2 comments about How to Invest $50-$5,000 9e: The Small Investor's Step-By-Step Plan for Low-Risk, High-Value Investing.

1. Excellent read! Very informative. I read the last edition and found this to be updated. I've read several books on investing and found this to be comprehensive because it provides specific resources & websites for ease in finding additional info on areas of interest. It really will give you a jumpstart in how you can start saving and investing wisely without paying high fees. Provides investment alternatives for people with smaller funds to get a rate of return similar to those people who can invest thouosands at a time. Easy to understand and apply these concepts.



2. Until I read this book, I was under the impression that you had to have a lot of money to become an investor. I knew I wanted to begin somewhere but I didn't know where.
   
   Nancy Dunnan speaks in everyday language. I'm grateful for that. I wasn't intimidated nor did I feel overwhelmed. I felt like I could do this.
   
   I appreciated the detailed appendices:
   
   A. Nine Easy and Painless Ways To Save
   B. Ten Steps Toward College Education
   C. Scams, Swindles and Suckers
   D. The Top 25 Financial Web Sites (For me, this alone was worth the price of the book)
   E. If You're Fired
   F. Cash in a Flash: Ten Sources of Instant Money
   G. Your Next Steps
   
   This book is great for a beginner and aimed at the small investor. It gives step-by-step and easy to understand common sense information. I now have a better grasp of investing, saving and even my own comfort level about money.
   
   I highly recommend this book!

5 comments about Winning the Loser's Game.

1. Charles was not the first to blow the whistle on active investing but was the first to write a book for the average investor. His advise and counsel are outstanding. In fact he has been called by the current administration to establish criteria for self funded social security investing. The book is a basic tutorial every investor should have on his bookshelf.
   
   Piscaqua Research in a study covering the period 1987-96 found that only 10 out of 145 major pension funds, or just seven percent, out performed a portfolio consisting of a simple 60%/40% mix of the S&P 500 index and the Lehman Bond index respectively.
   
   Or is it logical I ask for you to believe that you can predict which actively managed funds will out perform, or are you overconfident of your skills? If you are trying to find the great fund managers who will out perform in the future ask yourself: what am I going to do differently in terms of identifying the future winning fund managers, than did the pension plans and their advisors? And if you are not going to something different what logic is there in playing a game at which others with superior resources have consistently failed?
   
   If you a really serious in finding an investment technique that will provide you with reasonable return with less risk I suggest the following little book. This is a little book that I have written and contains the essential of how to invest. Just click on the title to find the book.
   
   
   The book is titled How to Make Money in the Stock Market-Buy 2,500 different stocks for $1000 - Pay no Commission. Easy to read packed with precise directions for success. A cookbook for the investor just follow directions. I enjoyed this book a great deal. It shows how indexing and diversification strategies work and why they are so important to investing success. Unlike many other books, this one is not only informative, but also useful. There should be no question as how to implement the author's strategy and measure your progress. He skillfully addresses asset allocation, and shows how to minimize tax consequences by assigning securities to tax deferred accounts. The author does not dwell on lengthy longwinded discussions but cuts to the quick with useful recommendation and directions for the novice and experienced investor as well. I recommend this book for all investors.Just click on the underlined title to go to the reviews of the book.The author answers all yiur questions by Email within 24 hours.How to Make Money in the Stock Market-Buy 2,500 Different Stocks-Pay no Commission



2. Ellis manages an active fund, which completely goes against the premise of his book. If he truley believes what he wrote, he would act accordingly. However, that isn't why I gave the book 2 stars. I gave the book 2 stars because it is basically a 2-3 page paper expanded to be a full book by using fillers. There is one simple concept, and it doesn't take an entire book to get across.



3. This book gives a further mesage than "buy an index fund". It gives the reader a pragmatic view of investing. The message should be this "Investor know yourself and the scenario where your playing, then act consecuently". Investing is a serious activity and should be taken seriously. Too many traps are set for those who take it as game and too many avoidable dissapointments take place. This book is a great book and a must read for anybody, particularly for those who want to invest their money. For those who may want further reading I would encourage them to read Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It, and Share It (Paperback) (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks) and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits), they're both easy to read and will give you further knowledge of how seriously investing is.



4. An advanced look at how to invest in the markets. This is a must-read for all investors looking to get a deeper understanding of making money in stocks.



5. Ellis exposes the money managers who claim they can buy a security for you cheap, let it rise up, and then sell just before it drops. The real truth that Ellis lets us in on is that these people don't know anymore than anyone else, and what REALLY effects the markets are random events that nobody can predict. He also shows that the money managers really only make money buy churning transactions, no matter how high or low a security is. He returns us to finance 101 that tells us MARKETS are efficient, trying to time the market is not.

