Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

"Seek and you shall find" is the perfect way for me to describe my experience with this book! Before finding this gem of a book, I was reading several success books this year like "Success Principles" by Canfield, "Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude" by Hill & Stone, "The Richest Man in Babylon" by Clason, "The Templeton Plan" by Sir Templeton, to name a few. One book led to another and I ended up with "Smart Couples Finish Rich" by David Bach, which led me to Graham's "The Intelligent Investor". I first read Graham's 1972 edition (thanks to LA public library) and was looking for more current examples, so I purchased the 2003 edition with commentaries by Jason Zweig, which proved to be a very worthwhile upgrade. While looking up some things I didn't understand online, I repeatedly came across the bogleheads forum, so I signed up as a free member and asked a question. The bogleheads were so helpful that I not only got my question answered, but also understood that the people there were genuinely trying to help. One of the bogleheads led me to a forum page which had book recommendations, so I purchased the kindle edition of this book. And the moment I started reading the book, I knew this book had the answers for most of my questions. I finished reading it in two days! I just wanted to do this homework done asap and take care of my 401(K)s and IRAs. I had done a big timing mistake six years ago and went highly conservative (80% bonds, 10% stocks and 10% REITs). Luckily it was before the crash, so I had netted some profits, but I waited too long to get in to stocks again. Then I changed jobs and never paid attention! And the stock market had its best bull run for the past 5 years (no one told me!)! Wish I had put my money in a target retirement fund and went to sleep, but that wasn't the case :-( This excerpt from the book sums it all up about the authors and this book: "We have no hidden agendas. We aren't financial planners or money managers looking for clients. We don't have a high-powered, get-rich-quick weekend seminar to sell you. We are all well over 70 years of age, financially secure, and haven't missed a meal yet. If you want to read the book at the bookstore, the library, or borrow it from a friend, that's fine with us." So you are not getting a book that just skims a few things and then asks you to look into the authors' other books or their youtube channel or sign up for their weekly digest! The book begins with a quick introduction on the philosophy of borrowing vs. spending vs. saving and investing. The initial chapters have some valuable general advice (like car buying and running a part-time business, for example). But the main content is all about sound investing principles, facts and strategies. The book also discusses enough about taxes, which a lot of investing books seem to just skim or totally ignore. There is also enough material covering how to manage one's emotions when investing. I found some of the material to be like "Ben Graham Simplified". This is one of the very few books that has the guts to not lick the boots of network marketing businesses. (I have personally wasted a lot of my time and money in one such business.) Most other "success authors" would like to sell their books to network marketing businesses in bulk, so they mostly praise some company or the other. My personal experience coincides with those of the authors in that you are better off financially by staying away from network marketing businesses. If you are business-minded, the authors recommend running a business you are really passionate about which coincides with your interests, education and/or experience. Couple the income you produce from your job and/or business with the investing principles explained in this book, you will have a solid plan and a financially successful life!