Investing in an Uncertain Economy For Dummies [Paperback]

Sheryl Garrett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2008

Investing in an Uncertain Economy For Dummies provides investors with focused, individualized investment strategies that enable them to conquer indecision and protect and strengthen their current financial holdings. With advice from 200 top independent financial advisors, empowered readers can make effective asset allocation decisions in the face of volatile markets.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Protect and strengthen your financial holdings during troubled economic times

Want to make the right investment decisions in an uncertain market? This concise, practical guide gives you smart, actionable strategies for saving your money and meeting both your short- and long-term financial goals. You'll see how to safely accumulate wealth, consolidate and protect gains, and make the best investment allocations in troubling times.

• Get your finances in shape — manage debt, assess your insurance, improve your credit score, and create a safety net

• Understand investment vehicles and accounts — from money markets and annuities to mutual and exchange-traded funds to stocks, bonds, commodities, IRAs, and more

• Make effective asset allocation decisions — know your risk tolerance, diversify your holdings, and rebalance your assets

• Save for retirement — provide for potential long-term care expenses, allocate your assets, and minimize your portfolio risk

• Live on your investment earnings — make Social Security work for you, get the most from your pension, take stock of your IRAs, use your taxable investments, and more

• Take care of others — help adult children or elderly parents with large expenses and see how to preserve your assets to pass on to your heirs

Open the book and find:

• 80 strategies from top independent financial advisors

• Focused, individualized investment strategies that work during the good times and the bad

• Guidance on building a conservative, moderate, or aggressive portfolio

• Ways to reduce your investment risk

• Advice on rebalancing your assets

• Tips for acquiring undervalued investments

• Methods to make your money last throughout your retirement, even in the face of economic turmoil

About the Author

Sheryl Garrett is founder of the Garrett Planning Network, an international network of financial advisors who offer their services on an hourly, as-needed basis. In 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, Investment Advisor magazine named Garrett one of the Top 25 Most Influential People in the Financial Planning industry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (October 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470401168
• ISBN-13: 978-0470401163
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #599,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Covering all of the Bases, February 20, 2009

By 

Monica Israels "OffroadGirl" (Westminster, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Investing in an Uncertain Economy For Dummies (Paperback)

I have been to see a Financial Planner but I was looking for more detailed advice. I had hoped to find the Planner's words written down, so I would have a reference. This book was exactly what I was looking for and I read it cover to cover, making notes as I went.

I had originally picked up this book because the title implied that it was geared for the current economy. Also, it was published recently. But it really has advice that applies in all economies. After all, aren't all economies "uncertain" no matter what has happened recently? Investing is never a "certain" endeavour.

This book is perfect for a very specific type of person -- someone who is new to working with their finances. If you are serious about controlling your debt, working on your credit score, planning for retirement and investing wisely then this book is a fantastic start. It explains many terms in a way that is easy to understand. Yes, it covers a lot of ground so it doesn't provide much detail in any of the topics it covers, but for some people this is exactly what they need. It's a high level overview of everything you need to consider. Then you are armed with the right knowledge to explore concepts in more depth, if necessary.

I learned about disability insurance, long-term care insurance and life insurance. It helped me clarify my plan to pay off my debt in the right order, with the right approach. I felt like I was on the right track.

Then I started reading about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and more investment options. There are lots of things to consider when making investments, and this applies both to people with retirement options like 401(k) plans as well as the lucky people with extra money to invest outside of a retirement account. I wouldn't say that this book contains enough information to start day trading, but it's a great way to familiarize yourself with new concepts before picking up more detailed books.

This book was also very helpful for working toward retirement. It helped me figure out the approach I wanted to take and how I should invest my money right up until I was ready to retire. I haven't researched this yet, and this book really helped me. I have already recommended this book to a friend who has just recently retired, because it also covers this period in everyone's life. It gives a high level overview of what to expect and how to handle this new phase.

The book wraps up with some brief tips to take with you. These will come in handy later, for me.

I really recommend this book to anyone who is new to investing or financial planning. It's a great start, providing many definitions and explanations for unfamiliar terms and concepts. I learned a lot, and I'm much more relaxed when thinking about debt and retirement.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reference Resource, September 11, 2009

By 

Mike Piper (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Investing in an Uncertain Economy For Dummies (Paperback)

This book is an *excellent* reference tool. Its title makes it sound as if it's only intended for today, but the advice in here will be just as good five years from now and would have been excellent five years ago.

The book covers just about every question you might have:

Want to know the rules for early withdrawals from an IRA? It's in here.

Want an introduction to long-term care and disability insurance? It's in here.

Want to learn a bit about how to determine an appropriate asset allocation for your portfolio? That's in here too.

Want to learn about any of approximately 80 other personal finance topics? They're all in here.

It's not really intended to be read straight through; they even say so in the introduction. If you do read it cover to cover--like I did, because I'm a geek that way--you'll find that it repeats itself somewhat. (Since each section strives to be independent of the others, certain topics are covered in multiple places.)

My only complaint with the book is that at times it comes across as if it's recommending every investment strategy out there. It has chapters on everything from index funds to picking stocks to investing with options, and each chapter appears to recommend the strategy that it covers. Granted, it could just be my fairly risk-averse nature that's speaking here, but I'm not sure that anybody picking up a "for dummies" book about investing should really be engaging in short selling.

All told though, it's one of the best investing references I've encountered. 5 Stars.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and very informative---a must read!, April 3, 2010

By 

R. Rowlett "investing genius" (LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Investing in an Uncertain Economy For Dummies (Paperback)

This book is full of useful information and allows the reader to understand some basic concepts of investing and how the investor should stay the course during good times and bad. What is very encouraging is that bear markets are usually short and bull markets usually longer...giving a net gain over the long duration. I recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in making it big in the stock market!