The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need [Paperback]

Andrew Tobias (Author)

Book Description

Series: Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need | Publication Date: January 3, 2005

For more than twenty-five years, The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need has been America's favorite finance guide, winning the allegiance of more than a million readers across the country. Now this indispensable book has been fully revised and updated-covering all the new tax laws-and reorganized with a new user-friendly design. Concise, witty, and truly understandable, Andrew Tobias shows you how to use your money to your best advantage-no matter how much or how little you have.
o How to spend smarter-and save $1,000 or more
o When to invest in stocks, and how
o The ins and outs of investing on the Internet
o Tax strategies, from tuition to retirement
o Whom-if anyone-you can trust to manage your money
and much, much more




How to spend smarter--and save $1,000 or more
When to invest in stocks, and how
The ins and outs of investing on the Internet
Tax strategies, from tuition to retirement
The basics of life insurance
Who--if anyone--you can trust to manage your money
The inside skinny on annuities, real estate, and Social Security

and much, much more

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

You've probably got the original it was a million-copy best seller so here's a revised version covering new laws and the joys of the Internet.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The certainties in life must now include death, taxes--and Andrew Tobias. Every three to five years, the financial reference industry's most modestly titled book gets a remodeling job, whether or not it is needed. Aside from his My Vast Fortune (1997), this is Tobias' annuity--and a true labor of love. How else could anyone explain the easy-going conversational style that lures the reader into a nodding complacency about a specific kind of investment vehicle until the three words, "don't buy them?" He succeeds in holding our interest precisely because the examples are pulled from real life, the same-old-same-old explanations (like compounding interest) are avoided, and he ruthlessly skirts platitudes. So his "trust no one" chapter begins with life insurance commercials and concludes with speculative can't-miss deals. Everything is up-to-date here; it would be a risk to miss this, the eighth, edition. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; 1 edition (January 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156029634
• ISBN-13: 978-0156029636
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

157 of 161 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start, September 11, 2002

By 

Chris J. Hudson "Chris Hudson" (San Antonio, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

This is a good book. Tobias' main point is that you need to start saving 10% of your income, and he also gives advice on ways to cut costs and where you can put your money. I've read a lot of investing books and some of what he said was not new to me. However, I did learn some new things. Some parts of the book that I found helpful were Chapter 5 which explains Treasuries (bills, notes, and bonds). I also liked his advice in Chapter 10 about what to do if you fall into a large sum of money (Lottery or inheritance). There are also some useful resources in the appendices in the back of the book such as contact info for discount brokers, mutual funds, a compound interest chart, and finally a quick summary of his main point (save 10% of your income). I gave the book four stars instead of five because I don't agree with ALL of his advice, for example I do not believe in purchasing rental properties (too big of a headache), and I think that home equity loans are a BAD idea. Other than that, a great book.

75 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars listen up kiddos, don't get too greedy, January 15, 2005

By 

Paul Skinner (Manassas, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

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

Andrew Tobias weaves through the dizzy world of T-bills, municipal bonds, alternative minimum taxes, and a host of esoteric personal finance topics. But the bottom line he preaches is simple: be happy living on less than you make, and save the rest in safe no load mutual funds, diversifying between domestic and international stocks. Tobias tries to assure most of us average Joes that we are a fool if we think we can outsmart the Warren Buffetts of the world, so don't go crazy speculating on individual stocks. At best, you will make a broker happy. At worst, you will lose your shirt. There now - I just saved you $14 you can add to your no load mutual fund account (lol).

70 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Buy a Boat, August 19, 2005

By 

takingadayoff "takingadayoff" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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

As a young and overwhelmed newlywed twenty-some years ago, I read The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. It was clear, fun to read, and full of good advice. I was recently surprised to see it is still in print, revised and updated.

If you're already the sort of person who reads personal finance books, it won't be the only one you'll read, but it may be the one that holds up the best over time. Tips such as "invest" in staples such as coffee when they are cheap and ride out times of inflated prices by using your surplus are as useful today as they were in 1978. (Although if I remember, Tobias used canned tuna as the example in the earlier editions, and now uses cases of wine to illustrate the point.)

Tobias has updated the book to include investment advice that we never considered in 1978. He includes tips on how to find the best online air fares, when and when not to use eBay, TiVo, and reverse mortgages. He has some simple and effective ideas on how to make Social Security viable for the foreseeable future (without resorting to privitization). He gives specific advice to couples who are married and couples who aren't or who can't be.

One of my favorite sections is on what to do if you win the lottery. How many long drives have I passed by planning that very thing? (My first step: get an unlisted phone number.) Tobias's advice on this unlikely event is excellent, especially step 5b.) Don't buy a boat.