Sunday, May 25, 2008

Grow Your Money 101 Easy Tips To Plan, Save, and Invest-- Jonathan D. Pond, Review

Grow Your Money 101 Easy Tips to Plan, Save, and Invest by Jonathan D. Pond is an easy to follow investment advice book. The tips are understandable and seem to be common sense. I find myself agreeing with many of his statements.

For example, he says cars cost a lot of money and eat into a persons finances. One of the best ways to buy a car is to buy a vehicle that is four years old and keep it for at least four years. The only reason to buy a brand new car is if you plan to maintain it well and keep it for a very long time.

He claims that your number one investment is your career or business. If you have an hour to study investing in stocks or an hour to invest in improving your career, invest in your career, you will ultimately have more money to invest and save. He insists that you should take the time for any free courses you can get from your employer that create contacts and will allow you to move ahead.

I wish I could follow his advice on fixing minor leaks in a financial boat: bring your own coffee and muffin, bring your own lunch, eat at cheaper restaurants, don't buy lottery tickets, take public transit or carpool, and buy generic from your supermarket or drugstore. These make little differences that add up in the long run. I don't buy lottery tickets, buy generic, and take mass transit to work, so I am half way there.

I like the idea that "Getting Rich Is Rather Boring". Jonathan Pond insists you save and invest, and live below your means. This is the reverse process to keeping up with the Joneses.

He covers a lot of different financial situations that can arise, receiving a windfall, how to invest in retirement plans, what kind of debt is the best debt, and other topics. Financial instruments like stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, treasury notes, real estates, and mutual funds are described in clear distinctive often witty ways. Jonathan Pond focuses mainly on how to diversify your investments across a wide variety of sources safely.

This book is a steady, practical, easy to understand book with apparently solid advice. If you are interested in better basic financial management, this book is well worth reading. I have always found it easier to invest in stocks than save. Hopefully, I will take some advice myself and buy a few certificates of deposit.

I think the book grew out of the Channel 13 program in New York. This is a link to several short videos from the program. http://www.thirteen.org/jonathanpond/index.html

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