No comments about Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload.

5 comments about The Bond Book: Everything Investors Need to Know About Treasuries, Municipals, GNMAs, Corporates, Zeros, Bond Funds, Money Market Funds, and More.

1. This is an accessible introduction to bonds by a financial professional whose first book - as unlikely as it may seem - was a study of Max Jacob, the French poet. The literary background of the author, Annette Thau, may account for her book's clear, easy-to-read style. Most authors who write about bonds tend to get lost in the complex mathematics and specialized jargon of the bond markets. Not Annette Thau. Whether you are an individual investor trying to balance your portfolio with bonds, or a student of finance looking for a more lucid explanation of the subject than you can find in your textbooks, we highly recommend this book to you.



2. Thau over complicates her points. The book is too difficult to understand. I am an attorney who has been investing in stocks and bonds for over 10 years. This book is not appropriate for any level investor.



3. Am nearly finished reading the 2nd printing of this excellent tutorial. Although I have been an avid buyer & seller of fixed income products for many years, the author did a superb job of furthering my mid-level expertise especially in the area of municipal bonds. Her plain language explanations were most welcome as opposed to the plethora of financial techno-babble tomes that share the bookshelf. 5 Stars without reservation.



4. I ordered this book for my business library. I enjoyed the book, but if you want more specifics on the methods of detailed bond calculations, I would recommend a good financial investments text book.



5. A great introduction to bonds and there place in a portfolio. The perfect place for the individual to start if they are considering purchasing individual bonds for their portfolio.
   
   However, anyone looking for more in-depth information and strategies will likely be disappointed. Relatively little information about Zeros, TIPS and other products that are likely to be of interest. Start here, and then increase your knowledge with a title specific to your interests (i.e. municipal bonds, etc.).

3 comments about U.S. Master Tax Guide (2008).

1. This book is a tax preparer's dream, with all the answers for any questions that might arise in processing 2006 returns. It's simple language and full explanations of new tax law changes that impact 2006 filers is extensive. I use these guides every year and as always I am never disappointed. Thank you.



2. My one-stop source for updated Federal tax information. I don't prepare taxes, but I buy a new copy every year to stay current on tax law and IRS regulation changes. A must-have for financial/accounting managers and executives.



3. As a tax preparer this manual gives just the facts enough samples to work to the preparers advantage. Cut and dried! Just what I wanted. We'll see how well when I sit for my EA :-)

5 comments about Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People.

1. This book has all the appeal of an IKEA coffee table: it looks great on the outside, but when you get down to it, it's nothing but cheap filler.
   
   The concepts are tired (this is mere repackaging of 1987 material by a designer/design firm who is trying to drum up business). The writing is self-aggrandizing. This book could have been written in less than a three-page memo.
   
   If you still speak with an arrogant dot.com era vernacular; if you enjoy using mantras like "recontextualizing the brand"; or if you enjoy hearing yourself breath, then you will thoroughly enjoy this book.
   
   In the end, this book says a lot without saying anything at all. Buy something by Aaker (though he is a bit dated) instead.



2. Emotional Branding is a must, it is complete, well written and full of inspiring examples
   
   The decalogue alone is worth the purchase
   
   1) from consumers to people
   2) from product to experience
   3) from honesty to trust
   4) from quality to preference
   5) from notoriety to aspiration
   6) from identity to personality
   7) from function to feel
   8) from ubiquity to presence
   9) from communication to dialogue
   10)from service to relationship
   
   If brand managers understand truly and fully Gobe's ten commandments they will add value to the most valuable asset
   they have, the brand



3. Absolutely fantastic book. Covers all the major concepts of emotional branding, including self concept and actualisation. I reccommend for anyone interested in this new and exciting concept.



4. You'd think that a book about emotional branding with a forward by Sergio Zyman would have something interesting to say. Unfortunately, this book make a number of good points but it's not all that interesting. Many of the points should be fairly intuitive and obvious for marketing people who have a clue. Some points made are interesting refreshers, like the importance and potential impact of invoking multiple senses in the consumption and purchase experience. Unfortunately many of the chapters are not newsworthy and can be summarized by their lame titles, such as "Women: The New "Shoppers in Chief" and "Gay and Lesbian Consumers: Sincerity is the Best Policy!"
   
   The book mostly gives examples of brands that have done X or Y really well without leaving the average reader or business person with any concept about how the point is relevant in a gernalizeable sense.
   
   Final gripe is that the book reads a little bit like an advertisement for the author's firm.



