Personal Investing: The Missing Manual

✍ Scribed by Biafore, Bonnie;Buttell, Amy E;Fabbri, Carol

• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 250
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Your financial goals probably include a comfortable retirement, paying for your kids' college education, and long-term healthcare. But you can't reach those goals by putting your money in a savings account. You need to invest it so it grows over time. Three seasoned personal finance experts show you how in this jargon-free guide.



Investing demystified.Get clear, real-world examples of why investing is crucial to your financial goals

How to invest.Learn how to evaluate four types of investment so you make the right decisions

Hidden gems.Discover lesser-known, low-cost investments that provide tax advantages

Retirement, Education, Healthcare.Find chapters devoted to the fine points of each of these big-ticket goals

Flexibility.Learn how to change your investment strategy as you age

Choices.Find an investment plan that's right for you -- whether you're a conservative investor or go-for-broke risk-taker

✦ Table of Contents

The Missing Credits......Page 9
Introduction......Page 15
Part 1. Prepare to Invest......Page 25
Chapter 1. Why Should You Invest?......Page 27
How Inflation Hurts......Page 28
Why Scary Numbers Aren’t That Scary......Page 30
Chapter 2. Set Your Investment Goals......Page 35
Building Your Bucket List......Page 36
Retirement, College, or Other Goals......Page 37
The Big Kahuna: Retirement......Page 38
Other Long-Term Goals......Page 47
Putting It All Together......Page 50
Chapter 3. Invest with Open Eyes......Page 53
Clean Up Your Finances......Page 54
Spend Money Wisely......Page 57
Expect Base Hits, Not Home Runs......Page 58
Sidestepping Pitfalls in Investor Psychology......Page 59
Part 2. Choose and Buy Your Investments......Page 67
Chapter 4. How Investments Work......Page 69
The Big Four: Typical Investments......Page 70
Taxing Decisions......Page 76
Chapter 5. Funds......Page 85
The Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry of Funds......Page 86
What a Fund Invests In......Page 90
Evaluating Fund Performance......Page 99
Keeping a Lid on Fund Expenses......Page 104
How to Pick Funds......Page 106
Finding Funds......Page 109
Deciding When to Sell......Page 111
Managing Your Funds......Page 113
Chapter 6. Stocks......Page 117
Buying Into a Business......Page 118
Investing in Growth......Page 122
Investing in Quality......Page 125
Investing in Good Value......Page 134
Watching for Trends......Page 139
Chapter 7. Bonds......Page 141
Why Invest in Bonds?......Page 142
How Bonds Work and How You Use Them......Page 143
Buying Bonds......Page 152
Chapter 8. REITs......Page 155
Is REIT Investing Right for Me?......Page 156
Types of REITs......Page 157
Picking Individual REITs......Page 158
Finding the Right REITs and REIT Funds......Page 163
Chapter 9. Manage Your Portfolio......Page 167
What’s Investment Portfolio Management?......Page 168
Return vs. Risk......Page 170
Asset Allocation......Page 173
Choosing an Asset Allocation Plan......Page 176
Asset Allocation Made Ridiculously Easy......Page 180
Reviewing Your Portfolio......Page 183
Rebalancing Your Portfolio......Page 184
Getting Back On Track......Page 186
Part 3. Manage Your Investments......Page 187
Chapter 10. Investing for Retirement......Page 189
The Key Retirement Decisions......Page 190
Making the Most of Retirement Accounts......Page 191
Managing a Retirement Portfolio......Page 202
Making the Most of Social Security......Page 205
Withdrawing Money During Retirement......Page 208
Chapter 11. Investing for College......Page 211
College Costs How Much?......Page 212
Tax-Savvy Ways to Save for Education......Page 213
How to Pick a 529 Savings Plan......Page 218
Saving for More Than One Child......Page 222
The Best Way to Spend College Savings......Page 223
Chapter 12. Investing for Health Care......Page 227
Types of Health Insurance......Page 228
Choosing an Employer-Sponsored Plan......Page 229
Choosing an Individual Health Insurance Plan......Page 230
High-Deductible Health Insurance Plans......Page 232
Negotiating with Health-Care Providers......Page 238
Paying for Long-Term Care......Page 240
Index......Page 241

✦ Subjects

Nonfiction;Self Help;Economics;Finance;Currency;Money;Personal Finance;Academic;College;Productivity;Business