books on financial issues

B

Bridget

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I only started getting interested in money a few years ago.... before, income = outgoings, no interest except no getting into debt.

Then I read a Suz Orman book......... and my life changed. (OK, I wnated to buy a house, which was why I read it). Has anyone one read one? What are your most influential or best recommendations?

My money life is guided by

Suze Orman : 9 Steps to Financial Freedom (shame it's so American, could do with an Irish edition)

Bill Tyson : Your Money 200whatever - is there a new one out yet???

Between the two, I manage to manage.
Any other recommendations or comments on the above?
 
Hi Bridget

Bill Tyson didn't produce a book for this year's budget. Last year he decided not to have any advertising but this didn't increase his sales, so it didn't make any money for him.

Brendan
 
I read Colm Rapple's Family Finance (?) book years ago and it explained a lot of the basics of personal finance to me. I remember reading it now even knowing what the word "equity" meant for example! And that having studied leaving cert economics and two years of financial and cost accountancy at third level (not my major I might add)!!! It was a pretty turgid read but educational all the same. I certainly wouldn't bother buying such books (Colm Rapple's, Bill Tyson's, TAB's etc.) year in year out as they are basically the same stuff simply updated for budget changes and you can get all that info elsewhere these days. I definitely wouldn't bother with any of the scheme/scam books - you know the ones that give you a template for becoming a millionaire or how to time the markets etc. I found this article illuminating in relation to how the stock markets work:

www.arachnoid.com/stocks/index.html
 
There are two types of books. The Just the Facts kind, like Bill Tyson's. I'd agree with O here, buy it once, maybe if something big happens it might be worth updating after about 5 years.

The other type of book are broader (I don't know if this is what O calls the Scam type book). I found 'The Millionaire Next Door', and 'The Millionaire Mind' very interesting. If only to dispell some of the myths about wealth it's worth reading.

Also depending where you are on the spectrum from "Drowning in Debt" to "Managing Your Portfolio" there are books that can help. For people in Debt Alvin Hall's books are ok, but you only need one of them.

If you are just starting out investing in equities then Buffetology is good, and so are Bernice Cohen's books (The Armchair Investor). I'm sure if I'd happened to pick up different books on the day I bought the above I'd be making a different suggestion, but I found these to be OK.

The Rich Dad Poor Dad series I steer clear of. I read the original and I thought it had a good underlying message that could have been published in a pamplet. It also had a LOT of dodgy material, and in all liklihood is predicated entirely on a lie. All the other RDPD books are just pointless spinoffs.

-Rd
 
Books to read

Try reading the 'Richest man in Babylon' - and no it's not about Saddam Hussein or referring to a visit Mr Chirac ( French President) made to the city.
 
Buffetology

Buffetology has to be one of the all time classics for equity investors.
 
Re: Buffetology

Glad to hear there's another fan!

It is genuinely good. There was a spin off book last year or the year before, but it looked like a bit of a money grabber, I didn't bother with it. The first book certainly hit the nail on the head for me anyway.

-Rd
 
Re: Buffetology

Let me guess...

Buy low, hold long term, sell high?

I'm in the wrong job... :D
 
Re: Buffetology

Let me guess...

Buy low, hold long term, sell high?
Click to expand...

Actually you're you're right on one out of three, but Meatloaf has defined the acceptable level as two out of three so you go to the back of the class I'm afraid.

It's not buy low, it's buy good for a fair price. It involves picking a company you want to own and then determining a fair value for the share. If you can get it for less than the value you pick then great, but if you only get it for a fair price, or even slightly above, that's better than buying a bad company at a bargain basement price.

Benjamin Graham would have subscribed to the january sales philosophy. "I don't really need this company, but at this price it'd be a sin not to buy it".

Hold long yes definitely. If it's a good company there's no reason to sell it.

Sell high! Actually no, don't sell at all would appear to be the advise from Buffetology. As soon as you sell you give up a chunk to the tax man, and are you really going to be able to make the money you take out grow any faster than the people running the company that you had shares in?


