Greetings from Florida

[Ruishi]

Getting started on the investment journey and was wondering what resources you wish you knew about sooner? Books, websites, tools, etc??


Thanks!!

 

[Winemaker]

Welcome to the Forum! A lot of good people here with good advice/wisdom but currently all engrossed in Covid 19 pandemonium. Marry or associate with a partner that has the same goals and not "high maintenance". I suggest the book Millionaire next Door as a starter. Invest the max in your 401k as you possibly can. I put 22% of my pay away from day 1 with Megacorp, they matched the first 6% 100%; and I did it for 35 years. When you get your quarterly statement, they give you the winners and losers for the quarter. Buy the losers; everything goes in cycles. My wife and I make very good money with rental property, but it's not for everybody. Good luck to you!

 

[Amethyst]

This should be the ER Forum Elevator Speech.

Welcome to the Forum! A lot of good people here with good advice/wisdom..... Marry or associate with a partner that has the same goals and not "high maintenance". I suggest the book Millionaire next Door as a starter. Invest the max in your 401k as you possibly can. I put 22% of my pay away from day 1 with Megacorp, they matched the first 6% 100%; and I did it for 35 years. When you get your quarterly statement, they give you the winners and losers for the quarter. Buy the losers; everything goes in cycles. My wife and I make very good money with rental property, but it's not for everybody. Good luck to you!

 

[HI Bill]

Welcome! Many people recommend starting with "The Millionaire Next Door".

 

[Markola]

Welcome! Many people recommend starting with "The Millionaire Next Door".

+1. There is no better place to start. I read that book in the 90s when I was getting going and now, like many here, I am one [emoji898]. Voila! Thank you, book.

 

[Elbata]

Nice thread on frugality: https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/why-are-you-frugal-81639.html

 

[atmsmshr]

Couple of suggestions (there are many - my favs)

Books - Four Pillars of Investing by Bernstein AND Random Walk down Wallstreet by Makeil

Another forum - Bogleheads

A good blog - Nerds Eye View by Michael Kitces, and The White Coat Investor

Some good research by Wade Pfau and Benegan.

Investment firms with sensible research tools and that won't hound you to death or steal you blind - Fidelity (family owned and service oriented) and Vanguard (Investor owned but more bare boned)

Last research tool - Firecalc

Unsolicited advice in addition to marry well: don't buy new cars, invest in your continuing education in a field that will pay back the effort, continually improve your skills.

 

[Markola]

Nice thread on frugality: https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/why-are-you-frugal-81639.html

I’ll be darned. I posed that question 4 years ago and then completely forgot about the interesting string. Thanks for resurrecting it, Elbata. I’ve been doubling down on frugality lately, so I think I’ll post an update on it and see what other people are thinking these days. Cheers.

 

[Bamaman]

I started going to the library one night per month when I started playing the equity market. In books and in magazines, the same investment names kept popping up. And I always tried to be on the ground floor of some hot companies and better mutual funds.

But I was young, and time was my biggest asset. After 401K withdrawals and taxes, I only brought home about half what I made. Living in an ultra low cost of living state allowed me to still have an acceptable standard of living. Low cost housing and state taxes helped greatly to ER too.

 

[Ruishi]

Thank you all!! So many good suggestions! I'm check out The Millionaire Next Door first on Amazon right now ..Ive certainly got plenty of time to read, these days! (were still on full shut-down in my city...probably will be for a while).



There's so many tools out there, its hard to know whats worth your time. It helps to hear personal recommendations/experiences.

 

[OldShooter]

Here's my list of recommended reading. (Note, the lesson in "Millionaire Next Door" is basically about living below your means. It's a good book but not really an investing book.)

Priority
"If You Can" by William Bernstein https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf (free 16 page download)
"The Coffee House Investor" by Bill Schultheis https://www.coffeehouseinvestor.com/

Next
"The Bogleheads Guide to Investing" by Taylor Larimore et al https://www.amazon.com/Bogleheads-Guide-Investing-Taylor-Larimore/dp/0470067365

Then At Least One of These
"A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton Malkiel* https://www.amazon.com/Random-Walk-Down-Wall-Street/dp/0393330338
"Winning the Loser's Game" by Charles Ellis* https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Losers-Game-6th-Strategies/dp/0071813659
"The Investor's Manifesto" by William Bernstein https://www.amazon.com/Investors-Manifesto-Prosperity-Armageddon-Everything/dp/B002U3CBY8

Frequently Recommended Web Site
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started (I would not spend a lot of time on the boglehead forums; they can get pretty crazy and intense. Save that for after you've done your reading assignment.)

(You can also have fun reading here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Taylor_Larimore%27s_market_timing_quotes)

I will amplify @atmsmshr's car advice: Never buy a car you can't afford. The rule is this: If you have to borrow money (leasing is just a complicated and expensive way to borrow) to buy the car, then you can't afford it.

 

[Ruishi]

Wow, thanks @OldShooter - This list ought to keep me busy for a while!!

 

[OldShooter]

Wow, thanks @OldShooter - This list ought to keep me busy for a while!!

Glad to help. If you read and absorb what is in those books, including both Ellis and Malkiel, you will know more than most brokers.

Graduate school is here:

Misbehaving" by Richard Thaler https://www.amazon.com/Misbehaving-Behavioral-Economics-Richard-Thaler/dp/039335279X
"Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555
"Your Money and Your Brain" by Jason Zweig: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Brain-Science-Neuroeconomics/dp/0743276698
"Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Taleb: https://www.amazon.com/Fooled-Randomness-Hidden-Markets-Incerto/dp/0812975219

These are about human psychology, which drives a lot of the stupid investing (and life) decisions we humans make. Read Thaler before Kahneman. Read Zweig any time. Of these books, Taleb will require the most effort.

 

[Amethyst]

I think it's the easiest and best read of the "do this to retire early" [or at all...nowadays!] books. Let us know what you thought of it.

Thank you all!! So many good suggestions! I'm check out The Millionaire Next Door first on Amazon right now .