The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need

I've read a lot of personal finance books and this one has some of the best information I've found. If you are interested in personal finance and investing, you should definitely read this book! Tobias writes in a witty style to keep the reader's attention while providing detailed information on investing that I haven't found anywhere else. He begins with information on how to save money on personal expenses like dining out and vacations. There are several good tips in this section. Then he moves on to retirement accounts and saving for education. He explains each type of account in detail and includes every kind I know of. His sections on bonds and stock investing are really informative. He explains items like treasury bills and TIPs and their advantages. He explains all kinds of bonds (I-bonds, corporate bonds, municiple bonds) and provides his recommendation on whether you should own them or not and why. I especially found his section on stock market investing useful. He has explanations of a stock's beta, buying on margin, options, selling short, LEAPS and penny stocks and explains the pitfalls that often get investors into trouble. The last portion of the book talks a bit about estate planning and also some very clever methods of teaching your kids about saving and investing. I like the author's philosophy on investment strategies and agree with most of his advice. This book covers a lot of topics in personal finance and is both a great reference and a fun read. I highly recommend it to others!!!

I'm pretty sure I have bought every edition of this book as it has come out, and this is no exception. Besides being the most entertaining book ever written on investing (faint praise on its face, but Tobias rivals Michael Lewis when it comes to being able to do this), the book is full of not so much financial how-to, like most such books, but financial wisdom, which is much harder to come by. Perhaps the greatest of these is: Trust No One. If you have earlier editions, there is not a lot of new text here -- it's definitely an update, not a revision. Speaking of revisions, I do have a quibble about what appears to be a change in emphasis from earlier editions, in favor of putting a large percentage equities into retirement 401Ks; my quibble is that there is little or no mention of the more recent arguments against that (eg., Merton, Shiller; Merton, in particular, argues that for most people, that the downside risks of stocks make them too risky for retirement accounts, except for very young workers; according to this view, stocks are appropriate only once the you have reached your minimum safe retirement level of future income, taking into account Soc Security and other pensions. Until that point is reached, you should be invested in safe assets, like TIPS ladders and, eventually, annuities. This is so despite the fact that stocks are statistically more likely to outperform other investments; the problem is that there is a real possibility that they will under-perform, leaving you below your minimum required retirement amount. See Merton's article, "The Crisis in retirement Planning, Harvard Business Review 2014). Although Tobias mentions the 2008 crash, he seems to suggest that the recovery in equities since then has made up for that. Alas, for many people, it has not; moreover, equities are richly valued right now, which suggests that their historic performance is unlikely to be repeated for future generations of retirees. So as Tobias advises, "trust no one," or I would say, take with a grain of salt, even this wise and immensely enjoyable book

This was the first investment book I read, and it still stands out as one of the most commonsensical, though I'm afraid at a later stage of life--when questions about social security, annuities, Roth IRAs, ETFs, medicare and health insurance, wills and estates loom large--it's especially suitable for a youngster or someone just looking to get their feet wet. One of the charms of the first edition was its singular compactness and economy--by the time of the 2002 edition, however, it had begun to pack on some weight at the expense of what made it unique in the first place. It's continued to get lengthier, though it's still a bargain. Since the first edition of this book, the markets have become so complex and media-blanketed that a lot of the Benjamin Graham practical advice no longer applies (just ask someone who invested huge sums in mutual funds at this time a year ago, only to see it all sliced in half just several months later). On the other hand, people who follow CNBC and the second-by-second gyrations of the markets still tend to labor under the old illusions about how to "beat" the market--and indeed some do, whether due to chance (most likely) or some magical formula or insight. But win or lose, these latter-day market mavens become so absorbed in the moves of the exchanges, they're apt to miss out on the more significant changes in their personal lives and the world around them. But controversial though the title may be, "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" is a statement that's closer to the truth than not. Tobias has a remarkable nose for all of the "fat" when it comes to managing money. People spend countless hours fine-tuning their investments on a daily, obsessive basis, wasted hours that will never be repaid by a slightly lower mutual fund fee or a lucky "hot stock" pick. If you "know" what your doing--not simply in terms of playing the game but that what you're doing "is," in fact," a game (especially now that the internet bombards us with more information in a single second than can be registered in a life-time), then fine. Set up 3 computer screens in addition to a television monitor with Jim Cramer hollering away--and have fun. But be aware that it is a game, that one-click trading quickly becomes a form of addiction, and that you're not doing much for humanity or your own social life--in fact, the isolation that many people feel is merely increased by this sort of illusory "action." On behalf of the "opposition," I would partly refute Tobias by pointing out the drastic reduction of fees for most stock transactions (from $55 when I started in the early '80s to $10 or even less per transaction in 2010). I would also hold up the year 2008--when the financial systems and banks fell apart, with the consumer taking the biggest hit, losing half of his 401K or mutual fund investment--as a time that understandably changed thinking about the way the game is played. You lose 50%, and it's not going to be easy to gain 100%, which moreover will accomplish no more than bringing you back to even. As a result, greater vigilance, along with "cost-averaging," makes more sense than when Tobias wrote his book. Still, for the most part Tobias is on the money--even in 2010--and the modest price of his book suits his philosophy of not throwing money around heedlessly or wasting all of your time trying to make money out of money. instead, make "something," or make the world a better place. Or, instead of putting all of the emphasis on "making a living," how about simply "living" for a change? In short, the beauty of Tobias' book is that it provides an example of how to step back, put finances in perspective, and acquire a "big picture." For those who feel they are no longer in control of a manageable world or who experience non-stop stomach-churning and incessant tweaking of numbers when it comes to investing and money, Tobias' little book is to the world of finance what Strunk's classic "The Elements of Style" is to grammar and the English language. We could all profit from more books like it.

