Rating: 
Summary: Great for us idiots out there!!!
Review: It gave me so much to think about. I know that my steps to getting rich were turned into leaps with this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great beginer for all just getting introduced to investments
Review: Mr. Tyson has a good approach at explaining the ins and outs of the investing world without all the technical jargon. He summarizes different aspects of investments from stocks/bonds/mutual funds and real estate. He does not leave out the fact that any investing is risky, and one should do his/her homework before taking the risk. But without risk there is no reward. This is a good intro into investments when one is ready to move on to more technical novels. Definitely give it a look over.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor investment advice
Review: Mr. Tyson has attempted to do a great thing--to provide a very broad introduction to the world of investing "for the rest of us", as the Dummies series is known for. Unfortunately, several key errors and his overwhelming "do it yourself" idealism is unrealistic, and ultimately results in readers developing a false sense of security in their own abilities and chances.From the very start he criticizes financial advisers, saying they are usually out for their own agendas (even though he himself is one???). He urges investors to take the time to research their own mutual funds and set up their own accounts through low-fee brokerage houses. Through newspapers, websites, books, and other sources of information, even the casual of investors have enough time to research on their own. The impression I got about his attitude was "if you want to invest successfully, you need to do your homework". Now, that's all fine and dandy in a perfect world, but if that was that easy why do 95% of Americans fail to invest properly for their own retirement? Why was the median income for retired persons only $13,700 last year? The hard fact is that in today's hectic society, people simply do not have the time to do their own research and are better off hiring the services of an experienced professional with a focus on the long term. While he pushes for mutual funds--which is a good thing--it is unrealistic for him to say that only "special situation" type people need advisers to help them pick which mutual funds, retirement options, and college accounts are right for them. It's commonly accepted that you hire a doctor, a lawyer, or an accountant to help with complex medical, legal, or estate purposes, why is it so wrong to hire a financial adviser to help you set up your retirement accounts? On the subject of retirement accounts, his reasoning here is backwards. He urges readers to contribute to tax-deductible retirement accounts first (be it 401(k), 403(b), SEP, whatever) and THEN contribute to an IRA once those options are maxed out. His logic is in that way you can write off your contributions as currently tax-deductible. He says your tax bracket will be lower once you retire, so it is therefore better to pay the taxes on that money later rather than now. This is blindly incorrect for two major reasons. First, assuming the money in your retirement account grows (and what else is the point of it if not to grow over time?), the value will be MUCH HIGHER when you retire. As an example, let's say you put in $10,000 today and that money grows at 10% annually for 30 years. After 30 years that money will have grown to $175,000. Is it better to: A. Pay tax on the $10,000 now
B. Pay tax on the $175,000 later ? Regardless of your tax bracket now and later, the amount you pay on taxes will be much, much higher if you pay it in the future. Moral of the story: it's much better to pay tax on the money you put in than to pay tax on the money you take out. Second, who says your tax bracket will be lower when you retire, anyway? What that means is that your income will be lower when you retire than it is now. While statistically this is true of most Americans, it is not true for any of MY clients. The whole purpose of investing for your retirement is to save in such a way that, upon your retirement, you have enough to let the principal sit and just live off the interest. If you planned PROPERLY, that interest you make every year will either equal or exceed your income during your working years. I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to have MY adviser tell me 'you're going to be poorer during your retirement than you are now'. Would you? Another blatant mistake he makes is advocating term life insurance over any life insurance that has cash value. Term insurance is temporary whereas insurance with a cash value is intended to cover you for your whole life. Why would you want to pay for insurance that you most likely will never use and never benefit from? With whole life or variable life you can always surrender the policy (for example, upon retirement) or take loans on the money (that you never pay back and thus receive tax-free) and get a hefty sum of cash. If you spent your whole life paying for term you get nothing out of it. In the long run, term ends up being far more expensive than whole or variable life. This is one of the first lessons taught in Virginia Bureau of Insurance licensing training classes; I don't know where Mr. Tyson got his insurance license, if he even has one. I could go on and on about both the technical inaccuracies and his misinforming strategies but I am limited in space here. In summary, Investing for Dummies really deserves it's name'if you're a dummy you might like this book. But if you are serious about wanting any sort of sound investment advice that uses tried-and-true techniques, look elsewhere. This book attempts to cover too many topics'and does so incorrectly, at many points, to be of any real use.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Outstanding for anyone interested in taking control of their financial well-being.
Rating:
Summary: Buy the Third Edition instead of this OLD one
Review: The Third Edition of this book is already out. Why would you buy the second edition if the third edition is newer?
Rating:
Summary: Buy the Third Edition instead of this OLD one
Review: The Third Edition of this book is already out. Why would you buy the second edition if the third edition is newer?
Rating:
Summary: Don't be a Dummy, invest in this book.
Review: The world of investing can be complex and overwhelming. Stocks? Bonds? Real Estate? Too confusing for you? Just putting you money under your mattress? Investing for Dummies explains different kinds of investments such as stocks and bonds in easy terms that anyone can understand. Its a great start for people who have never invested before by pointing out the upside and potential downsides of many different investments. Invest in this book to help you invest in your future.
Rating: 
Summary: Lacking
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Lacking
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: no substance
Review: There was so little substance in this CD that I'm sorry that I bought it. Judging by the reviews I see here, I'd guess that the book teaches a lot more than the CD.
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