Investing For Dummies E-Book

Eric Tyson

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 817

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

All the investing basics you need to know, from the bestselling For Dummies line

This updated edition of Investing For Dummies offers sound advice to everyone who wants to build wealth through investing. Learn about stock investing, bond investing, mutual fund and ETF investing, real estate investing, and picking most trustworthy resources for your needs. Turn to this jargon-free resource before you make your first investment, so you can make smart decisions with your money. Get a feel for managing the ups and downs of the market, learn how to assess your investment decisions, and plan out a portfolio that will work for you. With over a million copies sold in previous editions, this book offers golden advice on making your money grow.

• Consider the risks and rewards of different types of investing
• Assess the current market and your financial situation, so you can make a solid investing plan
• Understand how stock markets work and how you can profit from them
• Beef up your investing strategy with bonds, brokerage support, real estate, and beyond

Investing For Dummies is the go-to book for people new to the world of finance and eager to build a solid foundation—and grow wealth for the future.

Leseprobe

Investing For Dummies®

To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Investing For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part 1: Getting Started with Investing

Chapter 1: Exploring Your Investment Choices

Getting Started with Investing

Building Wealth with Ownership Investments

Generating Income from Lending Investments

Considering Cash Equivalents

Steering Clear of Futures and Options

Mulling Over Precious Metals

Contemplating Currencies and Cryptocurrencies

Counting Out Collectibles

Chapter 2: Weighing Risks and Returns

Evaluating Risks

Analyzing Returns

Considering Your Goals

Chapter 3: Getting Your Financial House in Order

Establishing an Emergency Reserve

Evaluating Your Debts

Establishing Your Financial Goals

Funding Your Retirement Accounts

Taming Your Taxes in Non-Retirement Accounts

Choosing the Right Investment Mix

Treading Carefully When Investing for College

Protecting Your Assets

Part 2: Stocks, Bonds, and Wall Street

Chapter 4: The Workings of Stock and Bond Markets

How Companies Raise Money through the Financial Markets

Understanding Financial Markets and Economics

Chapter 5: Building Wealth with Stocks

Taking Stock of How You Make Money

Defining “The Market”

Stock-Buying Methods

Spotting the Right Times to Buy and Sell

Avoiding Problematic Stock-Buying Practices

The Keys to Stock Market Success

Chapter 6: Investigating and Purchasing Individual Stocks

Building on Others’ Research

Understanding Annual Reports

Exploring Other Useful Corporate Reports

Getting Ready to Invest in Stocks

Chapter 7: Exploring Bonds and Other Lending Investments

Banks: Considering the Cost of Feeling Secure

Why Bother with Bonds?

Assessing the Different Types of Bonds

Buying Bonds

Considering Other Lending Investments

Chapter 8: Mastering Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds

Distinguishing between Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds

Discovering the Benefits of the Best Funds

Reviewing the Keys to Successful Fund Investing

Creating Your Fund Portfolio with Asset Allocation

The Best Stock Funds

The Best Bond Funds

Balanced and Asset Allocation Funds: The Best Hybrid Funds

The Best Money Market Funds

Chapter 9: Choosing a Brokerage Firm

Getting Your Money’s Worth: Discount Brokers

Considering Online Brokerage Services

Part 3: Growing Wealth with Real Estate

Chapter 10: Investing in a Home

Considering How Home Ownership Can Help You Achieve Your Financial Goals

The Buying Decision

Deciding How Much to Spend

Selecting Your Property Type

Finding the Right Property and Location

Chapter 11: Investing in Real Estate

Discussing Real Estate Investment Attractions

Figuring Out Who Should Avoid Real Estate Investing

Examining Simple, Profitable Real Estate Investments

Evaluating Direct Property Investments

Deciding Where and What to Buy

Digging for a Good Deal

Recognizing Inferior Real Estate “Investments”

