No comments about The Beardstown Ladies' Common-Sense Investment Guide.

2 comments about The Beardstown Ladies' Stitch-In-Time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg: Step-By-Step Planning for a Comfortable Financial Future.

1. If ever there were a standard primer for financial information, my vote would be this book. What a wonderful gift this book would make for a newly married couple, or even a daughter who has just graduated high school or college. A son, too for that matter! As someone who has never had much extra money, I just recently graduated from college and am now pursuing full time employment, I know that when I begin bringing in that second income, that I will want to have some education on what to do with it. I bought this book for that purpose. It is a basic information book that provides vital facts and figures to anyone needing advice in regards to insurance, 401K, stocks, bonds, retirement and ect. For someone who has just a limited knowledge of these topics, this book will be a Godsend. A child could read and understand the concepts presented in this book. It gives resources for more information as well. Pick up this book and you will expand your financial horizons! The book is written in a very casual, witty and motherly type fashion. It will make you warm and fuzzy! And perhaps even fatten your wallet



2. The book offers basic information on how to invest and save money, but, that's all it does. The book is more appropriate for someone at a later stage of their life, and for someone who has no idea how one should save or invest money. If you already know the basic information about investing, then this book is not for you.

No comments about Investment Club Operations Handbook (Bettern Investing Educational Series).

5 comments about Leg the Spread: A Woman's Adventures Inside the Trillion-Dollar Boys Club of Commodities Trading.

1. I worked at the CME so know many of the anecdotes that she reproduces here, and know them to be fairy tales. I recognize some of the characters (names have been changed). The fact that this book is such a bitter tale from an obviously disgruntled employee is less annoying than the fact that the writing is so bad. Don't waste your hard earned money.



2. I never thought I'd be interested in commodities trading, but Leg the Spread really brought me into this crazy, high-stakes world that I knew nothing about, but found absolutely fascinating. Lynn is a very gifted writer, and her book opened a window into a whole new world for me. If you liked "Liar's Poker" you'll really like this book!



3. I picked up this book expecting a good read; perhaps I expected too much, as what I found was nothing more than low-quality "chick lit." This book is a gross misrepresentation of what life is like on the floor; and this is coming from someone who has spent plenty of time there and knows several people who have been down on the floor for far more. I wouldn't bother with it unless you want to read an extremely glorified version of what a trading floor is like.



4. I've been a clerk on the floor of the CBOT for over 10 years, I work for one of the brokers Lynn interviewed, and a lot of what she describes does go on down there,( I had a corn spreader reach up my skirt & grab me the first week I was there). I just don't find her very believable. She was a "clerk" at the Merc for 2 years and it seems she never really did any real work. How can she talk about how intense and stressful and sometimes horrible it can be if all she did was walk around and interview people? Does she think that because a few morons made nasty comments to her that she knows what it's like? I have a hard time with people who think that because they were down there for a whole five minutes, they know how everything is. I've worked very hard to get where I am and it's insulting that someone who never put her heart into this job can write a book and somehow people believe her.



5. 
   I really enjoyed this book, since my background is commodities and futures trading (although I do not do that currently) this book was fun, I am not sure why so many people rated it so poorly, but this was great, In fact I read it twice. This book will not teach you how to trade but it will give you a glimpse into a world most people even in the industry know very little about...Great Job
   
   
   Doron Alon
   Author of "The Bible and the Law of Attraction"
   ISBN-10: 1435723368
   ISBN-13: 978-1435723368

4 comments about The Beardstown Ladies' Pocketbook Guide to Picking Stocks.

1. A funny thing happened in the bookstore today. I picked up theBeardstown Ladies' Pocketbook Guide to Picking Stocks and read theback cover to see if it was worthwhile reading or buying the book. "My goodness", I thought, "23.4% these ladies know how to kick A..." Then I found a white card inside where they sheepishly confessed that it was really only 9.1%. This confirmed by an article found on the CNN financial network. It seems these financial geniuses are "mathematically challenged". If these ladies and the publisher had any integrity, they would recall all the books, have an educated, certified competent financial analyst review and redo all their calculations and republish an HONEST copy.



