Investing without Wall Street: The Five Essentials of Financial Freedom

Preface

With some books the Preface is unimportant. That's not the case with this book. This preface provides an overview of what investors really need to know to prosper in today's markets, which are so very different from the ones we loved in the 1980s and 1990s. But first, I need to quickly touch on two money-making basics.

1. Do-it-yourself is the real key to lifetime profits.

   First of all, you need to appreciate the huge difference between doing-it-yourself and hiring professional guidance. Although there is value in a book explaining the best ways to work with a broker or professional investment advisor, the real benefit comes from a book that teaches you, simply and clearly, how to do it yourself.

   The wealth difference is overwhelming. Over a 40-year investing lifetime, an average earner can make $252,000 more doing it him or herself than a person who has to share his or her profits with professionals. That's a lot of money going to advisors, not you. That's why this book is titled Investing without Wall Street! (See Chapter 4 for the computations.)

   Achieving this wealth increment is within everybody's ability and takes very little time. In addition, by doing it yourself, you will know your self-interest has always been put first. That's no small thing in an era where crooks like Bernard Madoff stalk uninformed investors. Investing without Wall Street gives you control of your finances.

2. Savings are crucial.

   All the advice offered in this book is academic if you have no money ...