Beach-compatible Newbie Personal Finance Literature

[yasha83]

I've seen quite a bit of advice on the forums here in recent week/months regarding keeping finances in order as physician, resident, and the various means of putting away money, nest eggs etc.... does anybody here have any favorites/suggestions as far as books on personal finance for an incoming resident seeking to educate oneself? I've heard of one called "The Wealthy Barber" that has gotten some good word of mouth. I have a week in Mexico coming up prior to intern year and am looking for something like that to read while tipping back a few vodka Caipirinhas on the beach....as always any advice would be appreciated.

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[GoodmanBrown]

I've seen quite a bit of advice on the forums here in recent week/months regarding keeping finances in order as physician, resident, and the various means of putting away money, nest eggs etc.... does anybody here have any favorites/suggestions as far as books on personal finance for an incoming resident seeking to educate oneself? I've heard of one called "The Wealthy Barber" that has gotten some good word of mouth. I have a week in Mexico coming up prior to intern year and am looking for something like that to read while tipping back a few vodka Caipirinhas on the beach....as always any advice would be appreciated.

I have a friend who highly recommends "The Millionaire Next Door."

I read a book awhile ago titled "The Two Income Trap" which I thought was very interesting. It may not be as applicable to doctors who can generally live on one income...

 

[kmurp]

http://www.amazon.com/Four-Pillars-Investing-Building-Portfolio/dp/0071385290/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3

The book is the "Four Pillars of Investing" by Bernstein. He's actually a neurologist by trade who's taken a deep and practical interest in investing and how markets work. He basically lays waste to much of the investment advice given by experts and expensive "advisors" The basic recommendation is to buy index funds and get the proper asset allocation. As Buffet himself said, this is likely the best course for the vast majority of people. Mostly any other course is a waste of time and $$$$$. ( hope the link works).

 

[GoodmanBrown]

http://www.amazon.com/Four-Pillars-Investing-Building-Portfolio/dp/0071385290/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3

The book is the "Four Pillars of Investing" by Bernstein. He's actually a neurologist by trade who's taken a deep and practical interest in investing and how markets work. He basically lays waste to much of the investment advice given by experts and expensive "advisors" The basic recommendation is to buy index funds and get the proper asset allocation. As Buffet himself said, this is likely the best course for the vast majority of people. Mostly any other course is a waste of time and $$$$$. ( hope the link works).

I think I've heard of this guy! He's featured in "The Big Short," isn't he? I think he's featured as someone who saw the housing bubble coming. He apparently sits in room by himself just reading market signs off of Bloomberg. I think he might even have Asperger's, though I'm not positive about that and I'd hate to slander anyone. All this is off an NPR interview I remember from awhile ago.

 

[drfeelgood]

I liked The Bogleheads Guide to Retirement and The Bogleheads Guide to Investing. Bogleheads are people who follow the advice of John Bogle (founder of the Vanguard Funds) who invest in low-cost and at-cost index funds. Vanguard is a client owned at-cost Fund Company. They have the most recommended funds in Money Magazines TOP 70 Mutual funds.

 

[cfdavid]

for fun reading you could pick up Peter Schiff's Crash Proof 2.0

i wouldn't buy anything from the "old guard" (i.e. peter lynch or even warren buffett) buy and hold, "invest for the long term" monkey's. it's a great way to break even over 10 years..... (i.e. "the lost decade").

why not warren buffett?? because times have changed since he started out as an "average joe". today, he doesn't do anything as an average joe. that is, he's so big that he doesn't do anything that isn't essentially a "sweetheart" deal. (i.e. voting shares, private offerings etc etc.). i'm not so sure his "invest in good companies" mantra is as applicable in today's trading world, which is what it IS.

i noticed hank paulson has a book out called "on the brink". what a joke. talk about the fox guarding the hen house. seriously.

so, my take is to look into more "alternative" sources of information, and while Schiff has gone mainstream, his ideas are sound IMO. it's also entertaining from the standpoint of becoming more educated on "Austrian" economics versus Keynesian rhetoric which has proven catastrophic, as well as becoming more aware of shifting global economic forces. good stuff.

i've read the millionare next door. not bad from the perspective of developing some good habits re: budgeting and being prudent.


cf

 

[kmurp]

I think I've heard of this guy! He's featured in "The Big Short," isn't he? I think he's featured as someone who saw the housing bubble coming. He apparently sits in room by himself just reading market signs off of Bloomberg. I think he might even have Asperger's, though I'm not positive about that and I'd hate to slander anyone. All this is off an NPR interview I remember from awhile ago.