5. As a personal branding coach, I have read many books and
   publications watching for trends, and changes in the industry
   to ensure my clients are maximizing technologies.
   
   This was a great book that I could apply to my personal
   branding methods, because Marc refers to emotional branding
   which has very real connections with what you do in personal
   branding, by attaching the product to the person, and using
   emotional advertising you create loyalty, connection and
   a more powerful message.
   
   This was a great read, and I enjoyed his extensive knowledge
   of the advertising industry and package strategies which
   can still be applied to a person and product in a similar
   fashion.
   
   I would recommend this for some fantastic history of the
   industry and development of emotional branding, and for me I
   further applied it for my personal branding clients to create
   very successful campaigns.
   
   As the bestselling author of "31 Days to Millionaire Marketing
   Miracles" I used these strategies for myself, the book, and
   my clients.
   
   Tracy Repchuk
   Personal Brand Coach
   http://www.personalbrandempire.com
   
   31 Days to Millionaire Marketing Miracles

5 comments about The Future for Investors: Why the Tried and the True Triumph Over the Bold and the New.

1. The professor touts stocks and funds that feature dividends.Up until 1958 dividend income on stocks exceeded the interest income on long term bonds. For this reason it is difficult to assume that the good professors recommendation to go for dividend income is a prudent strategy when his data is biased by a condition that does not exist in today's market. I would prefer to use index funds that provide excellent diversification and insure that you are being compensated for the risks taken. To explore this strategy I can recommend a book titled How to Make Money in the Stock Market Buy 2500 different stocks Pay no commission. It takes off where this book ends.
   
   Investing does not take a lot of work, in fact, the more you read of the wrong material of which there is an abundant supply, the more you will trade, and the less you will make in the market.
   
   Active buying and selling of stocks by individuals will only run up brokerage commissions and waste your time and money. Turning your money over to a professionally managed mutual fund is even worse because of the fees you are required to pay well compensated `experts' to waste their time. This book shows you how to invest using index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
   
   
   This book can be read and understood in 45 minutes to an hour.
   
   The author follows the strategy promoted here. His portfolio contains over 8,200 different stocks and bonds all through index mutual funds and exchange traded funds. How to Make Money in the Stock Market-Buy 2,500 Different Stocks-Pay no Commission



2. This is a very good book. Highly recommended and well worth the time. It is normally tough to decide among the many competing books which one to read. As usually time available is the limiting factor. The author explains some very importants concepts to value investing with simplicity. At times it appears that the Author may be going too far to prove how he sounded the warning bells before the 2000 market crash, but overall I really enjoyed reading the book and had many take aways.



3. The research presented in this book is incredibly useful even if one doesn't agree with Dr. Siegel's recommended strategies.
   
   I'm buying this book for several friends of mine as gifts.



4. Siegel presents a compelling case for investing in value stocks (shares of companies with lower price-to-earning ratios that use profits to pay dividends to shareholders rather than fund rapid growth). The author backs up his conclusions with lots of data, and his treatment of the historical context and tax implications of value investing is straightforward and thorough.
   
   So much stock picking advice focuses on growth, sector analysis, and territoriality; in addition to all the hype, adherence to those theories requires a lot of research and trading. More importantly, much of that advice cuts against the lessons from my own experience regarding personal and professional development, and my experience regarding the way in which you grow anything - namely, an intuitive sense that discipline and long-term perspective are far more important than the latest thing, or getting lost in the details of something that seems appealing, but that you don't fully understand. If you've got a similar mindset, you'll find this a book to be a great resource.
   
   http://www.linkedin.com/in/creativelawtalent



5. I bought this as a gift for someone who dabbles heavily at the suggestion of someone who is a serious investor.

5 comments about Rich Dad's Guide to Becoming Rich...Without Cutting Up Your Credit Cards.

1. The way the author explains money makes cents! Really. It's simple, and most people should be able to follow his instructions and get out of debt. It will require sacrifice and diligence, but without these you won't get anywhere anyways!



2. ...unless you've never read any of his other books. Don't get me wrong, I can't say enough good things about Robert Kiyosaki's books. If you haven't read them (Rich Dad Poor Dad, Cashflow Quadrant, etc.), I highly recomemd that you do. But there's nothing new in this book. It just a retread of ideas already presented in his other books, and not as well. If fact, reading it felt like a advertisment for his other books and products.



3. This book teaches you to be financially smart with the use of credit cards and that you don't have to cut up your credit cards, but to be financially smart when using them wisely. Credit card companies are just waiting for you to make a mistake and in the world of investing and your portfolio is your report card. Just like in school you've got to maintain that B average and shoot for that A+ card and keep fixing all the little mistakes until you do achieve it.



