For those interested in the stock market I picked up a nice PDF today. The PDF is digital version of a very highly coveted book of which there aren’t many copies. Currently they are starting at $1125.00 a copy on Amazon used so it isn’t very obtainable. Some folks I’ve heard from have read this in locked rooms at their college library and this is often the only way it can be read for free. It is also among the most frequently stolen books when it does show up places.
If you take advantage of this freebie and download it please pass it along to others so that they can also share in the wealth of knowledge. I am reading it now and will give a review of it when I finish.
Well if I find any good REI books I’ll post them too. If you ever build up a ton of cash from your REI that you need to stash somewhere you can always use the above to guide you.
Is this the whole book? The copy on Amazon is 249 pages and the PDF is 152 pages. I would hate to get through it be missing the other 97 pages. I started reading it and it is pretty good so far.
I scrolled to the end and its the conclusion so I assume so, I’m not sure why they show different numbers. Only thing I can think of is that Amazon is the hardcover version, it’s possible someone scanned the paperback version. Based on larger or smaller page sizes the hardcover versions are often different numbers of pages based on what will fit on a page. This is the only thing I can think of. Actually on second thought if someone scanned it and used an OCR software to convert to editable text (which I assumed happened based on the format of the PDF and the fact that I can highlight sections) it probably just translated out to less pages based on being standard MS Word (or comparable) pages being far larger than the page of a book. The OCR theory actually explains why I found silly typos in the part I read so far, the rendering isn’t always precise (most decent OCR software claims 99% or so accuracy).
Do you guys invest in Stocks? Im going to invest in Real Estate, but I would like to invest in something with my spare money. Stocks could be a option.
Diversification across all asset classes (stocks, bonds, RE etc.) is the key to long term growth while minimizing risk. If one market is down another is up somewhere else. I’ve been trading and holding stock investments for 20+ years among other asset classes.
This is going to sound really dumb, but does everything have stocks to invest into? Like I mean, could I buy stocks for Krogers, or K-mart. I dont really understand how they determine how much a stock is worth and what is possible to even invest in.
I have stocks. I have a 401k and IRA and other stocks outside of them. This report is good, but the Dow forever was up and down around 1000 since 1901 and shot up around 1980 and is now 13,000. You ask why. It is that in the 1980s companies started phasing out pensions and replacing them with 401k savings plans. That meant that instead of large invesmnet companies buying stocks for its rich clients, all of a sudden every wage earner in the country started putting 6% of his paycheck into stocks. This large demand for stocks drove the price of stocks up to where they are today. The buying of stocks is automatic and had no bearing on how good a company or stock is. Selling is based on when a particular person wants to retire which has very little effect on the system since people retire on a sparatic basis. The only thing that effects stocks other than supply and demand is greed and fear. When people think a stock is going to make a bunch of money greed casues them to buy it and google is driven up to $690/share. The other is fear. When people think a stock is going to go down they dump the stock and you end up with Countrywide that fell from 50 to 10 because of the sub prime news. Both companies are no better or worse than when they were before the news came out.
I use stock to make sure that my money moves with the economy. You can’t get rich in stocks it is just a place to keep up with inflation.
Diversification by definition can’t make you rich. Diversification means that you have no idea how this thing works so you buy some of everything. That way when the bad ones go down the good ones will prevent you from losing everything. It is so stupid it is like going to a buffet and you smell somthing that is rotten. Since you can’t tell if it is the cheese or the meat or the fish that is rotten so you just eat some of evertying to dilute it. Everyone given an understanding of how this thing worked would use that knowledge to determine which are the good investments and only invest in the good ones and nobody would buy the bad investments. But since we don’t have a clue we divsesify. That is why I never brag about being diversified because to a person with half a brain when he hears you say that I am diversified he hears you say is I am putting my money into something that I have no idea how it works. That is why I only use stocks as a means to keep up with inflation not to get me rich.
I have stocks. I have a 401k and IRA and other stocks outside of them. This report is good, but the Dow forever was up and down around 1000 since 1901 and shot up around 1980 and is now 13,000. You ask why. It is that in the 1980s companies started phasing out pensions and replacing them with 401k savings plans. That meant that instead of large invesmnet companies buying stocks for its rich clients, all of a sudden every wage earner in the country started putting 6% of his paycheck into stocks. This large demand for stocks drove the price of stocks up to where they are today. The buying of stocks is automatic and had no bearing on how good a company or stock is. Selling is based on when a particular person wants to retire which has very little effect on the system since people retire on a sparatic basis. The only thing that effects stocks other than supply and demand is greed and fear. When people think a stock is going to make a bunch of money greed casues them to buy it and google is driven up to $690/share. The other is fear. When people think a stock is going to go down they dump the stock and you end up with Countrywide that fell from 50 to 10 because of the sub prime news. Both companies are no better or worse than when they were before the news came out.