I read this book because someone recommended it. I was very happy with its contents. Andrew Tobias does an excellent job in explaining the basics of investing. He also gives great advice on not squandering money. However, I believe the strength of this book comes from calculating returns from daily activities. Tobias shows that it is hard to obtain extraordinary returns. We also know this given that most fund managers fail to beat the market. Hence, Tobias tells us to not focus on extraordinary returns. Instead, focus on returns that you can get from daily lives by consuming more wisely. He shows that buying in bulk and saving 20% is a higher return than most investments. He further explains that small savings here and there, compound exponentially in the long run. Update I have read the updated version- The updated is better but it is lacking somethings- First, he does not discuss about deals that you can get from dollar stores. Buying in bulk is great but dollar stores also have great deals time to time (even cheaper than bulk buying). Second, he does not mention that many funds and ETFs are correlated and result in less diversification. Still a great book :D Overall, I highly recommend others to read the book and start practicing calculating returns in our daily lives and generating the most returns in the long term.

Liked it was a short read, easy to read ,entertaining too. Good tips about saving, good focus on saving. No formulaic step by step credo. But at the same time a basic credo, save ,do it now, pick some mutual funds invest, leave it alone, repeat, right now and often. I've read a Number of books of this type. Read this one first 20 yrs plus ago. I took the savings advice to heart not so much the investing , wish now I had. Id be so much better off. Lament, remorse whose is me :( If you are in your 20s reading this SAVE AND INVEST NOW all you can. I couldn't get it through my thick head how much even 20 bucks invested a week in my 20s would let me retire 10 yrs earlier or worry free later. So padawon GET STARTED. Call a vanguard or fidelity put it in an index fund today. Ya go do that now right now.

This is a fun book and a great start if you know nothing about investing. But if you know the basics (stocks, funds, real estate, etc) you won't learn much. I doubt you can get rich or even have a comfortable retirement by simply not losing money, but it doesn't hurt and that's the best part of this book. Again, if you know you should pay off your credit cards, buy large quantities at Costco, drive a small used car and get plane tickets from Priceline, you won't find much new. But what about building some wealth? Now here, we have a problem. The correct "answer" is, you start putting money in a Roth IRA and an index fund, when you are in your 20's. In just 30 or 40 short years you will have a pile of dough. Even better, with 30 or 40 years, no matter what the stock market does, you can ride it out. But alas, hardly anybody in their 20s or even 30s has money to put aside and leave untouched for all those years. Say you're 40 and decide its never too late. As I write this, the stock market is hitting a new high almost every day. Yet the news about jobs, housing and Iraq is all bad. So sooner or later (and probably sooner) the market will tank and it may take 10 years to recover. Now you're age 50 and you've got just 10-15 years to earn enough for retirement. Its not the fault of this book that there is no solution to this dilemma. But I think a more realistic approach would be to offer these four possible "solutions". (1) Inherit lots of money. (2) Be very lucky in the stock market, (3) Get a job that offers a pension, preferably written into law so they cannot screw you or, best of all (4) Get a high paying job early in your career, so you can put all that money aside. The strength of this book is in what it tells you not to do. But minimizing mistakes only takes you so far.

I'll admit it. I'm pretty much a cynic. I've read a few finance books, and they often make me feel more daunted. Everyone comes across as all-knowing, that their advice is the best. The thing that makes this book different than many of the others, is because (as I believe he says in the intro) other books tell you how to play the game, but not whether or not you should be playing it at all. In this book, Tobias gives you perspective as to what kinds of investments you should be making, if at all. I really appreciate that aspect of the book. He really takes a birds-eye view of investing and personal finance. It was so good I thought I would buy a few copies and give them to my family and friends. This is the first review I've ever written on Amazon, and wouldn't spend my time otherwise, but it's a first-rate book. I wish he wrote some more books that followed up on this to go into more detail on related topics. I felt like I could trust his advice, which perhaps sounds dangerous, but at least that's how I felt. Great book, hope you learn something form it if you purchase it.

This books an excellent starting point for someone trying to learn the basics of investing. I was expecting the book to be a little more advanced but I did buy this book for a senior level investing course most of which I have seen before. Nevertheless, this is still a great book. The author uses simple examples and is very humorous which keeps the reader entertained. The author mentions several times throughout the book that this is not "the only investment book you will ever need"! However, many people agree this is a good starting book. In the text Tobias makes you realize how much money people waste or do not use to it's full investing potential. He covers the basic investment instruments and what levels of risk you will be taking with them. The author really feels strong about taxes too. He talks about taxes a lot and how to avoid paying an arm and a leg on them. Overall it was an excellent book that I did not learn as much as I would have like because I have seen many of the topics before, but I really enjoyed reading the book.