4. The book is written very well. It is hard to believe that Robert Kiyosaki almost failed his English class. It is more of an Inspiration rather than a "Guide", however most of the advice is applicable in the real life and I would recommend everyone, who needs a little "push" in life to read it too.



5. Another Great book to add to all of his others. I find it a great insperation to those of use on the hard road and looking to turn their lives around. Great lessons on what your bankers see as assests and liabilites. A great idea that comes to mind from his book is when he tells us "to get richer buy a car". Use the things in life that we want to drive us to the goals we need to achieve those things.

5 comments about Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties.

1. I wish I had this book when I was 19 and applying for credit cards. This book has great information in understandable terms for those who are beginning their financial journeys in life from opening bank accounts to buying homes. It also provides good stories as examples to explain some concepts that are more difficult to grasp, especially for those who are not financially savvy (like me). I will be giving this to my 19 year old brother so that he can be smarter about money than i was at his age (I'm 25).



2. Books like Beth Kobliner's have to earn their place on your bookshelf. After all, these days plenty of personal finance advice is available for free on the Internet. That said, this book is a wise investment for early-career professionals who would like advice about getting out of debt. Although its guidance is solid-if-predictable, it is well-researched and straightforwardly written. Kobliner provides an authoritative "further reading" list for those who want to delve deeper into how to get their finances on an even keel. This book does not promise to make you rich overnight, and it doesn't exactly qualify as a page-turner, but it lends a helping hand. We recommend it to young people whose financial life is just a bit too exciting.



3. I moved to US 7 years ago, so all this stuff on retirement plans, mortgages, investments, was a big cloud of information to me. Very slowly I started learning about finances reading articles over the internet. When I got this book, I couldn't stop reading it. It gave me a great overview of how to put my financial life together. It is very easy to read. Yes, it's not the solution to all your financial problems, but it's a great overview with very enlightening information.
   The only thing I didn't find details about was 457 retirement plans (even though it talks about others). That's the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars.



4. The information in this book was the type that your big sister should have told you. I was lucky enough to have a big sister to explain these things so I didn't need the book. But if you are truly just starting out into adulthood, you'll enjoy the helpful hints such as how to evaluate the checking accounts offered from different banks or how to start a retirement account. If you're very young, if you're very new at being an adult, and if you have nobody to guide you this book has all the essential advice.



5. I was thinking about going into finance but was too close to graduation. This book was recommended to me by a finance professor, when I asked for something that really explained how things work instead of just giving a prescription. This was an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in financial matters. I keep this book in my library as reference and have turned back to it many times for a reference point when people ask me questions about finances.

5 comments about Gold: The Once and Future Money.

1. To read about gold is to read about the history of money. In this very well arranged book, the author present and enjoyable introduction to a central aspect of economics, money, from the differences between soft and hard money, the Gold standard, the uses of Taxes, Central Banking and the history of financial crises. Gold is indeed the most effective way to have stable money, meaning stable prices and this is repeated all along the book so you cannot forget it.
   
   Certainly this is a great book with lots of information and history, where you can understand the financial crisis that have devastated some countries economies, such as the '80 Latin America's crisis or the Asian crisis of '97, most of them problem related to floating currencies imbalance. There is also a very insightful explanation of what happened with Yugoslavia and the rol of the IMF and its "shock therapies" that have only worsened economies that needed their assistance in these moments of perils. Good money is stable money and maybe one day we will be back to it.



2. I'm simply an average joe looking to preserve wealth from the coming inflation in the US dollar. This book did indeed help me understand central banking and how a gold standard can work. However, it contained way too many details with dates and years of various historical events.
   
   What I really wanted, was a book that could help me conceptually understand the commodity of gold in an easy to read format. All in all I appreciated the book and am glad I read it. Perhaps I would have enjoyed this more had I read "The Coming Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It" first as it did not dive into obscure details of historical events.



3. Good Insights But Unconvincing
   
   Fiat money serves three purposes: legal tender, token for exchange and store of value. The author seems to propose a money system pegged to gold and believes that it will serve to stabilize the value of the paper money as the value of gold is relative stable in the long run. The author argues that, under the new gold based money standard, the value of paper money can be maintained through adjusting the money supply, possibly by the central bank. The author also believes that a gold-based money system is better than commodity-basket based system or a currency board system exchange system. The author points out that there is an inherent conflict between a country's domestic monetary policy in terms of maintaining an interest target and its foreign exchange policy in terms of keeping a fixed exchange rate.
   
