( 26 reviews )
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Posted: Jun 19 2009
The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need is a surprisingly common sense book that deals with investing and well...common sense too. Andre Tobias makes many great points and can be sardonically funny at times. After reading plenty of investing books, there was nothing new being written by the author except for one thing. I am finally introduced to the idea of capital gains tax, and while he may not have explained it fully, I credit the discovery to him which led me to further research. Although written in 1978, I strenuously do not think the book is outdated by any means. In the list of quotes in the back, I wanted to add one more. Suppose somebody exclaimed, "I just saved 20% on this purchase. Is that awesome?!" You just simply counterpoint by saying, "Well, I saved 100% by not buying it. Can you beat that?" All in all, I enjoyed reading The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need a lot.
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Posted: Jun 5 2009
This was the first investment book I read, and it still stands out as one of the most commonsensical, though I'm afraid at this stage of life--when questions about social security, annuities, Roth IRAs, ETFs, medicare and health insurance, wills and estates loom large--it's 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 last 2002 edition, however, it had begun to pack on some weight at the expense of what made it unique in the first place. 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. 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.
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Posted: Apr 3 2009
This book is everything there is for common sense spending. You can either read this book and avoid common costly mistakes or learn it hard way by committing those mistakes. Choice is yours. I have given this book to my son for as his 18th birth day gift.
