The Ultimate Safe Money Guide: How Everyone 50 and Over Can Protect, Save, and Grow Their Money [Paperback]

Martin D. Weiss (Author), Inc. Weiss Ratings (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2003

* Choosing profitable investments
* Getting unbiased professional advice
* Avoiding Insurance, Brokerage, and other scams


Protect Your Wealth and Well-Being Now and for Years to Come

In light of the new risks our country and our economy are facing, entering your fifties with an effective financial and personal plan for your future is now more crucial than ever-to make sure you can truly enjoy your golden years. The Ultimate Safe Money Guide was especially designed to help you map out your plan in this new environment, so that you can stop worrying about your money and just enjoy life.

Step by step, Martin Weiss-an expert in financial ratings and consumer protection-introduces, explains, and helps solve many of the new challenges and risks that face millions of Americans over fifty, including how to find:
* Truly profitable investments with the least risk
* Protection against investment losses
* The worst and best insurance policies and annuities
* The best health insurance solution for you
* The right plan for your long-term health care


The Ultimate Safe Money Guide is an important source of information for anyone planning for a secure future during their fifties and beyond. Expert advice and proven guidance will prepare you for this critical juncture in your life at a critical time in our history, putting you on the road to a satisfying retirement, where you are always firmly in control.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One of the goals stated on Martin Weiss’s Web site is “to be the No. 1 authority on conservative money investment strategies,” and his book The Ultimate Safe Money Guide certainly reflects that intention. Aiming at those 50 and over, Weiss offers advice on everything from real estate and insurance to annuities and tax-exempt bonds. What makes The Ultimate Safe Money Guide especially timely (this book was written before the Enron disaster made headlines) is the contempt in which he holds both Wall Street and corporate America. According to Weiss, “hype and distortion” is the norm, both in the brokerage/analyst community and in how American business discloses its financial results. He writes that “stock ratings are bought by the companies,” and that based on significant discrepancies between the earnings and cash flow of 6,000 companies his firm has analyzed, 31 percent may be guilty of manipulating their earnings reports. And while Weiss does not eschew stock market investing altogether (his firm sells stock advice), he believes most investors, especially those over 50, need to seriously rethink their risk tolerance for stocks. The Ultimate Safe Money Guide goes against the grain of most investment advice on the market today, but if retirement is on your horizon, Weiss’s advice is worth considering. --Harry C. Edwards --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

In today’s new era of uncertainty, millions of mature Americans over fifty face a number of urgent financial questions: Where can I find truly safe investments? How can I protect myself against investment losses? How can I prevent or offset a decline in income? Which annuities and insurance policies are rip-offs and which ones are good deals? What should I do to plan for my long-term health care? If you are over fifty, and your answers to these vital questions are off course, you may not have enough time to recoup. When you’re planning for your future and your retirement, it’s essential to have all the facts and the best possible guidance right here and now.

The Ultimate Safe Money Guide fills this urgent need in a way that is especially comforting in a time of new risks and dangers in the wake of the World Trade Center tragedy. As the nation’s only provider of independent financial safety ratings, Martin Weiss has helped millions of Americans find safety in an often unsafe world; and, in this book, he sets forth the rules and guides you, step-by-step, on the path to safety, yield, and profits.

This comprehensive guide begins by helping you to avoid stock market scams, recognize the pitfalls of "free investment advice," and recover money lost by careless, unethical, or dishonest brokers. You’ll also learn how to arm yourself with powerful, independent information that is not biased by any conflicts of interest–so you can make your own investment decisions based entirely upon your needs. With the special Risk Self-Test devised by the author, you can rest assured that your investments will match your personal risk level.

The Ultimate Safe Money Guide offers a proven and effective plan for preserving your nest egg, building your wealth, and securing your retirement. It gives you a sound step-by-step plan for maximum safety and yield, while laying out a very straightforward strategy for maximizing profits even in uncertain times. This unique guide gives you some of the soundest investment tools you’ve ever seen or are ever likely to see, but it doesn’t stop there. You’ll also learn how to:

• Offset the financial burden of medical and health care costs
• Research and locate the right life insurance
• Evaluate, on your own, the pros and cons of almost every kind of annuity
• Choose the only health insurance solution that makes sense for seniors
• Navigate the maze of long-term care insurance

The Ultimate Safe Money Guide also provides a special chapter for widows, widowers, divorcées, or anyone who is making financial decisions for the first time. Like every other chapter in this book, it couldn’t be easier to read or simpler to follow–a great source of guidance and comfort for the most critical juncture in your life. The valuable insights and expert advice on health care, insurance, investments and retirement savings, housing decisions, and long-term care will help you make choices during a time when you should stop worrying about money and enjoy your life. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 339 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (April 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471430471
• ISBN-13: 978-0471430476
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martin D. Weiss is one of the nation's leading providers of a wide range of investment information. He is chairman of The Weiss Group, Inc. which consists of four separate corporations, including Weiss Research, Inc., the publisher of the Safe Money Report. The Weiss companies have helped thousands of individuals make informed investment decisions and objectively discriminate between strong and weak stocks, insurance companies, HMOs, banks and S&Ls.

