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brightshiny's review against another edition
2.0
Good for beginners, I guess, especially if you need read 50 pages on how to save money. (Hint: buy in bulk, cut your own hair, and quit smoking.) I didn't find many actionable items in it.
paladintodd's review against another edition
3.0
Couple problems
1) After telling us how dumb it is to invest in stocks as opposed to mutual funds and indexes - he spends a good chunk of the book talking about stock trading. The average person should be maxing out their retirement accounts, in index funds. This part should just get ripped out of the book.
2) He goes from how to invest to "You're Dead". There's a little gap in their called retirement that he skips completely over. Since 99.9% of our investing is geared towards retirement, that's a big hole for a book billing itself as "all you'll ever need".
1) After telling us how dumb it is to invest in stocks as opposed to mutual funds and indexes - he spends a good chunk of the book talking about stock trading. The average person should be maxing out their retirement accounts, in index funds. This part should just get ripped out of the book.
2) He goes from how to invest to "You're Dead". There's a little gap in their called retirement that he skips completely over. Since 99.9% of our investing is geared towards retirement, that's a big hole for a book billing itself as "all you'll ever need".
fufina's review against another edition
4.0
overall a good book that approaches financial stability from a common sense direction but he also uses humor throughout the book. Think if one read this book followed by The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach you'd have most of what you would need to know without being overwhelmed.
bootman's review against another edition
5.0
The title of this book is super bold and putting a lot of pressure on itself to live up to the title's expectation. After finishing this book, I can honestly say that Andrew Tobias nailed it with this title. This book covers everything you need to know about investing, and when I say "everything", I mean EVERYTHING. As a newer investor, I've read dozens of books, and Tobias manages to consolidate everything into this one book. I learned more from this book than two or three books combined. Not only did this book cover various investment strategies, but it also taught me about taxes and some other subjects that other books gloss over. I don't know if this book is the ideal read for the beginning investor, but after you have a basic knowledge, it's definitely a must-read.
madisonian's review against another edition
1.0
I really didn't like this book as an introduction to investing, primarily because it does not talk at all about asset allocation and does not really suggest a complete strategy. The previous two books I was reading, [b:The Investment Answer: Learn to Manage Your Money & Protect Your Financial Future|8897733|The Investment Answer Learn to Manage Your Money & Protect Your Financial Future|Daniel C. Goldie|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1329103292s/8897733.jpg|13773946] and [b:That Thing Rich People Do|8421700|That Thing Rich People Do|Kaye A. Thomas|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327933910s/8421700.jpg|13284663] were much better in my opinion, and also much shorter (around 100 pages).
But other problems with this book were:
- It barely talks about diversification
- Too much emphasis on stocks & risky strategies to deal with them
- Some charts/tables that are misleading ("Not adjusted for stock splits", wtf??)
- Too long. It spends 50 pages on "how to save money", that doesn't seem to belong in an investment book
- Plural of anecdotes is not data. He gives lots of personal anecdotes, but those were just strokes of luck, so relying on them does not seem useful
- He suggests that investing only in stocks is the best possible strategy; the other books I mention prove that this is not true (adding bonds increases your total return)
But other problems with this book were:
- It barely talks about diversification
- Too much emphasis on stocks & risky strategies to deal with them
- Some charts/tables that are misleading ("Not adjusted for stock splits", wtf??)
- Too long. It spends 50 pages on "how to save money", that doesn't seem to belong in an investment book
- Plural of anecdotes is not data. He gives lots of personal anecdotes, but those were just strokes of luck, so relying on them does not seem useful
- He suggests that investing only in stocks is the best possible strategy; the other books I mention prove that this is not true (adding bonds increases your total return)
schnaucl's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.75
This was a very helpful book that covers a range of financial topics from how much life insurance (if any) you might need to how to invest.
The book was originally written in 1978 and since revised several times. Not everything has been updated, however. (There were a number of examples where the dollar figures involved seemed low for current prices).
There were also a surprising amount of stories of the author buying into a "sure thing" only for it to not pan out.
One important thing to point out is that the second to last chapter deals with estate planning and while his advice might be sound for estates that have no state estate (or inheritance) taxes, it could be disastrous in states with an estate tax with a lower exemption. (Really, once you're talking seven figures in assets you should seek the advice of an estate planning attorney).
The book was originally written in 1978 and since revised several times. Not everything has been updated, however. (There were a number of examples where the dollar figures involved seemed low for current prices).
There were also a surprising amount of stories of the author buying into a "sure thing" only for it to not pan out.
One important thing to point out is that the second to last chapter deals with estate planning and while his advice might be sound for estates that have no state estate (or inheritance) taxes, it could be disastrous in states with an estate tax with a lower exemption. (Really, once you're talking seven figures in assets you should seek the advice of an estate planning attorney).
sarahbacon's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent intro to the world of personal finance. Great advice for first timers venturing into this complex world. Also, a surprisingly fun read, albeit with scattered cheesy puns.