Report an issue with this product or seller
Dr. Bernstein starts with a simple three-fund portfolio. The Total Stock Market Index, Total International Stock Market Index, and the Total Bond Market Index are spot-on for those who already have the basics of a diversified investment solution. Others may scratch their head or shrug their shoulders, and return to fiction. Unknown obstacles may occur when they ask their employer’s plan administrators for these three indexes, only to be told, “no, we don’t have those three indexes, but we have yadda, yadda, yadda.” The millennial may respond, “huh”?
Other potential investors may think, “Shall I delay,” given the gyrations of the stock market’s current volatility? “Whom can I ask for professional help?” or “What in the world is a fiduciary, some exotic bird sanctuary?”
But don't fret millennials! Dr. Bernstein comes to the rescue and lists and addresses these concerns for newbies in five categories of “Hurdles” and follow-up reading material for each:
Hurdle one: Excessive spending. Recommended reading: The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko. (I also recommend a blog, Mr. Money Mustache. He writes imaginative and practical articles about the most boring and unappealing characteristics of personal finance, frugal living).
Hurdle two: Not understanding the basics of theory and practice of finance. Recommended reading: Jack Bogle’s classic, Common Sense on Mutual Funds. This book is probably the best introduction to basic finance ever written.
Hurdle three: History. A colorful and interesting stock market history does exist! Three recommended books: Devil Take the Hindmost by Edward Chancellor, The Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin Roth, and in a recent interview he also suggested Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay.
Hurdle four: Know thyself. Recommended book, Your Money and Your Brain, by Jason Zweig (details below). .
Hurdle five: Recognizing the financial industry professionals for whom they really are--self-serving. Evolving to a Do-It-Yourselfer (DIY) is the best advice offered. The reading assignment is the same as Hurdle Number Two: Common Sense on Mutual Funds by Jack Bogle. If you devour the details of this book, you will know more about investing than most professionals. If you know how to invest, you will see what the financial industry is up to and you will avoid their sales pitches with confidence.
Dr. Bernstein’s book is an aggrandized “Cliff Notes” to focus and encourage Millennials to begin a serious study for the next year or two of additional readings.
Hurdle Four
I want to elaborate on Hurdle number four. “Know thyself” cannot be learned from reading alone. Even Sir Isaac Newton lamented, “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people." Newton struggled bitterly trying to find out what went wrong with his investments during the 1746 South Sea investment crash.
The surest way to build mental toughness and discipline is to experience losses with your real money. Readers who understand their emotions will benefit by knowing their unique balance between taking on too much portfolio risk or being too cautious. If novice investors have prepared themselves to suffer through short-term losses and experience recovery, you will be okay. Recall the title of this book, “… Get Rich Slowly”. There is only one part of the financial industry you can trust, and that’s the worldwide economies will grow overtime. Be patient. Time is on your side.
Jason Zweig’s excellent book (Your Money and Your Brain) will focus your understanding of how other investors react to stock market gains and losses. Investors need their own experience in the school-of-hard-knocks. After reading Dr. Bernstein’s recommended books, most novice investors must experience by living through stock market volatility to understand their reactions when Mr. Bear Market comes growling. Why? If an investor is not prepared mentally, a carefully constructed low-cost portfolio is abandoned faster than a cockroach scurrying from your kitchen light.
This reviewer learned the hard way and took a working career to comprehend the investing process and balanced thinking, but never regretted massive investing mistakes. In hindsight, losing 70% was painful with the incessant question, what was I thinking? However, those mistakes turned out to be valuable learning experiences, saving tens of thousands in excessive investment costs in subsequent years with an appropriate risk and return, low-cost balanced portfolio.
Congratulations for finding this excellent book--you will thank yourself 30 years from now. Learning to be a DIY takes time, and for some, perhaps a painful experience or two. Don’t be discouraged if you stumble. Always remember, mistakes can be valuable learning experiences, far more valuable than spending several percentage points year-after-year when you turn your decisions over to a financial adviser or broker.
Final note: The author praised the genuine greatness and unpretentious John Bogle, the founder of the Vanguard Group. For decades, Bogle has been the only person in the financial services industry who gave Vanguard’s profits back to clients. Subsequently, Vanguard has grown to be the largest and most respected investment company in the world. Twenty million investors with over four trillion in assets (Feb. 2017) participate in Vanguard, agreeing with Bogle’s over-the-top concern about giving us regular folks a fair chance against Wall Street’s innate greed
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the author
Get new release updates & improved recommendations
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Audible: Plans now starting at $8.99/month
Pick any audiobook a month + bingeworthy podcasts. Try it free for 30 days
Great on Kindle
Great Experience. Great Value.
Putting our best book forward
Each Great on Kindle book offers a great reading experience, at a better value than print to keep your wallet happy.
Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.
View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.
Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.
Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Get the free Kindle app: 
Enjoy a great reading experience when you borrow the Kindle edition of this book with your Kindle Unlimited membership.
Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start over
About the author
Customers say
Customers find this book to be a practical guide that serves as an excellent introduction to personal finance and investing, particularly for young first-time investors. The book is easy to read and understand, with straightforward explanations, and customers appreciate its brevity and quick read time. They value it as a valuable resource for saving for retirement, with one customer noting it's never too soon to start saving.
AI Generated from the text of customer reviews
Select to learn more
238 customers mention informative, 230 positive, 8 negative
Great advice. Well written. Long enough to have substance, short enough to be approachable. More people need to read this book.Read more
Brief and to the point as always by Mr. Bernstein. I think book should be a mandatory reading for everyone who start the working career.Read more
Good advice contrary to get rich quick plans that most people try to sell. Similar to a book in the 1970's " a random walk on wall street"Read more
This is a great guide for young new investor. I'm finding it very informative as I navigate the investing landscape.Read more
212 customers mention content, 201 positive, 11 negative
...has been paving the way for financial education and this is another great book that should be required reading for all professions.Read more
Great read and I'll make sure my nieces and nephews (all in their 20's) read this booklet as it's probably more relevant for them......although I'll...Read more
Worth the time. Short and to the point. Excellent cliff notes version of investing for ones own retirement with lots of warnings about the dangers...Read more
...on personal finance and investing, really short and practical with great and easy to follow tips!...Read more
81 customers mention simplicity, 72 positive, 9 negative
...This is a simple, easy read that will provide all the investing advice needed by a young adult....Read more
Straightforward, easy to read-approach to personal finance. I'll recommend this to any young person out there. I'll have to read this yearly.Read more
Fantastic. Easy to understand and he genuinely seems to care about the average person. I highly recommend this stellar resource.Read more
This is basic, financial advice for everyone....Read more
76 customers mention personal finance, 73 positive, 3 negative
Great way to get started with investing and personal finance. Then you get to read the books recommended at the end of each chapter.Read more
...This is a must for personal investment finance for retirees and those working toward a healthy retirement.Read more
A great primer for investing that is not just for millennials.Read more
This is probably one of the best book about personal finance I have ever read. It tells you what you need to do. All you need is here....Read more
54 customers mention readability, 54 positive, 0 negative
...Overall, I liked the book. It was a quick and easy read so I would recommend it for those who don't want to spend a lot of time reading but still...Read more
This is such good advice. Clear and straightforward, it makes so much sense. Thank goodness he wrote this. I'm sending a copy to my son.Read more
...investing for many years but I still found this booklet to be an easy to read and a thoroughly enjoyable guide for not only the millenials but...Read more
...It's informative, educational, enjoyable, succinct, well-written, and fun....Read more
51 customers mention length, 42 positive, 9 negative
Dr. Bernstein has distilled a lifetime of investing wisdom into a short, practical and easy to read introduction to a life long financial path that...Read more
Great starter to begin thinking about savings! Short book with helpful reading assignments to further understand the market concepts .Read more
I liked its brevity, simplicity and price (free) I look forward to reading his recommended books and his book coming out in june.Read more
Brief and to the point as always by Mr. Bernstein. I think book should be a mandatory reading for everyone who start the working career.Read more
49 customers mention read time, 47 positive, 2 negative
Easy and quick read. Gets you headed in the right direction and gives a few ideas to continue learning. Pretty good.Read more
In a world of information overload, Bernstein has crafted a quick and easily digestible book that will put any young person on the right path to a...Read more
...It is simple to save for retirement. This is a very quick read and you will want to read it at least three times to make sure you didn't miss...Read more
Great quick read to get you started in learning the importance of paying off debt, saving for emergencies, and investing in stocks....Read more
22 customers mention saving for retirement, 21 positive, 1 negative
This should be required reading at the HS level. The basics of saving, investing and spending should be a required to graduate.Read more
Since starting early is one of the most valuable steps in saving for retirement, perhaps this might be the best first book for young investors to...Read more
...as it relates to retirement planning. I have yet to complete the recommended reading, but I plan to, as all of the advice seems solid thus far....Read more
...Short and to the point. Excellent cliff notes version of investing for ones own retirement with lots of warnings about the dangers out there.Read more
Book is printed back to front
When you open the book you start with page 43 and then at the back of the book you have the title page and table of contents. It is backwards.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
Top reviews from other countries
- ShivrajReviewed in Australia on May 26, 2020
A good book to begin your journey in investing
Format: KindleVerified Purchase - Andrew NgReviewed in Singapore on October 7, 2022
Excellent guide book
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - ZweigReviewed in Germany on April 7, 2016
Short but packed with valuable advice
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - MartinReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2015
perfect retirement investment primer
Format: KindleVerified Purchase -