Dr. Weiss began his career in 1971 when he founded Weiss Research, dedicated to evaluating the safety of financial institutions and investments for consulting clients. After spending two years in Japan as a Fulbright Scholar studying management techniques at Japanese financial institutions, Dr. Weiss returned to the United States in 1980 to begin issuing formal safety ratings on banks and savings institutions. His firm issued the first independent insurance ratings in 1989, the first ratings of brokerage firms in 1992, and the first HMO ratings in 1994.

Acclaimed for his accurate, objective evaluations, Dr. Weiss has appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNBC, and network news programs, including The Today Show. He has been quoted in hundreds of newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Esquire Magazine, Money, Business Week, Fortune, and The Institutional Investor. Plus, books by Weiss have been published in Japanese and serialized in major Japanese business magazines and newspapers such as Economisto and the Japan Economic Journal. Articles have also appeared in the London Spectator and other European economic journals.

His Weiss Ratings, based largely on the Weiss proprietary computer model, has won acclaim by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) for having beaten the competition by three to one in accuracy.

Dr. Weiss has testified before Congress and the National Conference of Insurance Legislators regarding insurance company stability, where he has proposed legislation requiring full financial disclosure to the consumer. He testified before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations when it considered the financial difficulties befalling Blue Cross/Blue Shield member companies. He is also a frequent guest speaker and lecturer at major investment seminars in the U.S. and abroad. Most recently, Dr. Weiss presented to the National Press Club his solution for eliminating the conflicts of interest rampant in the brokerage industry.

Dr. Weiss is the editor of the financial newsletter, Safe Money Report, known for its track record in picking major turns in interest rates. Dr. Weiss also serves as editor or co-editor for a number of Premium Services. He is also the author of The Ultimate Safe Money Guide: How Everyone 50 and Over Can Protect, Save and Grow Their Money and Crash Profits: How to Make Money When Stocks Sink AND Soar.

Martin Weiss holds a bachelor's degree from New York University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not all good and not all bad, July 26, 2003

By 

half "half" (Diamond Bar, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Safe Money Guide: How Everyone 50 and Over Can Protect, Save and Grow Their Money (Hardcover)

There appears to be no possible middle ground between the extremes of opinion expressed by the various reviewers, but in fact, there is. In no particular order:
1) Weiss' severe scolding of, and warnings about, brokers and brokerages were in fact right on the money. He was proven correct by events that happened after he wrote about them. In fact, some brokerages and investment bankers were worse than he had described.
2) Yes, in fact he does sell several newsletters of the doom and gloom variety, but to his credit, does not peddle them in the body of the book.
3) Mentioned should be made of his description of using Treasury-only checking accounts for regular banking. It is quite useful.
4) Similarly mention should be made of his interesting strategy of investing in mutual funds, moving freely amongst the funds as other traders (e.g. me) would move amongst stocks. Maybe it is common knowledge, but it wasn't to anyone I know. I think this one I will try.

All in all, for persons who read mostly conventional books for advice about stock trading, this book provides a very interesting perspective for traders of any age. And it can be had for less the the commission cost of a couple of trades :).

48 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the Ultimate Money Guide, March 2, 2002

By 

B Engle (Fair Oaks, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Safe Money Guide: How Everyone 50 and Over Can Protect, Save and Grow Their Money (Hardcover)

This excellent book is more than just about investing. I found the chapters on health insurance and long term care insurance outstanding. I have subscribed to Dr. Weiss's newsletter for several years and it is excellent. If you have any doubts about his expertise,...Martin Weiss just tells it like it is in easy to understand language...

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wealth of smart information, February 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ultimate Safe Money Guide: How Everyone 50 and Over Can Protect, Save and Grow Their Money (Hardcover)

This is simply a fantastic book. There is a wealth of good solid information about how to protect your money and keep it working for you. And it's not just for people over fifty, either. I think plenty of people in their thirties, like me, could make use of this book. The writing style is easy to read and understand, making the book all the more effective.