The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need: Newly Revised and Updated [Paperback]

Andrew Tobias (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 1999

Revised throughout and expanded with new information on Internet investment resources, this personal finance classic is “so full of tips and angles that only a boobie or a billionaire could not benefit” (New York Times). Index.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Personal-finance guru Andrew Tobias slams online trading and praises the Roth IRA in his newly revised The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. This investment bible remains as stimulating and meaningful as it was when it was first published 20 years ago. It's packed with ideas about stocks, living beneath your means, tax planning, retirement, and just about everything else in the financial world. And all of it is presented with Tobias's trademark brevity and ingenuity.

Last revised in 1995, the guide takes aim at a new game in town--online trading. By all means, use the Internet for buying a car or for research, Tobias says. But avoid cyberspace brokers, he says. Point and click enough and you will get slaughtered by commissions, spreads, taxes, and human nature. "It's so easy to click 'OK' a few times and make a $10,000 bet," he warns. "Look how mesmerized we become on a stool in front of a slot machine. Internet investing positively teases you to play." Tobias's favorite new entry is the Roth IRA, which allows you to withdraw your money tax-free when you retire. It's far better than a traditional IRA, he asserts. "Save yourself the trouble of agonizing over the choice and go with the Roth IRA," he writes. "Forget the worksheets." Sometimes caustic and always a skeptic, Tobias believes readers can shape their own financial futures. Just stick to the basics, he says. "By and large, you should manage your own money, via no-load mutual funds," he writes. "No one is going to care about it as much as you." It doesn't matter if it's 1978, 1998, or even 2008. The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need still is exactly that. Some things never change. --Dan Ring

From Booklist

Since it first appeared two decades ago, Tobias' entertaining, commonsense guide has become required reading for the beginning investor. This is the "only . . . guide you'll ever need" because books that tout zero coupon bonds or titanium futures are too narrowly focused, and as Tobias suggests, books that promise wealth are a "fraud." Tobias last updated his guide in 1996. Little has been changed this time around, but information on inflation-adjusted bonds, education, Roth IRAs, and using the Internet to invest and to purchase goods has been added. Moreover, a 288-page, first-time, Spanish-language edition (0-15-600599-9) will also be available for $14. David Rouse

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; Second Edition edition (January 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156005603
• ISBN-13: 978-0156005609
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best One-Stop-Shop for Investment and Financial Informat, May 14, 2001

By 

David Lubin (San Diego, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need: Newly Revised and Updated (Paperback)

Not only does Andrew Tobias suggest that readers save and invest, but also shows real ways that people can spend less (through conservation, stocking up on essentials at warehouse prices, saving money on insurance (auto, life, etc), paying yourself first, etc). Additionally, he explains investment vehicles in simple layman terms while divulging his personal opinions. All of this is done in a humorous, witty and quick read...a pleasant surprise to those of us picking up Investment Guides. Tobias truly covers it all, from savings accounts, to options and everything in between such as treasuries and annuities. He also discusses the merits of self-directed investing. It is telling that he dedicated the book "To my broker -- even if he has, from time to time, made me just that." This is a must read for those seeking entry-level knowledge of the ins and outs of investing or simply a witty read on the topic.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very valuable, October 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need: Newly Revised and Updated (Paperback)

Like The Millionaire Next Door, the utility of this book is that it emphasizes saving money, rather coming up with some brilliant investment to make you rich. If you don't save, you'll have nothing to invest. If you save and get a market return over a long period of time you'll amass a lot of money. Stop worrying about finding the next Microsoft, and start worrying about how to cut your expenses. And stop checking what the market is doing every ten minutes--it does you no good whatsoever.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The title of this book lives up to the name, June 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need: Newly Revised and Updated (Paperback)

I have read too many books about investments and the stock market. "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" has all the ideas I read in all books together, and more. The book has very useful investment tips, including tax strategies, IRA, life insurence, and more. However, don't buy this book first if you know nothing about the stock market. I recommend "How to Buy Stocks" by Louis Engel as a first step in learning the stock market terminologies and how it works. Then, read this book by Tobias. I beleive those two books are good enough for any first time investor