Chapter 12: Real Estate Financing and Deal Making

Financing Your Real Estate Investments

Working with Real Estate Agents

Closing the Deal

Selling Real Estate

Part 4: Savoring Small Business

Chapter 13: Assessing Your Appetite for Small Business

Testing Your Entrepreneurial IQ

Considering Alternative Routes to Owning a Small Business

Exploring Small-Business Investment Options

Drawing Up Your Business Plan

Chapter 14: Starting and Running a Small Business

Starting Up: Your Preflight Checklist

Financing Your Business

Deciding Whether to Incorporate

Finding and Keeping Customers

Setting Up Shop

Accounting for the Money

Keeping a Life and Perspective

Chapter 15: Purchasing a Small Business

Examining the Advantages of Buying

Understanding the Drawbacks of Buying

Prerequisites to Buying a Business

Focusing Your Search for a Business to Buy

Considering a Franchise or Multilevel Marketing Company

Evaluating a Small Business

Part 5: Investing Resources

Chapter 16: Selecting Investing Resources Wisely

Dealing with Information Overload

Separating Financial Fact from Fiction

Chapter 17: Navigating Financial Media and Publications

In Print: Magazines and Newspapers

Broadcasting Hype: Radio, Podcasts, and Television Programs

Fillers and Fluff: Being Wary of Investment Newsletters

Chapter 18: Selecting the Best Investment Books

Being Wary of Infomercial Books

Ignoring Unaudited Performance Claims

Investing Books Worth Reading

Chapter 19: Investigating Internet and Software Resources

Evaluating Investment Software

Investigating Internet Resources

Part 6: The Part of Tens

Chapter 20: Ten Investing Obstacles to Conquer

Trusting Authority

Getting Swept Up by Euphoria

Being Overconfident

Giving Up When Things Look Bleak

Refusing to Accept a Loss

Overmonitoring Your Investments

Being Unclear about Your Goals

Ignoring Important Financial Problems

Overemphasizing Certain Risks

Believing in Gurus

Chapter 21: Ten Things to Weigh When Considering an Investment Sale

Remembering Preferences and Goals

Maintaining Balance in Your Portfolio

Deciding Which Ones Are Keepers

Tuning In to the Tax Consequences

Figuring Out What Shares Cost

Selling Investments with Hefty Profits

Cutting Your (Securities) Losses

Dealing with Unknown Costs

Recognizing Broker Differences

Finding a Trustworthy Financial Advisor

Chapter 22: Ten Tips for Investing in a Down Stock Market

Don’t Panic

Keep Your Portfolio’s Perspective in Mind

View Major Declines as Sales

Identify Your Portfolio’s Problems

Avoid Growth Stocks If You Get Queasy Easily

Tune Out Negative, Hyped Media

Ignore Large Point Declines but Consider the Percentages

Don’t Believe You Need a Rich Dad to Be a Successful Investor

Understand the Financial Markets

Talk to People Who Care about You

Index

About the Author

Advertisement Page

Connect with Dummies

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 2

TABLE 2-1 Largest U.S. Stock Market Declines

*

TABLE 2-2 Inflation’s Corrosive Effect on Your Money’s Purchasing Power

Chapter 3

TABLE 3-1 2024 Federal Income Tax Rates

Chapter 5

TABLE 5-1 Why You’re Buying Your Own Stocks

TABLE 5-2 Stock Bargains in the Mid-1970s

TABLE 5-3 More Stock Bargains in the Late 1970s and Early 1980s

Chapter 8

TABLE 8-1 Asset Allocation for the Long Haul

List of Illustrations

Chapter 2

FIGURE 2-1: What are the odds of making or losing money in the U.S. markets? In...

FIGURE 2-2: The longer you hold stocks, the more likely you are to make money.

FIGURE 2-3: Even the bull market of the 1990s wasn’t kind to every company.

FIGURE 2-4: A historical view of bond performance: Inflation has eroded bond re...

FIGURE 2-5: History shows that stocks have been a consistent long-term winner.

FIGURE 2-6: Plenty of investing opportunities exist outside the United States.

Chapter 6

FIGURE 6-1:

Value Line Investment Survey

report on Starbucks.

FIGURE 6-2: The balance sheet from a T. Rowe Price annual report.

FIGURE 6-3: A T. Rowe Price income statement.

Chapter 7

FIGURE 7-1: Sample bond listings.

Chapter 10

FIGURE 10-1: Because of inflation, renting is generally more costly in the long...

Chapter 11

FIGURE 11-1: Monthly rental-property financial statement (Page 1 of...

