exposing problematic areas such as complex, but worthless investment schemes. I first read it in 1990 when I began investing and I am impressed with the expanded content in the current edition.
The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need has been a favorite finance guide for nearly forty years, living up to its name again and again as readers all over devour Tobias’s money tips and improve their own economic standing. This completely updated edition is earning the allegiance of more than a million new readers across America. Offering readers a way to understand, save, and use their money to their best advantage in today’s financial marketplace, regardless of means or savings, this guide is a must-read for any new investor. There are a number of appendices at the end of the book, elaborating on points covered earlier.
I read this book over the years as a good “stay focused” reminder. I’ve read hundreds of personal finance books and this book is in my top ten. Maybe, in the same way, “invest into VTSAX”might be the only sentence about investing you ever need to read. Hyperbolic title aside, the book more trader than lives up to its goal of providing a not-too-boring personal finance crash course. This book is one of the better books on investing you will find. The author realizes that other books offer and tries to bridge the gap and give his readers more or less what you really need to know.
Only Investment Guide
For the book’s target audience, this is undoubtedly a 5/5, and a must read. The Only Investment Guide You Will Ever Need is definitely worth reading to get wide perspective regarding everything related to investment & financial planning. Perhaps my favorite additions to this latest edition are the updated links to show you The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need Review where to go to shop for brokers, funds, health care, etc. In the 70s the WWW and these links were not available. Today a concise set of information hubs is extremely valuable. I will continue to buy new editions as long as this information is updated. I have read this book every decade since its release back in the 70s.
This book helped me understand a lot and gave me the confidence I needed to deal with a chunk of severance money from a former employer. In that situation, obviously you need access to the cash if necessary, but maybe you also want to score some interest. Before reading this, I was confused about several instruments with about the same level of risk (CDs, money market funds, money market accounts, I-bonds, TIPs, and Treasury bills). Tobias laid it all out very clearly–and humorously–and helped me to evaluate the options intelligently. There’s also a great chapter on everyday savings you can make. It’s sort of like David Bach’s Latte Factor, but Tobias’s take is a lot smarter in its outlook and scope. This author started early as a whiz kid and is very accomplished, but he’s self-effacing and honest about his own mistakes–so you really do trust him to be straight with advice.
Trivia About The Only Investme ..
This book is jam-packed with HUNDREDS of ways you can improve your financial life. Trying just one of his recommendations will, in most cases, easily pay for for the cost of the book and much more. 11 – What to Do If You Inherit a Million Dollars; What to do OtherwiseA step-wise plan about what to do when inheriting money and tips on how to save/spend without it. 2 – A Penny Saved Is Two Pennies EarnedLiterally hundreds of tips/websites you can use to save money. Placing “riskiest” investment holdings in a taxable account to take advantage of tax-loss harvesting or charitable contribution deductions . It is not enough in modern society to be a useful resource in figuring out one of the major issues in human life; no, increasingly, you have to be THE one and only definitive manual, or people say that you’re no good.
Tobias demonstrates the risks of investing, through his own personal examples. He is pragmatic and logical (invest/save small increments for a long time, buy low), doesn’t prey on greed, and tells you what NOT to do (don’t waste money on a broker). Most importantly, he talks about basic ways of saving money that people don’t realize or find menial . Andrew Tobias’ “The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need” was written in the 1970s but its advice still rings true today. The book has tips on how to build wealth , how to best prepare for retirement, and even everyday strategies that will save you big over the long term—all told in the author’s trademark witty, straightforward writing style. (This updated version also applies these lessons to today’s market.) Tobias is the author of New York Times bestsellers “Fire and Ice” and “The Invisible Bankers” and is a regulator contributor to Time, Esquire, and Parade. The first few chapters discuss budgeting and general personal finance issues like paying off credit card debt and living within your means.