2. For anyone who is interested in investing in stocks for long-term growth, this is an excellent, well-laid out book for analyzing companies, and helping you determine where to start looking. It is not for the lazy investor who wants to make a bundle on a quick "tip" or magical formulas. If you're willing to take the time to really research a company before you invest in it, this book lays out the steps and the methodology in a very clear, step-by-step methodolgy. It's not the "how-to-make a million overnight" type of book, but rather, how to sensibly invest your money for the long-term in the stock market. I highly recommend it.



3. From 1975, when a "full-service" broker sold some loser stocks to me, all the way up to January 2000, I thought the stock market was an unknowable morass of pitfalls for the "ordinary" working person. Then I read The Beardstown Ladies Pocket-Book Guide to Picking Stocks. Their straightforward style encouraged me to study further, then to join the National Association of Investment Clubs (as an individual member), and to start studying, picking, and buying stocks through an on-line discount broker. Thanks to the Beardstown Ladies, I now believe it will be possible for me to someday retire.

   I recommend this book without reservation. I just wish I had found a book like this 35 years ago. And I wish I could locate some more copies of the book, since mine is getting dog-eared and worn because I return to it constantly as a REFERENCE, of all things! Also I want some copies for gifts to younger family members.

   Buy this book. It explains common-stock investing in a very clear and engaging style.




4. With the well known clerical errors in computing their investment returns, why would anyone waste any time, not to mention money, on these "unlucky" ladies advice.Try instead, any book by Larry Swedroe, John Bowen, William Bernstein, or Charles Ellis.

1 comments about Pop Finance: Investment Clubs and the New Investor Populism.

1. In spite of the comic book cover, this is a serious, exhaustive and enlightening study of investment clubs. The author gathered data from thousands of investment clubs, and personally attended innumerable investment club meetings in order to dissect out and correlate the various factors which seem to determine club investment success and failure. Fascinating was the importance of social dynamics in determining stock picking success and club styles of investment. Buy and hold clubs did better than, or with stop-loss orders. Sometimes stocks are picked not to hurt another member's feelings. Men pick 'boy stocks', women pick 'girl stocks'. Mixed gender, occupationally diverse clubs have more success than all male or all female. Some clubs are basically no more than social clubs, and they have the worst outcomes. The best clubs tend to break up more because the serious members are professionally mobile and move away. The conclusions are all based on careful statistical measures and painstaking time consuming observations. The only possible drawback, but one which did not keep me from giving it a 5 star rating, is that the writing was somewhat formal and dissertation-like, which one would not have expected from the come-on cover, which implied an "Investment Clubs for Dummies" interior. But, the data deserved the writing style; well worth reading and learning from for those in investment clubs, and those contemplating joining or forming one.

4 comments about Avoid Market Loss with Trust Deed Investing: The How-To Book on Investing in Trust Deeds.

1. I have never before seen a book with so many grammatical errors. I don't care about "proper English" but this is so bad, it's hard to read. It's even harder to take advice from a book that was obviously not done professionally. Don't waste your money.



2. The book provided me valuable information about the trust deed investment world and what brokers and borrowers oftentimes don't disclosed. It has guided me on how to evaluate and handle trust deeds. In these days of increased fraud in the mortgage business, the book has helped me avoid appraisal and credit puffing. Without the book's information, I would have believed some mortgage brokers' and borrowers' statements about loans, and most likely lost thousands of dollars. I highly recommend the book's use by trust deed investors.



3. I have recommended this book to people who invest in trust deeds/mortgages. I've bought this book for a couple of my investors to read. There is a lot of important information within this book for the investor who is buying real estate loans.
   
   Mr. Domaszewicz does know what he is writing about and shares some important ways for the investor to protect themselves. I may not agree with everything he said in the book, but I have a great amount of respect for his knowledge. I consider this book money very well spent.



