Eight Steps to Seven Figures : The Investment Strategies of Everyday Millionaires and How You Can BecomeWealthy Too

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Summary: Great for those clueless about investing
Review: My Grandmother gave me this book a few years ago. I finally picked it off my shelf one night when I was bored. I figured I would read only the first chapter, just to get through my boredom. However, I ended up pouring over the book and reading it cover to cover! It is perfect for beginners: very straight-forward and understandable. It gives beginners a guided path through their first savings and investments. There may not be much here for experts, but for those of us just starting out in the world (I'm 24), this book is a great springboard. I'm now reading more advanced financial books, and I give this book credit for initiating me into the world where I strive for "Seven Figures!"

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Summary: Step #1 ¿ Subscribe to my newsletters.
Review: No, it was not that obvious, but throughout the book the author keeps on referring to the newsletters that he publishes, which by the end becomes very annoying. Overall a good book for a beginning investor. I found a big number of good points. One of them was against day-trading, where the author suggests that if an investor jumps out of the stock with a 50% gain, he or she will miss a possible 1,000% gain.
Also, the respondents' comments were quite inspiring. On the negative side, Carlson attempted to provide information on some of the DRiP's, which is very time-based and will become obsolete very soon.
Do not expect this book to replace Millionaire Next Door.

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad but...
Review: Not great, either. Some of the advice will be sound for some readers but NOT ALL and some of the information useful to most readers. This is a book for investors of below-average knowledge but useful to remind the reader that there are ways to screw up your finances that are not financial, per se.

Still, an interesting read but this shouldn't be the only book on managing your finances and investing that you read.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: One hundred and seventy millionaires can't be wrong, can they? Probably not. That's why you should pay close attention to the simple wisdom of Charles B. Carlson's book, which analyzes the investment habits of 170 members of the seven-figure club. The results: Millionaire investors buy fundamentally strong stocks, pay little attention to market timing, never trade on news and maintain a dedicated buy-and-hold philosophy. Carlson straightforwardly presents these financial principles for a financially unsophisticated audience, complete with lists of organizations and companies to contact for further investment information. Profiles and examples of successful investors like Warren Buffett will keep you hooked, even if you tend to nod off at the first mention of a PE ratio. We [...] strongly recommend this book for its unintimidating style and logical methodology.

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Summary: A Post-Enron Analysis
Review: Since this book has Enron's phone number in the appendix, I thought I'd share my views on some of the points raised in this book.

1) I have NEVER been a fan of 401K. As the Enron employees found out, they are not a fail-safe investment. You don't have any say-so in the stock selection or even choose if you want a load or no-load fund to put your money in. And it is apparently very easy for the company to make off with your funds leaving you very little recourse.

2) I would advise the reader not to pay all that much attention to the recommended "must-have" stocks, even though he only had one or two real losers in the bunch (Lucent, Tribune). I believe it would be more effective if maybe sectors were chosen, then use Carlson's advice on how to choose your favorite stocks wisely. Carlson says to know your strengths and weaknesses and interests as an investor and invest either in index funds or individual stocks, or some combination of both, so I go along with the need for personal interest, or buying from companies whose products you actually use yourself. He lists entertainment/media, health care, information services, financial services, retailing, consumer products/services, technology, telecommunications, and energy (thank goodness, he didn't recommend Enron here). I think I would add the transportation sector, but for some reason that one isn't discussed. And I wish I had chosen an index fund instead of my Strong funds. Luckily I did not invest all my eggs in that basket.

4) I really hate the "limit shocks to your finances" chapter. I couldn't believe there was a chapter that suggested one avoided having children or taking care of one's elderly parents. What's wrong with this picture? Job-hopping and divorce are also considered shocks to the seven-figure dream. On the other hand, these things are a pretty good shock to the five-figure income, as well! I also believe that higher education is a financial pit worth avoiding unless you absolutely need it. I know too many people with an expensive piece of paper on the wall and not using it. Carlson feels that education levels correlate strongly with future earnings. I believe future earnings depend upon whom you know at the company you work at, so I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that point!

I guess the real problem I have with parts of this book is not only a post-Enron attitude but a post- 911 attitude as well. At the time I bought this book, I certainly wanted to find out how to make more money than I was. However, these days being a millionaire just isn't a goal for me. Being healthy, happy, and loved are better goals for me, I think. When a book comes out with a title something like "Eight Steps to Six Figures, And Being Happy With What You Have Afterwards", I think I'd rather buy that one instead. In the meantime, I can't say this book wasn't informative for me, and if I HAD to pick a stock, I believe I can now do so with confidence. But I really think I'll put my book up for sale!

Rating:
Summary: A good book for all ages
Review: This book doesn't necessarily tell you things you don't intuitively know. It reminds you of them and gives you the push to get off your rear and do them. In my case, I did learn a few things and the main one was: Get Started! Anyone of any background can read this book and gain a lot from it, as long as they have some initiative. I recommend it for everyone.

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Summary: The Bull Market is Over - This Strategy Doesn't Work!
Review: This is just bad advice. Buy and Hold does not work -- unless maybe you're buying an index fund or good mutual fund. There is no such thing as a safe blue chip. Just look at the stocks in the Dow or the S&P 500. They revise these indexes and add new stocks and drop the old ones that have fallen out of favor. I bet that some of the people profiled in this book no longer have 7 figure portfolios after the bear market took a chunk out of them.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for beginner
Review: This was the first book I read after I developed interest in stocks. At first i thought its just another book on finance with a lot of promises but absolutely no practicality and most books leave u with more qts than answers.
I am a novice to the stock market and this books gave me idea as to what tools and sources are available and also provided me an insight on what returns I might get 30 years down the lane.

Eventhough the author mentions about mutual funds, I suggest readers go through other books available in the market regarding mutual funds as the focus in this book seems to be stocks stocks and more stocks.

Its a damn good book for beginners and answers basic questions like how to buy stock, what cost and the sources and also how to go about putting your initial investment.

I would recommend to beginners like me !!!

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