FIGURE 11-2: Monthly rental-property financial statement (Page 2 of...

FIGURE 11-3: Monthly rental-property financial statement (Page 3 of 3).

Chapter 20

FIGURE 20-1: Slightly higher returns compound to really make your money grow.

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Begin Reading

Index

About the Author

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PRAISE FOR ERIC TYSON’S BEST-SELLING FOR DUMMIES TITLES

“Eric Tyson For President!!! Thanks for such a wonderful guide. With a clear, no-nonsense approach to … investing for the long haul, Tyson’s book says it all without being the least bit long-winded. Pick up a copy today. It’ll be your wisest investment ever!!!” —Jim Beggs, VA

“Eric Tyson is doing something important — namely, helping people at all income levels to take control of their financial futures. This book is a natural outgrowth of Tyson’s vision that he has nurtured for years. Like Henry Ford, he wants to make something that was previously accessible only to the wealthy accessible to middle-income Americans.” —James C. Collins, co-author of the national bestsellers Built to Last and Good to Great

“The organization of this book is superb! I could go right to the topics of immediate interest and find clearly written and informative material.” —Lorraine Verboort, Beaverton, OR

“Among my favorite financial guides are … Eric Tyson’s Personal Finance For Dummies.” — Jonathan Clements, the Wall Street Journal

“In Investing For Dummies, Tyson handily dispatches both the basics … and the more complicated.” —Lisa M. Sodders, The Capital-Journal

“Smart advice for dummies … skip the tomes … and buy Personal Finance For Dummies, which rewards your candor with advice and comfort.” —Temma Ehrenfeld, Newsweek

“You don’t have to be a novice to like Mutual Funds For Dummies. Despite the book’s chatty, informal style, author Eric Tyson clearly has a mastery of his subject. He knows mutual funds, and he knows how to explain them in simple English.” —Steven T. Goldberg, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine

“Eric Tyson … seems the perfect writer for a … For Dummies book. He doesn’t tell you what to do or consider doing without explaining the why’s and how’s — and the booby traps to avoid — in plain English… . It will lead you through the thickets of your own finances as painlessly as I can imagine.” —Clarence Peterson, Chicago Tribune

“Personal Finance For Dummies is the perfect book for people who feel guilty about inadequately managing their money but are intimidated by all of the publications out there. It’s a painless way to learn how to take control.” —Karen Tofte, producer, National Public Radio’s Sound Money

Investing For Dummies®, 10th Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2025 by Eric Tyson. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.

Media and software compilation copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.

Published simultaneously in Canada

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ISBN 978-1-394-28673-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-28675-1 (ePDF); ISBN 978-1-394-28674-4 (epub)

Introduction

With each new edition of this investing guide, I find that the core investment philosophy I discuss within it has stood the tests of time and changing market forces.

During the financial crisis of 2008, things got scary. Large Wall Street firms were going under, stock prices were plummeting, and layoffs and unemployment rates were soaring. And all this was happening in the midst of the 2008 presidential election. Talk of another Great Depression was in the air. In fact, polls showed a majority of Americans feared that another depression was actually happening. Housing prices were dropping sharply in most communities, and more and more properties were ending up in foreclosure.

Investing didn’t seem so fun anymore. However, even though the downturn was the worst in decades, it had similarities to prior downturns, and people who kept their sense of perspective and followed my advice have enjoyed tremendous returns since the market bottom.

Now, fast forward to 2020. The United States was enjoying one of the longest continuous periods of economic expansion and the unemployment rate had sunk to a 50-year low. Stock prices continued to rise to new highs despite periodic setbacks. And then the coronavirus upset the good times and quickly reminded us that investing involves risks and sharp price declines, often when least expected. Stocks surged to new highs in 2024 despite concerns of higher inflation in recent years.

I know from working with people of modest and immodest economic means that they increase their wealth by doing the following:

Living within their means and systematically saving and investing money, ideally in a tax-favored manner

Buying and holding a globally diversified portfolio of stocks

Building their own small business

Investing in real estate

This book explains each of these wealth boosters in detail. Equally, if not more important, however, is the information I provide to help you understand and choose investments compatible with your personal and financial goals.

