Posts Tagged ‘investment books’

Resources to Learn to Retire Rich

Posted on: April 16th, 2010 by

Financial Planning - Rockville, MDMany people in the United States don’t start planning for their retirement until well into their working years and even then, are not as prepared as they should be.  Never fear, there are some resources that you can turn to help with this responsibility.  The first is “The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money & Investing “(1999).  This guide serves as a primer for people that want a well-rounded fundamental investment education about the structure and makeup of the US banking system and the types of investment products that are available to them.

The second resource to look into is “Essential Guide to Your 401(k) Plan” (2001).  This book will teach you about the different types of retirement plans available, the advantages of pretax deferrals versus after-tax investing, the provisions associated with company matching contributions, and the provisions associated with vesting, loans, hardship withdrawals, portability and payout options.

Another useful resource you should check out is  “Understanding Wall Street” (1991).  This book was written for individuals who know little or nothing about Wall Street, but always wanted to understand it.  This book covers the history of Wall Street, including information about investing in individual securities.  It also has a separate focus on business analysis, which is beneficial because it provides an overview of income statements and balance sheets in a way that is simple for even the layman to understand.

Finally, you should consider reading “Winning the Loser’s Game” (1998).  This book is considered by many to be one of the best investment books ever written because it explains the typical investment mistakes that amateurs tend to make and teaches you how not to make them.  This book will not, however, teach you how to invest and the author tells its readers that they should speak to a financial adviser about this rather than making a go at it themselves.  The centralized theme to the book is that the key to investment success is not tied to making winning investment decisions, but rather minimizing mistakes.

For many people, the thought of retirement planning is overwhelming, foreign, and difficult to understand.  Taking the time to read these books, however, will put you in a better position to understand the basics of retirement planning and enable you to take an active role in the planning and meeting your retirement goals with your financial adviser.