Archive Review: Books, Books, and More Books

Anyone who has read my past posts probably knows that I know much more about investing than I do about poker.

There are basically two types of people, savers and spenders.

Savers always save a portion of every paycheck they get. They are in the minority.

Spenders generally spend whatever money they get. They tend to live paycheck to paycheck. They are the majority; most people are spenders.

Ed I suspect you are a saver, and therefore you regard Graham’s book as “square one”, i.e. the place to begin. And for savers, that is correct.

However most people need to start even before that, at square zero. Learing about investing does not help at all if you have nothing to invest.

So for most people, it is very important to read Thomas J. Stanley’s “The Millionaire Next Door”. Also George S. Clayson’s excellent book “The Richest Man in Babylon” can be read in a couple of afternoons and is very good too.

JJS,

I followed Ed’s advice to read “The Richest Man In Babylon”, that you also recommend.

It really is a good start. There’s just one thing that the reader should be aware of: Even though it appears to be a book it’s actually a collection of individual articles that share a common theme “Babylon” (no, NOT Babylon 5 :)). Certain core messages therefore appear in more than one chapter (= article) what might annoy the reader. But when you know why that is I think it’s not a problem anymore. Besides, it makes the relevant parts more “sticky”.

So everybody, go ahead and read it. It’s only 6.99$ (starting from 2.49$ if you buy it - you know where…)!

That’s excellent Greyzy but you should read “Millionaire Next Door” too. “Babylon” is just bare bones minimum. “Millionaire” takes it to the next level. Everyone can learn something from that book, even savers. For spenders it’s an absolute must read. (I’m not implying that you are a spender, I’m just making a point.)

If you do read it, just remember that it was written in 1996 so any dollar amounts it mentions needs to be adjusted for inflation (increase approx. 30%).

JJS,

thanks for the tip. I just ordered it (used! :)). Since I am not an American (old Europe if anybody cares), saving money and keeping control over my credit card are not new to me (no insult meant all you guys from the US :p). Looking forward to reading the rest of the good stuff in the book.

BTW, is there a way to write personal emails to other forum members (just in case you’d like to talk a bit more about investing without bloating this post/forum)?

JJS,

I got the book yesterday. Sounds interesting!

My favourite line so far: “Big hat - no cattle!”

Sounds like you have the right idea Greyzy. I’ve always kept my hat small, and attended to my cattle very carefully.

Now everyone is going to have to read the book if they want to know what the heck we are talking about… ;)

Ha!

I found 2 other nice quotes (if they could be from yourself you might NOT need the book :)):

“I drink scotch and two kinds of beer - free and BUDWEISER!”
“I can’t get my wife to spend any money!”

Interesting book, easy to read!