The Little Book of Main Street Money: 21 Simple Truths That Help Real People Make Real Money

by Jonathan Clements

Book Overview

"A gem from one of the most brilliant minds in personal finance."
-- Ben Stein, author, actor, TV personality, and New York Times columnist

In a financial world gone mad, you still need to manage your money, put your kids through college, and save for retirement. To the rescue comes Jonathan Clements with 21 easy-to-follow rules to help you secure your financial future. Clements has spent a quarter century demystifying...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470473231
• ISBN13: 9780470473238
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

Mostly typical finance advice

This is an OK book for entry level readers of personal finance and middle aged people planning retirement. But skip it if you're already growing tired of the same old tips about low cost index funds or getting the company match on your 401k.

These Simple Truths are Timless

This book can benefit alomst anyone from the novice investor to the experienced financial advisor. After 27 years in the investment business I have also found that investing is simple but not easy. With all of the financial porn and noise that we are inundated with daily, investing can seem overwelming and confusing. Following these simple and practical investing guidelines will not make you rich overnight but in my view will achieve long term results that will outperform over 90% of investors. Jonathan's book distills the essence from the collective thinking of many respected investors including John Bogle, William Bernstein and Charles Ellis and combines it with his more than 25 years as a financial columnist. Although this is a short book it really says it all. The concepts in this book are timless. I especially like many of the thoughts Jonathan conveys about making wise everyday life decisions and living richly and mindfully. This book is a must read for virtually anyone.

A Little Book Filled with Pearls of Wisdom

There are very few journalists who actually have investor's interests at heart. They write about what might be called the science of investing, or evidence based investing. The rest write about the noise, or what Jane Bryant Quinn called "investment porn." Jonathan was not only one of the few that truly had investor interests at heart but he was one of, if not the best, of the group. I considered his weekly column a must read. The same could be said of this little book. It is only little in size. It is giant in terms of the number of pearls of wisdom that it contains; pearls not limited to investing but finance in general and life as well. I highly recommend this book especially for those just beginning their financial journey--it is a journey you should not take without this book as a guide. Larry Swedroe, author of Wise Investing Made Simple and six other books on investing.

The Little Book of Main Street Money - A Winner!

In his new book, The Little Book of Main Street Money, Jonathan Clements provides readers with solid financial information in an easy-to-read writing style that's been polished over years of writing his columns for the Wall Street Journal. The book covers investing and financial matters from A to Z in Jonathan's usual clear and concise manner. While this is not a "get rich quick" book, it is, nevertheless, a "get rich the old-fashioned way" book. Jonathan provides solid common sense information that's too often overlooked or ignored by investors. This book is a must read for young investors and it's a great refresher course for all investors. Give a copy of this book to your kids and grandkids, and don't forget to keep a copy for youself.

Why this book?

This is Jonathan Clements' best writing yet, and I've been following his financial advice since 1992. Out of all the works of respected financial authors I've read, none have proved to be as provoking or as true over the years as his. There is something about his clear-headed approach and British wit that inspires me to keep doing better. (It's one thing to know what to do; and then it's a second thing to actually do it. This book helps the reader in both.) The bottom-line is that reading this book helped me firmly acknowledge my true priorities (financial and otherwise) and inspired me to sally forth with the gumption to stick to them. The book also clears up the thorny financial questions a typical investor has. I am giving copies of this book as gifts to people I care about, and I recommend it to everyone who wants to get ahead financially and otherwise. And after you read this book, you'll see clearly what the "and otherwise" means in relation to your finances.

Wonderful book, painful to read ...

In a sense, Jonathan Clements's new book was painful to read. Clements was the long-time personal finance columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and he has a real knack for explaining investment stuff. He wrote nearly 1,000 columns for the Journal and he's forgotten more about personal finance than many brokers ever knew. Mainstreet Money, 21 Simple Truths that Help Real People Make Real Money is an excellent book. I recommend it highly to anyone who needs a basic finance guide, or those who want a refresher course. In Clements's usual style, it's easy to read, understandable, and helpful. I'll add this to our website's recommended reading list. Clements once famously noted that there are only seven real stories in personal finance, and he cites them in his introduction. I won't list them all here, but one is "simplicity is a great financial virtue." I agree with his other six, too, but as a practicing advisor, this one stands out as genuine wisdom. There are few absolutes in economics or finance, but that comes pretty close! It tracks that his 21 Simple Truths follow this theme. He tackles everything from portfolio construction to the merits of saving. Each chapter illuminates a different topic, and offers explanations, ideas, and suggestions. All in that comfortable and engaging style he's known for. I especially like his tenth chapter, where he offers ten reasons why it's so tough to beat the market. This is heresy in many hallowed halls of Wall Street, but he does a nice job of explaining why so many smart people abandoned that game. "The harder you try to beat the market, the more likely you are to fail, thanks to the investment costs involved." Why, then, was my reading painful? Another simple truth is that every thinking adult should already know much of this stuff. Seriously, folks, this isn't nuclear physics and these truths aren't obscure. These are the pots and pans of personal finance and every home should already have a basic collection. It just hurts to acknowledge (again) that - as a people - we're rich in things, but poor in basic money knowledge. People should already know the merits of diversification. They should already know that every investment (every single one) has risks. They should know that tax deferral is smart and that today's retirement can last many decades. If they don't, then this little book makes those powerful and productive points. And, in many ways, Clements makes them and others better than anyone else could. He has a gift. I like Jon Clements and I recommend his book highly. I just wish that it wasn't necessary.