Customer Reviews

The Wall Street Journal Guide to the New Rules of Personal Finance: Essential Strategies for Saving, Investing, and Building a Portfolio in a World Turned Upside Down

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book has nothing new that has not been said in most Personal Finance article a hundred times over. A college Personal Finance 101 text book has much more to offer. The book cover and paper grade quality is very very poor. I am surprised a columnist from the Wall Street would sign his name to a book like this. Do not waste your money on this book!!

Saw the add in the Wall Street Journal before the book was actually out, had it ordered before publication.

Overall I was expecting much more.

It is a very general guide to an individual's overall financial plan, not much beyond that...but a possible good starting point for someone just starting out trying to get their finances in order.

Hmmm, I am surprised at the negative reviews of this book; I saw it on the library shelf and have not purchased the book. I did enjoy reading it however. The major point of the book is after the 2008/2009 market meltdown, that the conventional buy and hold strategy OR the conventional diversification advice (stocks, bonds) of the past decades has now been repudiated. (This seems obvious of course, however the book is good at explaining the nuances in the change in mindset.) Instead, we need to consider diversifying into alternative investments. And in place of buy and hold, we need to rebalance, ie, sell the winners and buy the losers. These new paradigms may seem self-evident now, and unoriginal but his thesis stands against considerable conventional and previously successful wisdom (e.g. John Bogle on Vanguard funds). I have read numerous investment books, and I think this tome deserves a positive review. It also has a nice pictoral of the period of time during the financial crisis.

I am not an unsophisticated investor and have read many investment books. I suppose if the book had come out before the 2008/2009 debacle, then it would have been prescient and much more helpful. However the major change in investment philosophy is that one has to be much more prepared for financial accidents than was previously thought and the author gives ideas on strategies in this regard. The major complaint I have that the book is too light on details and is a small paperback. A more substantial effort on the details would have taken more time, effort and had been a larger work and would be in order. I think I will give the book 3.75 stars if Amazon allowed numerical ratings.

The book will grab hold of your attention, and show you the problems facing our country. The author makes it clear that if you continue to follow the mind set of the past three decades of Wall Street, you will probably go broke. The book brings you back to the basics and shows you how to take control of your financial future. Mixed with data, tips, and useful techniques are suggested reading resources to gain additional information.

The book may be elementary to an expert trader, but for the average investor the information and resource recommendations will be invaluable. I would suggest you take advantage of the "look inside" feature, and see if the information is too fundamental for your level of investing. In my opinion, the book is well worth the price, if you use it as the first step in a multi-step process of changing your financial planning. However, you will need to take the advise of the author and purchase additional books he suggest to enhance your financial plans.

James Garton

Author of 25 Ways to Make Money Online