This is the shortest section of the book, and while I’m no expert on this subject, I did pick up some valuable tips here on finances for couples, kids, wills, estate planning, and inheritances. This does guy does not look 70 years old to me… Overall, Tobias comes across as a shrewd saver who cares about his money, but never takes himself too seriously. Overall, the kind of guy who would fit right in here, if he was at all interested in millennials seeking financial freedom. Speaking of which, Andrew Tobias isn’t exactly an investment professional, but that doesn’t really hinder the book. A writer by trade, he originally graduated with a literature degree. Highly recommend if you are any level of investor, beginner to Pro.
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If you run the comparison all the way to day 35, the difference is $590 for the credit card account versus $28 for the ordinary 10% growth account. The key to this version is pointing out that some people scrimp and save and achieve some growth on their savings, while others pay huge amounts to credit card companies.
Mutual funds and stock indexes are good investing choices for a diversified portfolio. Expensive brokers are rarely worth their price, since over the long run their results rarely beat the stock market’s average returns.
It’s nearly impossible to time the market, so as to always buy in the troughs and sell at the peaks, so the only thing that can save you is having a long term strategy and a plan in place for profit-taking. His recommendations to be frugal and use credit cards for the rewards are spot on. His endorsements of index funds and Vanguard are equally accurate. One thing that hacked me off, though, was his unwillingness to admit that Social Security is a failure. He wants to tweak it and keep it going instead of scrapping it or allowing current workers to opt out. In other words, he would decrease benefits and increase taxes to pay for this failed system.
Best For Basics: The Only Investment Guide Youll Ever Need
He starts with the basics of budgeting and frugality – mentioning that, at least for most of us, it’s easier to save a dollar than to earn an extra one, especially when taxes are taken into account. One of his favorite ways of beating inflation is to buy things that you are going to consume regularly by the case, at a cheaper price. I’ve tried to do that for years, Foreign exchange autotrading only being limited by the size of my pantry. At times it gets very specific, and certain situations or companies mentioned will no longer be applicable as time moves on. Good book, covering a lot of topic and give great advice. However a big piece of it is relevant only if you live in the US. Margin is buying stocks with borrowed money from your brokerage.
The valuation of a stock investment should be done on the basis of alternative investment that are available. The analogy/visualization of investment as wallets is also pretty insightful. A 2% saving account can be considered as a wallet that can be purchased for $50 that miraculously fills up with $1 (2%) by the end of the year. It is a very risk free investment; it can be redeemed anytime. The same return of $1 in a high grade corporate bonds that pays 5% interest will need mere 20$ instead of $50 required in saving account. It can be said saving account wallet sells for 50 times earnings and the high grade corporate bond sells for 20 times earnings.
- “I have never bought a Treasury bill in my life. For me, it’s easier just to use money-market funds.”
- As a result, you see more and more books claiming to be the one, the only, the single source you need to be a success in a particular field.
- So, his formula is quite useful for removing the guesswork and potential anxiety associated with determining how much life insurance to buy.
- Given the sheer number of topics , the detail for each is necessarily limited.
- Most people will definitely get something out of this book.
- Show me a monkey that can make a decent veal parmesan.
To be fair, the reader will walk away knowing most terms commonly used in investment circles, and generally what to stay away from. His investment advice for almost everyone is invest in index funds, something that I have talked about at length on this site. Overall, Tobias presents forex a good amount of content in a very enjoyable way. I wish I had known about it before, It would have saved lots of time and money which I have spent on a few seminars. THis book goes into more detail and gives suggestions and examples we can use in our everyday life.
The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need
Common Sense on Mutual Funds, but at that time something as simple as this was probably the best I could chosen. I’ve been thinking about checking out some additional investment / financial advice books. This looks like a good one, with some real world advice. If it has some humorous stories included, all the better. The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need is a pretty solid introduction, not only to investing, but to personal finance in general. As with almost any personal finance book, there will be at least a few points where you don’t quite agree with what the author says .