Anyhow the long term hold, buy at fair price stuff is all pretty obvious. The bit of Buffetology I liked was the actual maths, the calculations, the case studies. It's not rocket science, but a bad book can make it feel like it is.

-Rd
 
Re: Buffetology

On a related topic, I read the piece in the personal finance section of Friday's Irish Times about assessing the "value" of a company's stock and it didn't make much sense to me. Maybe I am a dunce after all and should've spend more time listening to my economics teacher and not doing this:



:lol
 
Re: Buffetology

I wonder how many people who bought Eircom Shares had an idea of a fair value for the share.

Forget that, how many people even know how much per share they were paying? Most people I know took the approach of "I'm buying £1000 worth".

-Rd
 
Rapple & Tab

found them both good, and well worth reading at least 1 of them. Is Tyson the Irish Indo guy - if so I read bits of his book.

I think TAB is probably the most detailed - goes on endlessly about pensions but its a complex area. Rapple is easier reading - not too taxing (if you'll pardon the pun).

Most of whats in the books is fairly commonsense but no harm in reading it once.

Agree with others that no need to buy/read annually - but at €10 a go for Rapple/ €15 for TAB they are not a bad "investment" every so often.
 
Re: Rapple & Tab

You can also read the TAB book in full online:

[broken link removed]
 
value company

Hi All,

There was a very helpful article in the Sanday Times
on 22.02.04 about a man who sold his company
and invested money into Stock Market. He has got
190 % for two years using Graham's rules.
Has anyone read this article and what do you mean?

Regards

Nick
 
Daltonr,

I really like the book "The Millionaire Next Door." I always urge people to read "A Random Walk Down Walk Street": it's quite sobering. Dry though it may be, I think that "The Intelligent Investor" is truly superb (written by Benjamin Graham). The latest paperback edition has an interesting commentary running through it. Of course Benjamin Graham's classic text is "Security Analysis." There are a few editions of this text, the 1934 being regarded as the 'classic.' Finally, Peter Lynch has written three tomes: "Beating the Street," "One up on Wall Street," and "Learn to Earn." The first two are the better of the three in my opinion. I do think Buffetology is a great text too.

If you do read Peter Lynch's books, make sure you read "A Random Walk” too, just for a bit of balance.

Finally, the Graham books are probably the toughest ones to read. I only started reading them so I could answer "yes" if anyone asked. It took me time to really appreciate these works.

Hugh
 
I thought the Rich contained some pretty useful info in parts, particulary the part about stock options.

But I also think that aside from 15% usefulness, it does contain 85% waffle.

Best investment I mad this year was the E12 I paid to join the library, it contains most of the books referred to above.

Unfortunately it was after I spent E175 on Amazon
 
financial books

Naichugh
I agree with your assessment of the "Intelligent Investor" . The best investment book bar none.
If I could add to your collection, consider Robert Shiller's "Irrational Exuberance". It's a little dated now. It was published in the Spring of 2000 and suggested that the US market was way overvalued and due a long correction.
The best book I've read recently is "Financial Reckoning Day" by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin. Part history part philosophy, Bonner writes with style. I promise you a good 2 to 3 hour read even if you don't agree with their ideas.
 
Re: financial books

Tyoung,

I have a few dozen books to get through from a recent spending spree--"Irrational Exuberance" being one. I read quite a few of the Internet post-mortem books; none of them was really that impressive, so I now look forward to your pick.

There is one final book that I want to mention: "Quality of Earnings" by Thornton O'glove (Bob Sobel made some kind of contribution too as I recall). The book was written in the mid 80's. Unfortunately, it's out of print now, but man libraries still have it. The book is a commentary on how earnings can be dressed up to look good; it also shows how a closer examination of financial statements can give better insight into what's going on in a company.

It's a pity the book is out of print, but some websites can find used copies should a library not have one available.

Hugh
 
Hi, I found that book extremely interesting too. Living (well) below your means + perhaps property investing + grease elbow +time+compound interest law + some luck will do magic.


good luck!
 
Has anyone read the 'Motley Fool' series of books (fool.co.uk). Are they any good? Are they UK specific?
 
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