You Have More Than You Think: The Motley Fool Guide to Investing What You Have

A Fool and his money are soon parted, eh?? Don't say that to David and Tom Gardner or the millions who've visited the world's most popular online financial site, which the Gardners created with the unlikely name "The Motley Fool." Fresh from inking their first financial bestseller, The Motley Fool Investment Guide, the brothers are back with another literate, easy-to-understand, and wickedly funny practical guide to taking control of your own money and multiplying it in the decades ahead.

Centuries ago, the Fool was the royal court's colorful and humorous advisor the only fellow who could speak the plain truth without having his head sliced off. Through their books and their online sites, the Gardners are performing the very same service for our modern-day financial world. You, the reader, are the king or queen, and the Gardners are at your side to counsel, steering you away from Wall Street's many Wise men (out to grab your cash), and directing you to clearheaded and successful do-it-yourself approaches to saving and investing.

And it wouldn't be a Motley Fool book if it weren't a quick and easy read, brimming with humor from start to finish.

Where their first book taught readers how to beat the market, You Have More Than You Think is for all the rest of us who are still a hop, step, and a jump from even contemplating buying stocks! So saying, in You Have More Than You Think their self-described "prequel" the Gardners meet you directly where you are.

Are you like most people with little in savings or unable to get a firm grip on your finances, much less master how to invest for a sound future? This book contains all the answers you'll need. It will help you conquer your debt and show you where and how to find the best investments ("Try looking in the fridge, for starters"), what to do with your IRA and 401(k), why there's only one mutual fund worth thinking about, and much more.

In an era of rampant credit card debt, under-performing money managers, and no education about money in our schools, You Have More Than You Think is the book you can use to fill the void. The Gardners teach you how to get started investing "Foolishly" with your very next dollar. And the sooner the better, as one of your greatest allies is Time and the long-term compounded returns it enables. In fact, the Gardners assert that Time is just one of those many things of which you have more than you think. Their message is that you have time and a brain and a vested interest, making YOU by far the best person to make your own financial decisions. This book guides you to making the right ones, while aiming to have you spend no more than a few hours a month thinking about your savings.

In the few years since its debut on the Internet (www.fool.com) and America Online (keyword FOOL) The Motley Fool's hands-on, common sense approach to investing has improved the lives of thousands of Americans of all stripes. The Gardners aim to instruct the novice and amuse the sophisticate, making You Have More Than You Think a wonderfully accessible book appropriate for almost everyone.

You Have More Than You Think is destined to join The Motley Fool Investment Guide as an investment classic.

My advice: Don't be a Fool, buy the book, skip the arrogance, and go straight to the financial advice.

The weakness of the book is a bias towards encouraging you to be out of debt and into common stocks, based on formulas and your professional knowledge. If the financial markets were at an average or below average price level, that would be all right. But the financial markets are at an all-time high, so future returns should be below par.

There is a historical ratio between household wealth in stocks and housing that favors buying housing right now rather than stocks. Few will be able to buy a home without a mortgage.

The most frequent path to major wealth in this country has been to found one's own business. Few can do this without incurring reasonable debt to finance receivables and other needed investments. The Gardners don't really address this investment opportunity.

The formula the Gardners propose for buying high yield stocks in the Dow has had to be revised every few years to be a good way to invest. This formula probably won't work well in the future either, because too many people follow the formula. Markets are bested by only a small percentage of all investors over time, and this rule is no exception going forward.

The advice about avoiding credit card debt, saving wherever you can, and so forth is quite good. You'd find it in any decent investment book.

If you decide you want to go into the stock market, I suggest you also read John Bogle's book, Common Sense About Mutual Funds, to round out the perspective that the Gardners provide here before buying stocks. Be sure to consider first how much you want to do with housing and starting your own business. Good luck with your investing.