The Real Life Investing Guide: How to Buy Whatever You Want, Save for Retirement, and Take the Vacation of Your Dreams While You're Still Young [Paperback]

Kenan Pollack (Author), Eric Heighberger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1997

Packed with important stuff you need to know, and spiced with real-life stories of "entry-level" investors, cool facts (like the fact that between your 18th and 30th birthdays, you will likely hold an average of 7.5 jobs), and references to rock and pop songs, this hip, "tell-it-like-it-is" guide focuses on the basics of investing, stocks and bonds, mutual funds, short term saving and long term investing. Emphasizing that a person is never too young to think about investing, it includes definitions of important terms and concepts such as return, liquidity, risk, dividend, yield, and the stock market indexes; information on how to research a company, purchase stock, and select a mutual fund; and detailed explanations of 401(k) plans and IRAs.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This Is Not Your Parents' Investing Guide! If you think there's a greater chance that UFOs exist than that Social Security will still be around when you retire, you're in good company. But if you think that ``financial planning'' fits your lifestyle like sensible shoes and starched shirts, you'd better read The Real Life Investing Guide. Kenan Pollack and Eric Heighberger, two twenty-something themselves, show you why it's never too early to think about investing, no matter when you start working or how low your salary. Filled with real-life stories of ``entry-level'' investors, interesting factoids (did you know that between your 18th and 30th birthdays you will likly hold an average of 7.5 jobs,) and lots of references you can relate to. This book will help you plan for your financial future and enjoy the present! Return, liquidity, risk, dividend, yield--what do they mean? Where to go on the Internet for help purchasing stock; What's the right mutual fund for me? Saving vs. Investing; And more

About the Author

Kenan Pollack is a an Associate Producer with for U.S. News and World ReportÕs college web site, and has contributed stories on investing. Eric Heighberger is the senior legislative assistant and federal budget advisor for a member of the United States Congress.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070503192
• ISBN-13: 978-0070503199
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,676,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fabulous introduction to investing., March 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Real Life Investing Guide: How to Buy Whatever You Want, Save for Retirement, and Take the Vacation of Your Dreams While You're Still Young (Paperback)

If you're a twenty- or thirty-something looking for an accessible, useful guide to investing, look no further. This is a great how-to guide to the markets, written in an inviting yet not condescending style. Buy it. Read it. Tell your friends.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent piece of information., July 3, 1999

By 

A. Kaushal (GAITHERSBURG, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Real Life Investing Guide: How to Buy Whatever You Want, Save for Retirement, and Take the Vacation of Your Dreams While You're Still Young (Paperback)

This is an excellent book. It makes so easy to understand - all those complicated stock terms, author makes use of beautiful examples from time to time. It is a must have for every person who wants to invest money in stocks etc. (may be, except the ones, whose primary carrier is stocks or stock trading). I myself bought and sold stock over the last few years but never understood the terminology completely. It is nice to have it in my library - Thanks to the authors.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A personal library must! Says a Cincinnati Investor., March 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Real Life Investing Guide: How to Buy Whatever You Want, Save for Retirement, and Take the Vacation of Your Dreams While You're Still Young (Paperback)

There is absolutely no better tool in the market today. It's a great handbook for those sophisticated Generation X'ers, and an even a better tool for that worldly, younger new generation who are blazing trails right behind the X'ers.

Hey Boomers, your children, the N'Gens, are going to take the world by storm. With your ideas and their cohesive, cooperative energetic spirit, there isn't anything that they won't accomplish.... But without the financial skills so wonderfully illustrated in this book, your child will be left behind the pack. He or She will fail to live up to their unbelievable potential.

As an owner of this book, I can honestly attest to its value. I think it should be part of every high school senior's core curriculum! It is the only book that can make sure your child is ready to assist his/her peers in shaping the future of America and the World.

If your school board has not yet adopted this text, then please makes sure before your son or daughter goes off to college this fall that they have this guidebook to the world of life. America and for that matter the World will be grateful.

A Financial Analyst and Real Estate Investor (Cincinnati, Ohio)