4. WHEN I FIRST SAW THE BOOK, I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD BE OF ANY HELP. A PEEK AT PORTIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE, CONVINCED ME THAT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IN THE PURCHASE OF FORECLOSURE PROPERTY. AFTER BUYING THE BOOK, I BECAME AN EXPERT IN THE INNER WORKINGS OF FORECLOSURES AND BANKRUPTCIES. THE INFORMATION WAS DETAILED AND PROVIDED KNOWLEDGE THAT MOST REAL ESTATE AGENTS LACK. I FOUND THE BOOK AN EXCELLENT REFERENCE WITH A MULTIPLE OF CAUTIONS. IT HAS ALLOWED ME TO INVESTIGATE FORECLOSURES FROM AN INSIDERS PERSPECTIVE.
   Kevin

No comments about Getting Started in Investment Clubs.

5 comments about The Beardstown Ladies' Common-Sense Investment Guide: How We Beat the Stock Market-And How You Can, Too.

1. Allow me to chime in a little, too. The ladies were probably running a ponzi game. It's hard to say whether it was intentional or not, but am I glad they are totally forgotten at this point. This episode does prove that not everything in print is true. A cynic's corollary: most things in print are not true.



2. If you are planning to read this book to learn about some "Beardstown Ladies magical formula to beating stock market", then forget it. This book is not for you.
   
   "The Beardstown Ladies Common-Sense Investment Guide" is a self-glorifying book by the "Beardstown Ladies", about the "Beardstown Ladies". In brief, this book is all about how some small town ladies got lucky in the stock market.
   
   In no way can this book be considered a "Investment Guide". Most of the ideas presented in this book are self evident and already known to the general public. There are no specifics on how much they made but based on some of the numbers quoted, it does not look like they made millions or anything close to it. Again the pompous ladies have quoted just the beginning and ending numbers, so it might seem that they got good overall returns, but if you try to find the compounded rate of returns, it turns out to be mere few points above or close to the market and that too over a not so long period.
   
   The book just talks about its so called "great" successes. But fails to tell any of their failures.
   
   This book should probably have been renamed as "Beardstown Ladies book of recipes".
   
   All you can take from this book is ... If some small town ladies can make "some" money in the market, you too can :-)
   
   -Sachin



3. The S&P 500 Index returned 14.9% per year. The Beardstown Ladies, when their returns are calculated correctly, earned 9.1% per year. See A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel, quoted by en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beardstown_Ladies



4. Forget trying to beat the market. Most people can't do it over the long run, no matter how many hours of work you put into it. Instead just put your money in an S&P 500 or Total Stock Market index fund and forget it.



5. When you think of your grandma do you associate her with being savvy with the stock market? This group of 16 women aged primarily in the 50 to 80 year old range began an investment club in the early 1980s for the purpose of learning more about the stock market and as a good social outlet. Among the group was a school principal, a secretary, a pig farmer, and assorted other professions.
   
   Some of them had a general understanding of the stock market prior to meeting together and some did not but all of them gained a much better understanding of investing and business in general over the course of the club meetings.
   
   The structure was such that they met once per month to discuss various companies and the pros and cons of investing in them. They used various financial metrics on income statements, balance sheets, and analyst opinions to make informed decisions about stocks to invest in. Each member contributed $25 per month to the club and when enough money had accumulated shares of stock were purchased.
   
   Each member of the group was assigned a company to track and perform research on through various methods such as observing local businesses like Walmart, reading the Wall Street Journal, watching financial shows on television, and the nightly news.
   
   From 1984 to 1993 they claimed to have earned more 23% in the stock market but later audits revealed the actual percentage to be closer to 9%. Regardless of the actual return the women became substantially more knowledgeable about the stock market and much more savvy about investing.
   
   The club also provided them with a great social outlet where they swapped recipes and stories in addition to investing money. Many of these women were widowed and the club gave them a great deal more confidence when managing their finances.
   
