Sources of Information
From FinancialPlanning
Contents |
Useful Web Sites
Yahoo Finance
The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
The Vanguard Group - many MIFP investors use Vanguard's no-load mutual funds and so this site is frequently mentioned both as a place to research funds and to read on basic personal finance and asset allocation topics.
Fidelity Investments - a close second is Fidelity's web site, in particular for articles on solo 401k and other retirement plans, and its free bond research tools.
SmartMoney though it is only on this list because of frequent mentions of the very cool yield curve animation which is of interest to bond investors.
Periodicals
The Wall Street Journal - considered the newspaper of record for business, though not geared towards personal finance specifically
Barron's - a weekly publication of primary interest to stock-pickers
Book Recommendations
These are the most-frequently-recommended books on MIFP:
General Interest
The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko - Discusses the profile and habits of American millionaires, emphasizing that most live relatively low-key lives and became millionaires through saving and frugality.
Personal Finance for Dummies - Eric Tyson - overview of all the typical topics in personal finance. May be out of date in some areas.
The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need - Andrew Tobias - an easy to read overview of investing with a lot of common sense advice.
Wall St. Journal Guide to Understanding Money & Investing - one of a series of paperback books with excellent background information on stocks, mutual funds, exchanges, banks, money, etc., all explained with color charts and illustrations.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street - Burton Malkiel - updated periodically, this is an excellent overview of the stock market, its history, and different ways of investing in it. The FAQ editor considers this an essential read for anyone interested in stocks.
Stocks for the Long Run - Jeremy Siegel - Lays out the basic case for stocks as long-term investments, comparing their returns since the 1800s to bonds and cash investments.
Mutual Funds
Common Sense on Mutual Funds - John Bogle
Bogle on Mutual Funds - John Bogle - these two books make the case for index-fund investing and highlight the problems involved when trying to pick actively managed mutual funds. John Bogle is the founder of The Vanguard Group
Stocks
One up on Wall Street - Peter Lynch
Beating the Street - Peter Lynch - Peter Lynch was the manager of Fidelity's Magellan Fund in its glory years, and advocates "buying what you know."
The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham - considered one of the classics on value investing, and more approachable than his classic tome "Security Analysis" (which also is mentioned from time to time on MIFP)
Legal and Tax
Nolo Press books. These are self-help legal guides in a wide range of topical areas, including several on estate planning.
IRS Publications - get it from the horse's mouth. Especially of interest for MIFPers are:
- Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax
- Publication 551, Basis of Assets
- Publication 550, Investment Income & Expenses - this includes everything in "Capital Gains and Losses" which is also available as a separate publication
- Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements
- Publication 950, Introduction to Estate & Gift Taxes
- Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax
