Investing For Dummies
CDN$ 4.87
Practical Introduction for Beginners - Considering that I know hardly anything about investing in stocks, real estate, etc., this book was a very good one because it introduced me to the basics. It starts with each topic on ",level one", and gradually leads you to the level where you understand the topic but do not have useless information. It discusses stocks and bonds, real estate, portfolio buiding, and even the interesting psychological obstacles in investing. I thought an interesting idea was that to succeed long term in mutual fund investing, your portfolio must be diversified and well-researched. This book also discusses the pros and cons of having a financial advisor, and gives resources for more information. The book has cartoons, which add humor and taught me how investing would be applied to my life. The section of the book least applicable to me was about running and buying business, but it was interesting nevertheless. It was a great introduction to investing and I feel much more prepared than I did before reading the book.
Buy the Third Edition instead of this OLD one - The Third Edition of this book is already out. Why would you buy the second edition if the third edition is newer?
Lacking - There are very few good nuggets of information in this one.I listened to the entire audio version in my car on the way to work. I didn t have to stop once to jot down anything important.
Mandatory Reading for Personal Investors - If you plan on investing, either by hiring a broker or doing it yourself, you owe it to yourself to read this book. It covers the range of potential investments, from stock and mutual funds to small business and real estate investing.It is true that Tyson seems biased towards Vanguard s mutual funds and this book, like his other books on mutual funds and personal finance, carries that tradition forward. In this regard, Tyson is in good company: Vanguard is also highly rated by Consumer Reports and it consistently has the lowest costs. So far, Vanguard has avoided any hint of scandal that has plagued other mutual funds.
Helps you build a solid foundation for further reading - I have been investing in stocks, mutuals funds and real estate for about 8 years without ever reading a book on the topic. I bought this book to learn the nuts and bolts of investing. Despite the fact that I am not a beginner I still found the book informative. For example, Tyson says when a stock plummets don t bale out, buy some more at the lower price. I baled out of amazon.com at $11 and of course I deeply regret it now. I have since learned to hold during the bad times and now I am in profit territory with all of my stocks. He suggests that college savings accounts, such as 529 plans, may be a bad idea because it could hurt your child s chances of getting financial aid. He explains how bonds can go down in value and says instead of buying individual bonds it is better to buy bond mutual funds. I had been wary of bonds before reading this book, now I am thinking about buying a bond fund in the interests of diversification.I didn t agree with Tyson on everything. He is more conservative than I am. I am only in my early 30s, so I believe I am young enough to take some financial risks. Also, he believes that it is a bad idea to pick your own stocks. Yet he also says that if you buy good companies and hold for several years you will always come out ahead as long as you have a diversified portfolio. I see no reason to pay a financial planner (who may put his/her own interests ahead of mine) to do this for me. One thing I really like about the book is that he doesn t just focus on financial instruments. He also discusses investing in both real estate and small businesses. I will be buying a franchise within the next year and I found this information very helpful. Of course, I will need to do further reading on this topic.This is an excellent book that I had a hard time putting down. If you want to learn more about investing I suggest that you start with this book. It will provide a solid foundation, and help you move onto more complicated financial books and magazines.