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Rating:  Summary: Worth reading Review: I bought this book at the same tie I bought Bill Schultheis's book, "The Coffeehouse Investor." While both books lay out some solid advice, this was clearly the better of the two.
Rating:  Summary: I wish every beginning investor would read this book Review: I've been a serious investor for more than 30 years and have read much more than my share of investment books and articles. This is one of the more interesting ones I've read lately. In general I am opposed to the idea that lazy investing can produce great results. If that were really true, we'd all be billionaires. However, no investor can succeed by adopting a strategy that's too complex to understand and implement. What many investors need is not rocket-science strategies that could shoot for the moon, but low-cost solutions that will keep them from going too far astray while avoiding massive losses. Dr. Paul Farrell has done a good job of describing lots of solutions like that. My interest in investing was sparked when I was a teenager, by a book that described many fascinating concepts and ways that people can put their money to work making more money. It was all new to me, and I was instantly hooked ... and remain so today. The book I read is hopelessly out of date. But "The Lazy Person's Guide to Investing" is a book that I would love to put into the hands of a potential investor or a young investor or an older investor who's just getting started. This would open such a person's eyes to a ton of possibilities and resources. I don't think Farrell's book describes the ultimate solutions that will be best for people who have substantial savings. But it's not written for them. This book is written for a wide audience of people who are wisely wary of trusting Wall Street and the financial media - and who want some straight answers from somebody who's not out to pick their pockets. For that audience, this book is right on target.
Rating:  Summary: Nothing Has Been Done To Protect The Average Investor... Review: If you are a novice looking for a book that will help you to better understand what it means to invest and save for the future, then this book is for you. If you are looking for something that is more in depth about stock trading, then look elsewhere. This book provides excellent advice for long-term investors who are either looking for someplace to invest while they learn how to design their own portfolio or who really want to put their money in the market and leave it alone for the long term. It is easy to read and gives readers confidence to go out and enter the market for the first time or to adjust current investments based on long-term goals.
Rating:  Summary: The 'Keep it Simple Stupid' Method for Lazy People Review: Over the last two years I have researched various books and magazines for investment opportunities. Some of the articles from quite popular magazines (e.g. Kiplinger's and Money) were way on the far side of the investment world. Several books I had investigated were, to put it mildly, a waste of time and money. This is not the case with this book. As far as personal finance books are concerned, this has been one of the best I have ever read. The advice is easy to read and comprehend. The content is simple, direct, and not filled with all the jargon and hype that can give the average 'lazy' investor a major headache. Having already invested in several 401k ventures, and tracking several stock options over the years, as well as delving into several other investment opportunities, I can truly say that Farrell is right on target, and the research he has done in this book is good advice. In fact, I plan to put it into practice within the next two months from the date this review was written. The plan is easy, it involves only two investments (how's that for diversity) in two strong funds, and a little bit of tweaking each year. This is all I will say about the main gist of the book. I do not want to give away the details because you really need to read the book to understand the plan to its fullest extent. Farrell details how you can put this plan into practice in a very easy step by step procedure. The above, however, is not the only thing Farrell discusses in this book. He details the benefits of 410ks, what certain things mean in the trading world (e.g. S&P 500, Bull Market, Bear Market, Blue Chips, tax benefits in certain investments, etc.), how to invest without paying brokers, and much more. Therefore, when it comes to investing, if you are as green as the fairways for a professional golf tournament, then you will gain a much better understanding of the investment world. However, if you are a seasoned investor, you will learn just as much since, as Farrell says, you were probably taught to do certain things that can cause major pitfalls in your investing (i.e. the Wall Street way). Thus, this book is great for the beginner and the expert and I highly recommend it.
Rating:  Summary: Good beginner advice. Lack of details frustrating. Review: The advice is very standard - buy index funds and diversify. Not enough data to evaluate which portfollio to pursue - relative rates of return, relative volativity, relative tax liability. Needs more data on how to follow a portfollio if you already have one, and more data needed on how to best re-balance.
Instead get the data free at Paul's web site: "Three 'lazy' portfolios still big winners Keeping it simple doesn't mean returns have to lag" By Paul B. Farrell, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:00 PM ET Jan 28, 2004
Or http://www.coffeehouseinvestor.com/
Or http://www.dallasnews.com/business/scottburns/
Sorry I spent money on the book, as I heard all of this on his web pages.
Rating:  Summary: Thanks to this book, I found Dodge & Cox Fund just in time Review: This is a no BS review. I am a 23 yr old, graduated w. business degree from university, trying to find a way to save my money while working at some crappy job in a huge company. 401k is limited but i do invest. I read this book and LOVED how it was straight to the point w/out any bull. He tells you EXACTLY what to invest in for each portfolio and has the avg returns. Lazy investing will make you more money in the long run with less stress.
I hate when people say.."oh your young, you can handle more risk." Why? because i have more years to work my a$$ off. NO THANKS! I like secure safe investments the same as a 50 yr old.
Thanks to this book i got in on DODBX dodge and Cox Balanced Fund the MOST ULTIMATE laziest portfolio (hybrid fund) in the book. Now it is closed to new investors, but stick with the Vanguard index and bond fund. Also, fyi Fidelity has a spartan fund that has an even lower expense ratio of .10 instead of Vanguard's .18, but Vanguard's expense ratio has been like that forever, whereas Spartan's exp ratio was recently changed to .10 to directly compete and you never know what those Fidelity people will do?
This book gets 10 stars!!
Other books that totally helped out were:
Automatic Millionaire> setup everything automated so you dont have to think twice about investing!!! duhhh
Richest Man in Bablyon> similiar read but great classic/story
Rich Dad Poor Dad> started me on this road to thinking about RE and investing seriously ..gonna take my RE license in march for own investing!
Rating:  Summary: Save your money Review: This is the most egregious piece of fluff I've seen in a long time. It consists of very brief chapters which each give only the most basic information about strategies that other people have developed. In every case there is far more information available about these strategies on the internet, and an hour or two of reading there will be worth far more than this book. To add insult to injury, this same Paul Farrell this week advised his readers/listeners to sell everything for fear of terrorist attack, which is exactly opposite to the premise of this book! What changed in the last 6 months since he finished the book? The tone of the book is that of a motivational speaker at a local Rotarian luncheon, which I find irritating. Even more irritating is the book's layout. If all the white space in the book were eliminated it would decrease the book's length by about 40%. For the money, any books by William Bernstein, Eric Tyson, or John Bogle put this thing to shame. Or check out Scott Burns at the Dallas Morning News online for free.
Rating:  Summary: so-so book Review: Was looking for a quick way to make a buck, Book was somewhat helpful in giving some ideas. Figured a few bucks for a used book I couldn't loose.
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