Review If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly
by WILLIAM J BERNSTEIN
Description
Author William J Bernstein discusses how a millennial professional can plan and save up for retirement. He provides simple steps to follow to achieve this kind of financial comfortability, which the millennials can enjoy in the future. He begins by saying that a millennial must know how to invest, such as allocating 15% of their paycheck to a low-cost target fund or a three-fund index allocation, which should be continued in thirty to forty years.
Bernstein discusses that millennials should have even a little bit of knowledge about finance, so as not to fall victim to the “Five Horsemen of Personal Finance Apocalypse,” as he calls it. These five horsemen that millennials must avoid are the following: failing to save, being ignorant of financial theory, being unaware of financial history, having dysfunctional psychology, and being unaware of the greed in the investment industry. This book is exactly for young adults to learn and practice financial stability through retirement.
Bernstein begins with an introduction then a discussion about a simple three-fund portfolio: the total stock market index, total international stock market index, and total bond market index. He goes on, discussing investing and what young people should be doing to create a sound investment that pays off in the future.
One of the good sides of this book is that it is intentionally short, as said by the author because it is simply an introduction to investment followed by a few simple steps. This booklet is recommended for people who are looking to learn about the basics of investing if they want to start on it. Another of the good sides is that this book can be purchased for free through the author’s website, which he highly encourages. Overall, the book is highly recommended as it provides a good introduction and insight into investing for retirement, and its main target audience is millennials or young adults. After reading this free booklet, the reader can then proceed to more extensive discussions about investing.
About the Author
WILLIAM J BERNSTEIN has a Ph.D. and M.D. and is a retired neurologist from Oregon. He is a co-principal in Efficient Frontier Advisors, a money management firm. He is the author of many books on finance and history, some of which are bestsellers. He is known for his website, Efficient Frontier, which discusses asset allocation and portfolio theory. He is also a renowned and often quoted figure in the financial media in the USA.
Table of Contents
Introduction
But you’re still screwed
How to read this booklet
Hurdle Number One:
Even if you can invest like Warren Buffet, if you can’t save, you’ll die poor.
Hurdle Number Two:
Finance isn’t rocket science, but you’d better understand it clearly
Hurdle Number Three:
(with apologies to George Santayana): Those who ignore financial history are condemned to repeat it.
Hurdle Number Four:
(with apologies to Walt Kelly, creator of the Pogo cartoon): We have met the enemy and he is us.
Hurdle Number Five:
The financial services industry wants to make you poor and stupid.
What about the nuts and bolts?