The Kitchen Table Investor: Low Risk, Low-Maintenance Wealth-Building Strategies For Working Families [Paperback]

John F. F. Wasik (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0805066233 | ISBN-13: 978-0805066234 | Publication Date: January 15, 2001 | Edition: First Edition

Finally, a time-tested, low-stress investment strategy for the rest of us.

Despite all the media hoopla about manic day traders, tech-stock speculators, and teenage millionaires, most Americans have neither the time nor the inclination to play games with their hard-earned savings. This sensible guide is for the millions of average investors -- from new wage earners to single moms to middle-age workers anticipating retirement -- looking for easy-to-execute, money-making investment strategies. Targeting households with annual incomes below six figures, personal-finance writer John F. Wasik explains how to:

--find extra cash each month to save and invest
--learn from the commonsense tactics of local investment clubs
--take advantage of dividend-reinvestment and direct-purchase plans
--maximize 401Ks, IRAs, and other retirement plans
--select the right mutual funds, government securities, or time-tested stocks
--commit to a strategy and let the money do all the work

Based on proven techniques that minimize risk, stress, and the demands on one's time, The Kitchen-Table Investor contains all the tools investors need to build a safe, secure nest egg.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wasik, special projects editor for Consumers Digest and author of eight other books, suggests sound investment strategies for households netting less than $100,000, such as joining an investment club and capitalizing on employer-sponsored retirement plans. This user-friendly guide is peppered with chatty anecdotes and "kitchen table tips" (among the best is a list of "25 More Ways to Automatically Save for Investments"), as well as chapter summaries and a guide to financial resources online. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

John F. Wasik is the author of The Late-Start Investor, The Investment Club Book, and Retire Early. He is currently a special-projects editor for Consumer's Digest. He lives with his wife, Kathleen, and daughter, Sarah, near Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; First Edition edition (January 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805066233
• ISBN-13: 978-0805066234
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,127,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am curious about the world. That's why I'm compelled to ask questions about history, politics, the environment, economics and investing. Although I don't write in order to live, I put words down in order to understand life. My two most recent books are "The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome" and "The Audacity of Help." The former book explores the past, present and future of American housing from the colonial era to today. It was an outgrowth of research I was doing into environmental building, which I see as one antidote to climate change, resource depletion and affordable housing. It was also a tangential follow-up to my "Merchant of Power," which was the history of electrical generation as seen through the lens of the life of utilities magnate Samuel Insull. My "Audacity of Help" is an in-depth look at the economic crisis and how President Obama's economic plan will address some deep-seated economic and social problems. I don't write in a vacuum, however. I speak all over the country on the topics I write about, write blogs, a column for Bloomberg News and try to engage intelligent people on the best ways to understand, confront and heal many of the country's economic and social ills. If I do this right, you'll have some pretty decent questions to ask those in power after reading my books. Democracy is knowledge in action and I'm an ecodynamic player.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read on the subject., February 26, 2001

By 

Carrie "Carrie" (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kitchen Table Investor: Low Risk, Low-Maintenance Wealth-Building Strategies For Working Families (Paperback)

This is a down-to-earth book in which everyone can find valuable suggestions - some simple, others that take a little work. The sections on investing in stocks and how to make your stock selections is excellent. Although I am already a member of NAIC, I found much simplified information to be helpful. I also like the way the author emphasizes that planning for your future applies to all facets of one's life.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars scope doesn't fit with the title and cover description, August 19, 2001

By 

Kim D (Chicago IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kitchen Table Investor: Low Risk, Low-Maintenance Wealth-Building Strategies For Working Families (Paperback)

On the cover of this book, the investment strategies are described as "low-maintenance." However, the author goes into great detail into buying your own stocks and also investment clubs, both of which take a considerable amount of time to research and participate in. I honestly don't feel that they belong in this book. Since the author previously wrote a book on investment planning, I feel the content was repurposed for this book despite its inappropriateness. This inappropriate content takes up a very large part of the book, so it's a big problem.

The book is poorly organized. It starts with ideas of how to find money for investments, yet inexplicably the last chapter also covers this same topic. It also does not seem to follow any sort of logical pattern, such as prioritzing what investments a middle class family should pursue first before taking on higher-risk, more complicated or more time-intensive investments. Another thing missing is what to teach the children about investing--should you open a money market in their name and have them put half their birthday money in there or something? If this book is for "working families," shouldn't there be some info about talking with your children about money?

One aspect of this book I enjoyed, however, was about saving money by not buying things that won't really bring you joy. It is a great contrast to the idea of "tightening your belt" and grimly depriving yourself of pleasures to accumulate money.