   The question that is not clearly answered is how the supply and demand of gold, and therefore related fluctuations of gold price/value, affects the value of money and the equilibrium between money supply and demand. Equally important and not clearly answered is how a country using the proposed gold-pegged money can defense itself against currency attack by speculators. When there is sell-off of the currency, according to the author, the central bank needs to retire the excess currency (money supply) it took in from people for exchanging gold. This is to maintain the value of the paper money pegged to gold. Reducing money supply seems to push up interest rate and restrain economic growth. A large scale currency attack may also push up gold price as the demand of gold for exchanging the currency intensifies. To keep the pegging creditable, the central bank has to exchange gold for the currency when it is demanded. The central bank either has to keep a gold reserve large enough or buy/borrow gold from the market. To buy gold, the central bank may have to borrow foreign currency (hard currency) to do so, especially when its currency is under attack (weak). Then the problem is essentially no difference than the familiar one we have seeing for a currency-pegging exchange system except the author claims that the value of gold, in the long run, is more stable than all paper money including "hard currencies" such as the dollar, pounds, etc. The author claimed that if the central bank maintains its credibility, then it does not need to keep a large gold reserve. However, if the credibility is better or at least as good as gold, we wouldn't need a gold-pegging or any pegging system. The whole idea to have the money pegged on something is because that people believe the value of that "something" in itself is stable.
   
   As society has not find any universal stable measurement for "value" as we did for length and weight, we just don't have a stable media to store the value. Actually length and weight are only relatively stable under normal conditions on earth. The light of speed is probably the only constant in the universe we know so far. The value of gold, just like all other currencies and commodities, changes when the supply and demand fluctuates. It may be arguably more stable than other paper money. Nevertheless, it does not totally eliminate some major problems faced by the paper money. Plus, gold system may have its own problems. Is it immune from short-term speculations that could bring down a nation's economy?
   
   Overall, I found the book valuable in providing a lot of economic insights on historical events. But I found the argument for a gold-pegged standard as the solution unconvincing. The ultimate solution may be, when globalization reaches its summit, one world currency is created. Then there is no currency risk. Only business cycles need to be dealt with. Then the money does not have to be pegged on anything except people's faith in the stability and survivability of themselves and responsible management on money supply. When there are multiple currencies, good management of and consistency among policies of exchange, monetary, and fiscal seem to be the gold standard demanded.



4. The book starts and finishes strong--the first 100 pages or so and the last 50. But the middle gets very bogged down in intricate economic history with lots of minutiae. The author begins in the mercantile ages, perhaps the 1600s or thereabouts, and continues to the early 2000s. I was disappointed that the last few years were pretty much not covered, as that is what I'm most interested in. Discussion is not limited to the USA and covers the entire world. I think every economic event, significant or not, was touched on. Discussions of US presidents are mostly limited to Nixon, Carter, and Reagan.
   
   So aside from the start and finish of this, this is mostly a book of economic history. Maybe I was expecting something otherwise when I picked it up. I support the author's premise, and he seems very confident in it. I'm new to the gold standard and I plan to learn more about it. I ended up skimming the middle 200 pages or so as I could not bear to read them in depth anymore after entering them. I understand that history is important for lessons, but I prefer summaries of it. It's never been my strong point, and this book is littered with dates and years that have always been anathema to me.
   
   If you're new to the subject of the gold standard like me, this may not be the best initial choice. Or you might want to skip it entirely and instead seek other books or shorter articles online. This review might be somewhat useless, but if anything I would say to be mindful of the history in this book. Consider using Amazon's preview feature to see what I mean.
   
   *Wow, coincidentally it's unbelievable how much I'm in agreement with Average Joe. I also have "The Coming Collapse of the Dollar" on my reading queue.



5. This book is absolutely unbelievable vuluable and probably worth paying 1000$ for it (or should I say, 1 oz of gold!).
   
   Not only does it explain in details what the gold standard is, and how it has worked in the past, but it also gives a very good overview of the various currency systems used in the past, the various fallacies about currencies, gold, politics, economics schools, etc.
   
   It also reviews the history of our society through a different angle/lens. I feel like I understand the history now, and all the crises, wars, chaos that seemed to come out of nowhere has found a rational and sensible explanation. I had turned off my TV set and my radio receiver about 10 years ago, stopped reading the news papers and any other kind of useless noise, and all of the sudden, the world makes sense again.
   
   Unfortunately, ignorance is bless...
   
   Many thanks to Nathan Lewis for sharing his knowledge and wisdom. I just wish that the book was twice as thick, so that you could go into more details about the causes and consequences of the various policies and actions taken by the governments or the IMF, etc. because sometimes the short cuts you take are more than hard to follow and even though I think I was able to follow you, I would have preferred to be sure about it.