I use stock to make sure that my money moves with the economy. You can’t get rich in stocks it is just a place to keep up with inflation.
Bluemoon,
I completely disagree with that statement and think this book can help someone buy stocks properly not unlike the way we analyze real estate, from a value point of view. Buying at a discount may seem like it won’t work as temporary insanity (greed, fear, etc) may drive stock prices but eventually when that stock is no longer the flavor of the week I think it’s bound to come back to reality and equalize with something close to what it should be. If it was impossible to get rich in stocks I think Warren Buffett would have found another way to make money. Buffett has been successfully using similar value investing principles for years and he’s got something like $90 billion.
Where did you think all those pensions parked that money prior to the 1980’s??
It ALL went into the stock/bond market.
We are living in a time in history that has NEVER been seen before.
The U.S. saw a small piece of what is happening in the early 1900’s with the industrial revolution. What is happening now is GLOBAL. People from countries all over this planet are participating is this growth. Look no further than China. Just 20 years ago the majority of that countries population was subsistance farming. That means you grow what you need to survive. That way of life is being replaced by commercial enterprises. The farmers are leaving the land and getting jobs in factories. They are living in apartments instead of grass huts. This is also going on in India. The thing to remember here is the populations of these 2 countries are the largest on earth. This will lead to incredible gains in markets.
BUT…
They all have to be taught a lesson in market behavior FIRST.
Think about this…our stock market initially crashed right after our big move into industrialization. 1920’s right? Their markets will experience the EXACT same situations because PEOPLE DO NOT CHANGE. Google search…“chinese maids playing stock market”
The EXACT same mania that controlled our markets in the 1920’s is taking place RIGHT NOW in China. For the EXACT same reasons!! You have millions of inexperienced investors buying stocks just because they are going up. This will not end well. BUT…after the crash, just like in the USA of the 1920’s anyone stepping in to BUY that disaster will be getting the bargain of a LIFETIME. Just as the people who bought US securities in November of 1929 got the deal of the century.
If your serious about you own finacial independence you better spend a lot of time learning how shrewd, well timed, contrarian investments can make you money WITH your money. It’s not just about real estate, it’s a total and complete investment plan. I have always thought that buying and selling homes was the PERFECT education for buying stocks.
We buy homes that NO ONE else wants because we KNOW and see the hidden value in them. Stock investments are absolutley no different. To be successful you actually have to do the complete oppposite of what your common sense, and everyone else tells you to do. Isn’t this what we do when we buy a bust out home in a decent neighborhood? Tell me how buying a down and out company’s stock in a great industry is any different? It’s NOT.
If you are going to quote my post then please do not misquote it. I never said diversification will make you rich, I said diversification is the key to long term growth while minimizing risk. This is the key theme in modern portfolio theory and is not the same as just buying everything and hoping something goes up, that is a naive approach. A properly diversified portfolio minimizes asset correlations and thus risk while improving overall returns.
While you are entitled to your opinions calling the opinions of others stupid is not only rude but reflects poorly upon yourself.
There is no better example of how a diversified portfolio works than looking at simply 3 assets classes. This is WAY over simplifying a complex subject but here goes…
You own some real estate, great, that’s a good long term investment. If you had to raise capital overnight it would be a terrible investment because real estate takes a long time to sell. I know you can borrow against it, but the same is true for almost any asset.
You own some stocks, hopefully some that generate good dividends. Dividends are THE BEST tenants you will ever have. They just pay, that’s it. They don’t break things, they don’t file lawsuits, they don’t bother the neighbors. Good things dividends. The bad part is the underlying stock could be falling (like recently) along with your real estate values. The GREAT thing about stocks is they are HIGHLY liquid. You can sell them with the enter key on your computer.
Now for GOLD!!! One of my personal favorites. Very boring, not a lot of action owning gold. but it’s a funny member of this club because when your 2 other assets are hitting the skids, gold rolls up it’s sleeves and works OVERTIME for you. The scarier things get, the harder that yellow metal works. So while 2 of these 3 assets are acually falling in value (assuming you sold them) the 3rd is actually GAINING is value. Buy selling some of that appreciating asset during it’s rise, you can actually buy more of the others while prices are depressed. (hint: American home builders)
THAT IS WHY YOU HAVE TO DIVERSIFY!! Nothing goes up in lock step. Watch what happens to these assets, when some go way up, take a little money off the table and BUY the ones that are getting killed (like American home builders are now) This is a great way to buy BARGAINS!
Some people think the stock market is a big scam. A game, set up by rich guys to fleece the little guys. It’s a market, nothing more, nothing less. It responds to the same greed, fear, and hope that real estate responds to. Learn to use it to your advantage and it will make your life easier than you could have ever imagined. Write it off and your missing incredible, repeatable returns.
