 | Investing For Dummies By: Eric Tyson |
| I found this book useful because of its amazingly wide coverage of investment strategies (stocks, bonds, T-bills, mutual funds, bank accounts, retirement accounts, real estate, private companies...). It is also quite well written, compared to the other books from the "dummies" series. Nonetheless, the reading of this book did not give me all that I expected. The amount of information on each particular method of investing is not sufficient to use this book as the primary and the only reference, and the author himself occasionally recommends the readers some other books on the subject. On the other hand, the book is too detailed to be a basic simple introduction for people who have no clue what the investing is. While I certainly learned a few things from this book, I do not feel that this book was helpful enough to advance my knowledge far from its starting point. My advice: if you know what sort of investing you prefer, borrow this book from the local library to read a couple of chapters which you need, but buy a more focused and detailed book. -- +++ | |
| Mutual Funds for Dummies By: Eric Tyson |
| This book is an excellent guide to the world of mutual funds. Eric Tyson does a service to beginning investors by steering them towards the modest goal of getting the same return as the market by investing in low-fee, low turnover mutual funds (preferably index funds). Tyson covers nearly everything in this book, from how to build a portfolio, to what returns you can reasonably expect, to where to buy the funds. He covers stock funds, bond funds, and money market funds, and shows how you can evaluate them. He does all of this in easy-to-read prose. I have one small complaint about the book. If Tyson is not paid by Vanguard, he should be. I can understand that given its dedication to low cost and its unique corporate structure among brokerages, Vanguard might be the best place around to buy mutual funds, but Tyson should have made a point to back off just a bit on highlighting the company so egregiously to avoid the appearance of being the company's shill. But despite this small lapse, I believe Tyson has the best interests of people who want to make a little money for retirement, their children's education, or some other modest goal, but aren't comfortable speculating. He encourages that healthy skepticism towards their ability to make a quick buck and instead teaches them to invest in a way they can have reasonable confidence -- instead of an irrational exuberance -- that they will get the expected return on their money. -- Jeffery Steele | |
| The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need By: Andrew Tobias |
| As a young and overwhelmed newlywed twenty-some years ago, I read The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. It was clear, fun to read, and full of good advice. I was recently surprised to see it is still in print, revised and updated. If you're already the sort of person who reads personal finance books, it won't be the only one you'll read, but it may be the one that holds up the best over time. Tips such as "invest" in staples such as coffee when they are cheap and ride out times of inflated prices by using your surplus are as useful today as they were in 1978. (Although if I remember, Tobias used canned tuna as the example in the earlier editions, and now uses cases of wine to illustrate the point.) Tobias has updated the book to include investment advice that we never considered in 1978. He includes tips on how to find the best online air fares, when and when not to use eBay, TiVo, and reverse mortgages. He has some simple and effective ideas on how to make Social Security viable for the foreseeable future (without resorting to privitization). He gives specific advice to couples who are married and couples who aren't or who can't be. One of my favorite sections is on what to do if you win the lottery. How many long drives have I passed by planning that very thing? (My first step: get an unlisted phone number.) Tobias's advice on this unlikely event is excellent, especially step 5b.) Don't buy a boat. -- H. Cota |
Back To Index Page