   The first half of the book describes the club structure and how they originally started and the second half deals primarily with their investing principles and how they went about selecting stocks to buy, hold, and sell. Interspersed throughout are the ladies personal comments about various investing and other topics. There is also a recipe section towards the end of the book.
   
   This book provides a good vehicle for learning how investing clubs work as well as general tips on growing one's knowledge of the stock market and how to evaluate individual stocks. The beginning investor would do well to first thoroughly research mutual funds and their benefits prior to investing in individual stocks.

5 comments about Chicks Laying Nest Eggs : How 10 Skirts Beat the Pants Off Wall Street...And How You Can Too!.

1. It sounds to me like people either loved or hated this book. I'm in the middle. The content was excellent for beginning investors. Even though the math may have been a bit elementary, sometimes a refresher is needed! Skip over the examples if you have just graduated from Harvard.
   I am going to be starting an investment club and have read a few books on it now. This one is very light-hearted, even if you don't think her humor is. It does, however, allow one to read more than one chapter without falling asleep, a problem I did have with another book.
   What is comes down to is this -- this book is full of IDEAS, a place to start. Some of us ARE middle-class stay-at-home moms and some of us aren't. It really doesn't matter either way. She is showing us what worked for her and her club. It is up to us to decide which information we would like to use and which information we could care less about.
   I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in forming an investment club, or just learning a few of the ways to go about researching, choosing and following stocks.



2. This book is written in a coffee klatch style, with great ideas and simple explanations. While there is a lot more chatting than content, it keeps the book from being dry and boring. And the content IS good, especially for those who are starting at the very beginning and need the basics explained. I recommend that you read the excerpts to see if her style is okay for you. If so then buy the book!



3. The first problem I had with this book was the incredibly condescending attitude by the writer. Just because *she* was completely clueless about their family investments doesn't mean the rest of the *housewives* in the country are. She continually talked down to her readers and spoke absolutely horribly about her children. Whether she was joking or not, I found her style extremely offensive. This breastfeeding, clothing diapering, homeschooling mother who happens to love her children didn't fit into ANY of the stupid examples she used.

   But I muddled through those first few chapters to get to the meat of the matter - The Chicks Dozen. This is the all-knowing formula that one must run each potential company through before buying the stock. The problem? It worked fine when the bulls were running full steam last summer and they went with primarily tech stocks. Now? Their portfolio is a total loser and they were hit hard. I mean HARD. I notice they don't even publish the numbers on their site any longer.

   As it is now, I don't think ANY company would fit into their standards and, in fact, they've changed strageties completely (I mean a COMPLETE reversal!) and are now going with mutual funds. There was page after page in the book BASHING mutual funds and now they've realized that putting all your eggs into single stocks in this bear market just doesn't wash.

   They may have beat the men on Wall Street for ONE YEAR, but they sure aren't clucking now. So save your money and check out their website to see their current strategies because they've changed their tune. You'll also notice that one of the members has already left.

   Didn't anyone at the publishing company *read* this book with it's hogwash advice before publishing it?




4. Like all flash-in-the-pan popular "investment books" this one had a lucky run, until....errr, uhhhh, ......the portfolio began to stink.
   
   There is an iron rule for "popular" investment books: avoid them.
   
   Instead, look at the easy-to-read books written by investment pros: John Train, Warren Buffett's annual reports (those are very inexpensive), Ben Stein, Joel Greenblatt, and Andrew Tobias.
   
   If you are a frazzled housewife who wants to have an investment club made up of folks similar to yourselves and put together a market beating portfolio this book will lead you astray. For tips you can e-mail me.
   
   Full disclosure: my wife also is a professional portfolio manager, mother of two, and is a better investment manager than me. What Professor of Finance would ever admit that? An honest one.



5. Put you money into a small company out of Chicago called CytoCore that is going to revolutionize the PAP test. Stock symbol CYOE.
   
   Huge and I mean huge market potential. Will become the "standard of care" in the cervical cancer detection industry.
   
   Get in now and watch your profits grow.