Common Sense Investing is a book on investing for beginners by Rick Van Ness. It describes ten simple rules to finance your dreams. It is for investors getting started and learning the basic concepts of how to choose funds and control investment risk. This is a basic book but critically important because common mistakes cause people to retire with tens of thousands of dollars in less wealth. It mirrors the course videos on this site and the comprehensive article Smart Investing For Beginners.
Overvew: Common Sense Investing: Ten Simple Rules to Finance Your Dreams
Learn basic financial concepts to make it more likely that you’ll achieve common life goals such as owning a home, providing for yourself or your family, taking fun vacations, and retiring in comfort—all free from financial stress.
- Book by Rick Van Ness
- Rating: 4.5 (out of 5.0) from 31 reviews (as of August 2019)
- 108-page book (17,000 words, 52 pictures)
- Buy it at Amazon
Extended Description: Common Sense Investing
Learn how to invest money for both short- and long-term goals, and how to avoid common mistakes. You will learn the ten rules to successful investing, including how to:
- Write a personal investment plan
- Diversify your investments
- Recognize a good mutual fund
- Be a tax-savvy investor
Learn the basics that everyone needs to know about investment products like stock, bonds, and mutual funds, and the containers that hold those products, like IRAs, 401(k), Roth IRA, and taxable accounts.
Link to the book reviews at Amazon.com.
Wisdom from John Bogle, Warren Buffett, and industry experts
Learn why Warren Buffett, John C. Bogle, and most professional investors recommend that 99% of investors should use low-cost mutual funds called index funds. Learn what they are, what this means, and why they win.
John C. Bogle, founder and former chairman of The Vanguard Group, is hailed by many as the champion of common sense investing. His followers endearingly call themselves “Bogleheads” in perhaps the most popular personal investment forum and wiki site at bogleheads.org.
“Common Sense Investing captures the core elements of the Bogleheads investment philosophy in terms any investor can easily understand and implement. Read it and reap!” writes Forbes columnist, Mel Lindauer—also one of the original Boglehead founders.
Many of the tips include examples of how people put the important concepts into practice. Included are numerous links to free online videos, recommended books, help forums, and other resources.
The book provides a nice complement to the free online videos. Reasons that people also buy the book include:
- Highlights key concepts at a glance
- Digest content at your own pace (charts, tables and figures)
- To view contents offline
- Support this site: “100% of the revenue from sales of this book will be applied towards promoting financial literacy through bite-sized videos, short books, and other educational projects.”
Take charge of your finances, ignore Wall Street chatter, and get on with your life. By understanding and following some simple rules, you can make some of your dreams come true.
Author Rick Van Ness is a successful private investor who provides investor education through online videos, short books, and workshops. He has both an engineering degree from Cornell University and a MBA in Finance from New York University.
Look Inside the Paperback: Common Sense Investing
Click to see: Table of Contents, Rear cover, Sample Chapter, Sample Appendix
Available reading formats:
Link to book at Amazon for paperback and Kindle format.
Link to Barnes and Nobel for paperback copies.
But, don’t take my word for it! Consider what these professional money managers said:
Praise from professional money managers:
“Hide this book in a safe place because grossly overpaid investment advisors are burning every copy they can find.”
—Rick Ferri, CFA, President, Portfolio Solutions LLC
Author: All About Asset Allocation,
All About Index Funds, and others.
“If you follow his rules you are virtually guaranteed to outperform the majority of investors, both individual and professionals alike.”
—Larry Swedroe, Principal and Director of Research
Buckingham Family of Financial Services
Author of eleven books on investing.
“Complete, and rock-solid on the fundamentals.”
—Chris Smith, Author of Securing Your Financial Future
“A masterful financial guide for beginning investors and old hands alike”
—Bill Schultheis, Financial Adviser
Soundmark Wealth Management, LLC
Author: The New Coffeehouse Investor
Praise from academics about Common Sense Investing:
“Here are 10 simple, easy to follow, and proven investing rules. Investing an hour reading this short book will make you a better investor.”
—Burton G. Malkiel
Princeton University, Professor of Economics
Author: A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Praise from authors about investing:
“Common Sense Investing captures the core elements of the BogleheadsSM investment philosophy in terms any investor can easily understand and implement. Read it and reap!”
—Mel Lindauer, Forbes columnist
Co-author: The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing
and The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning
“Rick makes it super-simple to understand personal finance, regardless of your skill level. This book, along with his creative and straight-forward streaming videos, will get you and your money heading in the right direction.”
—Jeff Lehman
Author: The Frugal Millionaires
and First Job~First Paycheck
Comparison to The Little Book of Common Sense Investing:
One of my favorite books on investing in mutual funds is The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C. Bogle. I most highly recommend this book! The content of my book is entirely different, but inspired by John. The best books on mutual funds are written by John Bogle.
Over his career, Bogle has expounded much wisdom about how to invest with a specific message aimed at ordinary investors. Many of his most ardent followers at Bogleheads.org attempted to reduce his guidance down to ten simple rules. It is the goal of my book to explain these. The similar title is merely a nod recognizing and admiring Bogle’s genius.