About This Book

The best investment vehicles for building wealth — stocks, real estate, and small business — haven’t changed. But you still need money to play in the investment world. Like the first edition of Investing For Dummies, the 10th edition of this national bestseller includes complete coverage of these wealth-building investments as well as other investments. Among the biggest changes in this edition are:

I’ve updated the data and examples in this book to provide you the latest insights and analyses.

Having trouble comprehending whether the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy and stubborn inflation will impact the stock market? Worried what impact the election will have on the economy and financial markets? Confused with the increasing array of retirement account savings options such as individual 401(k)s and Roth 401(k)s? Curious how current and potential future tax laws may impact your investment strategies? Wondering why people are talking about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, and crypto ETFs, and whether you should invest? Contemplating using an online broker that is advertising “free” trading? Weighing whether and where to invest in real estate given current market conditions? Wondering what the best ways are to invest globally? Having trouble making sense of various economic indicators and what they mean to your investment strategy? You can find the answers to these questions and many more in this edition.

I offer more information on investing resources.

With the tremendous growth in websites, software, apps, publications, media outlets, and other sources of investing advice and information, you’re probably overwhelmed in choosing among the numerous investing research tools and resources. Equally problematic is figuring out who you can trust — and who to ignore. So many pundits and prognosticators claim excellent track records for their past predictions, but who, really, can you believe? I explain how to evaluate the quality of current investment tools and resources, and I provide some lists of proven, quality resources.

To build wealth, you don’t need a fancy college or graduate-school degree, and you don’t need a rich dad (or mom), biological or adopted! What you do need is a desire to read and practice the many simple yet powerful lessons and strategies in this book.

Seriously, investing intelligently isn’t rocket science. By all means, if you’re dealing with a complicated, atypical issue, get quality professional help. If you do decide to hire someone, you’ll be much better prepared if you educate yourself. Doing so can also help you focus your questions and assess that person’s competence.

Foolish Assumptions

Every book is written with a certain reader in mind, and this book is no different. Here are some assumptions I made about you:

You may have some investments, but you’re looking to develop a full-scale investment plan.

You’d like to strengthen your portfolio.

You want to evaluate your investment advisor’s or broker’s advice or other investment ideas.

You have a company-sponsored investment plan, like a 401(k), and you’re looking to make some decisions or roll it over into a new plan.

If one or more of these descriptions sound familiar, you’ve come to the right place.

Icons Used in This Book

Throughout this book, icons help guide you through the maze of suggestions, solutions, and cautions. I hope the following images make your journey through investment strategies smoother.

If you see this icon, I’m pointing out companies, products, services, and resources that have proved to be exceptional over the years. These are resources that I would or do use personally or would recommend to my friends and family.

I use this icon to highlight an issue that requires more detective work on your part. Don’t worry, though; I prepare you for your work so you don’t have to start out as a novice gumshoe.

I think the name says it all, but this icon indicates something really, really important — don’t you forget it!

Skip it or read it; the choice is yours. You’ll fill your head with more stuff that may prove valuable as you expand your investing know-how, but you risk overdosing on stuff that you may not need right away.

This icon denotes strategies that can enable you to build wealth faster and leap over tall obstacles in a single bound.

This icon indicates treacherous territory that has made mincemeat out of lesser mortals who have come before you. Skip this point at your own peril.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that can set you on the path to successful investing. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Investing For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

Where to Go from Here

If you have the time and desire, I encourage you to read this book in its entirety. It provides you with a detailed picture of how to maximize your returns while minimizing your risks through wealth-building investments. But you don’t have to read this book cover to cover. If you have a specific question or two that you want to focus on today, or if you want to find some additional information tomorrow, that’s not a problem. Investing For Dummies, 10th Edition, makes it easy to find answers to specific questions. Just turn to the table of contents or the index to locate the information you need. You can get in and get out, just like that.

Part 1

Getting Started with Investing

IN THIS PART …

Get familiar with the different types of investments you have to choose from, including stocks, bonds, real estate, small business, and funds.

Deepen your understanding of risks and returns so you can make informed investing decisions and react to changes in the market.

Make wise investing decisions that fit with your overall financial situation and goals.