Rating: 
Summary: This Dummy is ready to graduate!
Review: I've always loved Dummies books. I own three of Eric Tyson's books, including Investing for Dummies, which is my favorite. My dilemma, however, was where to go after I read the beginner Dummies financial books. What I wanted was a book that delved far beyond the basics, but was just as reader friendly and dependable as the Dummies titles. I was delighted to find three books that fit my criteria--Making the Most of Your Money by Jane Bryant Quinn and the Investing Bible and Retirement Bible, which were both written by Lynn O'Shaughnessy. Quinn's book is a big fat tome, which covers nearly every conceivable investing topic exhaustively. It's a great book, but there is one slight flaw. It was released in 1997, which makes some, but certainly not the majority of information outdated. Interestingly enough, The Investing Bible and the Retirement Bible, which were both released in 2001, are new books launched by none other than the Dummies publishers. O'Shaughnessy picks up where Tyson leaves off by exploring such topics as college investing, saving for retirement, as well as investing during retirement, and choosing and analyzing mutual funds and individual stocks. The Retirement Bible, I've got to say, was the first book I've ever seen that made topics like estate planning fascinating to read. I'd say you can't go wrong with any of these books. But if you already know something about investing, Quinn's book, as well as the Dummies spin-off Bible books will be a better fit.
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: Tyson's money column is much better than his book!
Review:
"Investing for Dummies" gives readers, new to investing, some good advice, such as you need to save money to invest, and that you should generally fund tax-deferred retirement plans before paying down a mortgage. Tyson also advises keeping cash reserves, not in ultra-low-yielding bank savings accounts, but in a money market fund. He urges you to seek "ownership" investments, e.g., stocks, real estate, or your own small business, rather then buying bonds or borrowing your nephew money to start his business. The above advice is common sense, as Tyson admits, and shows up in many good personal finance books. So, what does Tyson offer that the other investing and personal finance books don't? Well, there are some really funny cartoons. Tyson also covers real estate investing and investing in small business in more detail than most investing books. However, if you contemplate starting a business or buying one, there are far better books to read. Same for real estate. Of course, a small section devoted to starting a business won't do a complete job of teaching you what you need to know. But, at least "Investing For Dummies" exposes the reader to the small business and real estate possibilities, which many investing books fail to do. "Investing For Dummies" also recommends index funds and foreign stock funds, which are very good directions to consider. Tyson, in fact, counsels investors not to buy individual shares of common stock, but, rather, to invest exclusively via mutual funds. Of course, he urges you to keep expenses low and select mutual funds carefully. It seems Tyson runs out of meaningful investment advice to give and degenerates into promoting his views on tangent issues in several places. For example, he devotes a full section to criticizing radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh on issues like global warming. Come again? How does that help us become a better investor? Tyson later gives a short plug for Handgun Control, Inc., saying its agenda is to "educate" people about the dangers of guns. At least Tyson does a better job of working this into the flow of the book, saying that some people who start businesses have goals besides money. And, non-profits have agendas other than profits. Thanks, Eric. We might have missed that! OK. Everybody has his or her own ideas, and we can forgive Tyson for straying off the topic, occasionally, but it really galled me when he attacked ham-and-cheese-filled croissants, blaming them for heart attacks. Another story of a restaurant entrepreneur had the partially non-profit agenda of teaching people to eat healthy. Maybe, we can look forward to a "Eating Healthy For Investors For Dummies" in the future!? Tyson also wisely suggests we not try to follow a stock market guru. I strongly agree. Nobody can predict the future. Tyson also criticizes other investment writers who try to sell ongoing investment advice, but, I think, when he criticizes Peter Lynch and Simon and Schuster for trying to sell Lynch's books, Tyson is going a little too far. After all, this is coming from a writer who is famous for pumping out For Dummies books! Unlike Tyson, who is by trade a writer, Lynch retired rich, as a successful mutual fund manager, and Lynch passed up the opportunity to start his own mutual fund which would have earned him tens of millions of dollars more than selling any investing book. So, what is the ulterior motivation for Peter Lynch to write that he believes individual investors can beat the pros in buying individual stocks? None. Lynch believes this and explains why in detail in his books. Tyson claims to have read hundreds of investing books, but he totally ignores Lynch's rational, that individuals can beat the pros. He never addresses this, just sarcastically dismisses it.
