I want to invest, where do I start?

Books are an excellent resource for making important financial decisions. Here are a few of our must-reads, providing essential investment information for all kinds of investors.

Boot Your Broker--A Do-It-Yourself Kit for Online Investing
By LauraMaery Gold & Dan Post
Que Corporation
1997
ISBN: 0-7897-1231-8
Start here! This book does an excellent job of explaining how to start out online--it's got excellent basic information for those who aren't online at all, and there are even bits of information that are helpful to those of us who are online already. The authors also provide information for people who need to make financial plans, basic information on terms and strategies, and excellent help on using the Web to learn and to invest.

The Intelligent Investor--A Book of Practical Counsel
By Benjamin Graham & Warren E. Buffett
HarperCollins
1997
ISBN: 0060155477
Some call this the best book on investment ever written. Graham was the pioneer in discovering the logical rules that any investor can use in order to attain safe, sustainable, market-beating results. The content might be dense in some areas, but by the end you will understand the numbers that set a good stock apart.

Mutual Funds on the Net--Making Money Online
By Paul B. Farrell, J.D., Ph.D
John Wiley & Sons
1997
ISBN: 0-471-17486-6
This book assumes that you're already on the Internet, as it spends no time telling you how to get there. It also assumes you have a bit of investing knowledge as it doesn't cover some investment basic terms. It does include a decent financial planning section, and as it title suggests, devotes most of the book to learning about and investing in mutual funds on the Internet.

The Savvy Investor's Internet Resource
By Bryan Pfaffenberger and Claire Mencke
IDG Books
1996
ISBN: 0-7645-3010-0
This complete guide to investing on the Internet covers some of the same investing online information as Boot Your Broker, but it also covers more on personal financial management on subjects like paying bills online and finding personal finance resources. It's a good complement to Boot Your Broker.

The Warren Buffet Way--Investment Strategies of the World's Greatest Investor
By Robert G. Hagstrom, Jr.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
1994
ISBN: 0-471-04460-1
This isn't so much a primer on investing for us novices or for beginners as it is a book detailing the fascinating investing strategies of Warren Buffet. It's worth reading, but more as a complement than as a necessity. Aspiring millionaires should definitely add it to their bookshelves.

The Worth Guide to Electronic Investing--Everything You Need to Know to Use Your Home Computer to Make More Money in the Stock Market
By Jim Jubak
Harper Business
1996
ISBN: 0-88730-769-8
Try this one after you've learned the basics and are comfortable surfing around the financial world of the Internet, as it covers investing in a much more strategic way, discussing how you decide to choose investments, analyzing stocks, how to stay on top of your investments, etc. It also covers subjects like the difference between index and mutual funds in a bit more depth. It can be heavy going for someone who's looking to get up to speed quickly, but worth adding to your finance bookshelf.

25 Myths You've Got to Avoid If You Want to Manage Your Money Right--The New Rules for Financial Success
By Jonathan Clements
Simon & Schuster
1998
ISBN: 0-684-83982-2
If you were asked what "truisms" you've heard about investing, what would you say? That "if you need income, buy bonds," "get a good job and you'll be set for life," or "debt is dangerous"? Well, this interesting book takes 25 myths about investing and money management and tears them apart. What are these 25? Read the book to see--and read why these myths should be dispelled. It might not be a book that's critical to add to your library, but it's a good read and filled with pretty good advice like putting emergency reserves into cash investments.

Check out the resources in the Intelligent Investor

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