Ummmm.......no. I don't think this is the same guy. Nor do I have any idea of what you are talking about.
Would also second the Bogelheads Guide to Investing and add "A Random Walk Down Wallstreet".

 

[GoodmanBrown]

Ummmm.......no. I don't think this is the same guy. Nor do I have any idea of what you are talking about.
Would also second the Bogelheads Guide to Investing and add "A Random Walk Down Wallstreet".

I was actually pretty close. The guy who I was talking about is Michael Burry. He's profiled in The Big Short by Michael Lewis (linked above). He quit his neurology residency at Stanford to start a hedge fund. He shorted the housing market and made millions. From 2000 to 2008, his hedge fund made a return of 489%. He does have Asperger's as well.

I just remembered being very intrigued by him. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

 

[Narcotized]

for fun reading you could pick up Peter Schiff's Crash Proof 2.0

i wouldn't buy anything from the "old guard" (i.e. peter lynch or even warren buffett) buy and hold, "invest for the long term" monkey's. it's a great way to break even over 10 years..... (i.e. "the lost decade").

why not warren buffett?? because times have changed since he started out as an "average joe". today, he doesn't do anything as an average joe. that is, he's so big that he doesn't do anything that isn't essentially a "sweetheart" deal. (i.e. voting shares, private offerings etc etc.). i'm not so sure his "invest in good companies" mantra is as applicable in today's trading world, which is what it IS.

i noticed hank paulson has a book out called "on the brink". what a joke. talk about the fox guarding the hen house. seriously.

so, my take is to look into more "alternative" sources of information, and while Schiff has gone mainstream, his ideas are sound IMO. it's also entertaining from the standpoint of becoming more educated on "Austrian" economics versus Keynesian rhetoric which has proven catastrophic, as well as becoming more aware of shifting global economic forces. good stuff.

i've read the millionare next door. not bad from the perspective of developing some good habits re: budgeting and being prudent.


cf

CF, you continually impress me with your economic wisdom. Crash 2.0 is simply the best book out there to understand basic economic principles and why our country's state of affairs is a joke. If you read and truly understand that book (minus Schiff's promos to invest with his company), you will be more knowledgable with better insight than every single talking head at the financial networks.

Peter Schiff does a 10 minute video blog every few days:

http://www.youtube.com/user/schiffreport?blend=1&ob=4

It starts with the current one, and on the side is a list of all previous videos (166 at present). Spend 10 minutes every couple of days and if you have a little background and can understand it, you will see how incredibly ignorant Obamanomics and American politicians are.

This is one of those situations where ignorance is truly bliss. If you know where we're heading, it's pretty damn ugly.

 

[cfdavid]

CF, you continually impress me with your economic wisdom. Crash 2.0 is simply the best book out there to understand basic economic principles and why our country's state of affairs is a joke. If you read and truly understand that book (minus Schiff's promos to invest with his company), you will be more knowledgable with better insight than every single talking head at the financial networks.

Peter Schiff does a 10 minute video blog every few days:

http://www.youtube.com/user/schiffreport?blend=1&ob=4

It starts with the current one, and on the side is a list of all previous videos (166 at present). Spend 10 minutes every couple of days and if you have a little background and can understand it, you will see how incredibly ignorant Obamanomics and American politicians are.

This is one of those situations where ignorance is truly bliss. If you know where we're heading, it's pretty damn ugly.

Thanks Narc. I agree 100% with what you stated regarding the benefits of paying attention to Schiff's message.

Regarding your last point, another benefit is that once one truly understands the grim reality of our fiscal/economic problems, the better one is prepared (at least mentally as these things can take time to play out, which nobody (including Schiff) can really put a timeline on) for the changes that await us. And he does indeed provide solutions, for both economic policy as well as personal finance.

To me, that's the real power of reading Schiff, as well as catching Marc Faber's interviews on Youtube. It takes the power from the mainstream "talking heads" which is more or less what people had "access" to just 15 years ago.....

Faber has been right in calling even short term shifts in markets. It's unreal how dialed in that dude is.

And guys, like Narc stated, yet another benefit of catching these guys on Youtube is that you can see who's credible and who's not if you track what they say, and then what actually happens in the world. Accountability.