Lynch's rational, that the professionals are all consumed with short-term performance and need to diversify widely, not for diversification's sake, but simply because they have too much money to invest, should not be dismissed lightly. Tyson tells investors who try to buy their own stocks to examine the portfolios of mutual fund managers to see what they are buying. Boink!! Never mind professionals often recompose their portfolios before disclosure, so it looks as if they have been buying the best stocks of the day. Never mind that these professionals might well be selling long before you are notified of the change. And, never mind that most individuals are seeking stocks to buy-and-hold, while professional money managers are more frequent traders. Not Tyson's best advice. Tyson correctly mentions that your earnings power is probably your greatest asset and that you should give enhancing your career some attention. But, we assume you knew this, also.
Overall, I do recommend "Investing For Dummies" to those individual investors who are totally new to investment and who want a quick overview of mutual fund investing, real estate investing, and small business. "Investing For Dummies" can be obtained at most local, public libraries. But, if you are already a saver, know how to evaluate an income statement and balance sheet, and have read a superior personal finance book, such as Jane Bryant Quinn's "Making The Most of Your Money", "Investing For Dummies" is probably too basic for you. But, in fairness to Tyson, I think he has a great personal finance column! If you read the column, then get the book, you might be disappointed. Peter Hupalo, Author of "Becoming An Investor: Building Wealth By Investing In Stocks, Bonds, And Mutual Funds.
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.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: This book is written for even the most uneducated of people. The author does not use any fancy math or terminology only common sense ideas on how to invest money and keep a "cool head".
Rating:
Summary: Get Ready for a Strange Agenda
Review: When I first picked up this book, I assumed that it would explain the basic workings of the stock market and give me some tips on investing in stocks. Based on the title, it seemed obvious. But the author, Eric Tyson, strays from this focus so much that you may consider looking elsewhere. Much of the book is devoted to the in's and out's of owning real estate and running your own business. Which is fine, unless you simply want to learn about the stock market. Also, Tyson spends ALOT of ink taking bizzare tangents that add nothing to help make his point, and reveal a strong liberal bias in his thinking. He takes shots at everyone from Rush Limbaugh (he's refered to as a "loud mouth"), to Ronald Reagan and George Bush (Tyson doesn't think Reagan had anthing to do with the collapse of Communism). Tyson also implies that we didn't really "win" world war II because we had to drop the atomic bomb to end it. What does any of this have to do with investing? Beats me! If you're looking for political tangents that are gratuitously divisive in a book that spends only part of its pages discussing the stock market, then this is the one for you! Otherwise, you'd do better to look elsewhere. Happy hunting. :)
Rating:
Summary: BEST INTODUCTION TO INVESTING OUT THERE!!!
Review: If you want to know the pros and cons of any investment(Mutual Funds,franchises, bonds, stocks, real estate, money market) this is the book for you. Helps you make the investment decision that is best for you as an individual!
The best investing book I have(and I have a lot)
Rating:
Summary: Negative Negative Negative
Review: I bought this hoping to get some basic info on investing and all it seemed to reflect on is what not to do. His advice on not buying individual stocks was somewhat insulting. He constantly writes about how no one reading the book could have the expertise to pick stocks like the "pro's" and should only buy mutual funds after years of research. The "years" part is snitty on my behalf but that's the kind of feeling you get from his positions. In summary of what I got out of this, we are all too uninformed to do anything other than pay off our credit cards and then possibly, with correct research, put that extra $50 a month into a mutual fund. Buy "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" before you buy this and THEN see if you still want to purchase it.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for a new investor
Review: I am finally just starting to learn about the stock market. I don't have much invested and I don't really know what I'm doing. This book has shown me that I have a lot to learn!! I really want to learn to invest, and I like how easy it is to understand this book. I also like that I don't have to read it in order from front to back for it to make sense. I can pick almost any chapter and get a complete lesson right there. I recommend this book for anyone who thinks they'll never understand money. With this book it's not as hard as I thought!
Rating:
Summary: Beginner information in PLAIN ENGLISH!!!!
Review: This book is great for beginners (like myself) who are very confused about investing and all the jargon that goes with it. You don't just read this book once, you keep in on your desk and check back every time you are thinking of putting your money in a new investment. This book will never become outdated, well worth the money!!!!
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