{"product_id":"rule-1-isbn-9780307336842","title":"Rule #1","description":"\u003cb\u003e#1 \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER • “The clearest and best book out there to get you on the path to riches. This one’s special!”—Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s \u003ci\u003eMad Money\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Great tools for anyone wanting to dabble in the stock market.”—\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ePhil Town is a very wealthy man, but he wasn’t always. In fact, he was living on a salary of $4,000 a year when some well-timed advice launched him down a highway of investing self-education that revealed what the true “rules” are and how to make them work in one’s favor. Chief among them, of course, is Rule #1: “Don’t lose money.” \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn this updated edition to the #1 national bestseller, you’ll learn more of Phil’s fresh, think-outside-the-box rules, including:\u003cbr\u003e• Don’t diversify \u003cbr\u003e• Only buy a stock when it’s on sale \u003cbr\u003e• \u003ci\u003eThink\u003c\/i\u003e long term—but act short term to maximize your return \u003cbr\u003e• And most of all, beat the big investors at their own game \u003ci\u003eby using the tools designed for them\u003c\/i\u003e! \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAs Phil demonstrates in these pages, giant mutual funds can’t help but regress to the mean—and as we’ve all learned in recent years, that mean could be very disappointing indeed. Fortunately, \u003ci\u003eRule #1\u003c\/i\u003e takes readers step-by-step through a do-it-yourself process, equipping even the biggest investing-phobes with the tools they need to make quantum leaps toward financial security—regardless of where the market is headed.“Town's investment guide is manna from heaven… \u003cb\u003eengaging and accessibl\u003c\/b\u003ee… Town’s ability to break down that philosophy into a detailed, step-by-step program that can be understood by any reader with basic math skills is unique… \u003cb\u003ewill leave readers feeling empowered and ready to manage their money themselves\u003c\/b\u003e.”\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003eExtraordinarily readable…provides investors with surefire tools to outperform costly advisors.\u003c\/b\u003e Follow Town’s simple, time-tested precepts, and even unsophisticated investors will leave most mutual fund managers in the dust.” —Arthur Levitt, author of \u003ci\u003eTake on the Street\u003c\/i\u003e and former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A really smart, homework-driven read that tells you precisely how to do it. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRule #1\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003emay be the clearest and best book out there to get you on the path to riches.\u003c\/b\u003e  This one’s special!” —James J. Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money” and Markets Commentator, thestreet.com\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“\u003ci\u003eRule #1\u003c\/i\u003e is an investment Bible for our time\u003c\/b\u003e. In fun, easy-to-understand words, Phil Town tells you how to buy quality stocks at a discount.” —Rich Karlgaard, publisher, \u003ci\u003eForbes\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, and author of \u003ci\u003eLIFE 2.0\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“For the individual investor, Rule No. 1 should be, ‘Read \u003ci\u003eRule #1\u003c\/i\u003e.’\u003c\/b\u003e This book debunks a lot of myths in the market and provides pearls of common-sense wisdom…Indeed, \u003ci\u003eRule #1\u003c\/i\u003e rules.” —Gene Marcial, Senior Writer, \u003ci\u003eBusiness Week\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRule #1\u003c\/i\u003e’s common-sense, pragmatic approach is money in the bank.\u003c\/b\u003e  This step-by-step guide is methodically researched and terrifically accessible … Can you really beat the mutual fund mangers and so-called experts at their own game?  \u003ci\u003eHell yes!\u003c\/i\u003e” —Jonathan Hoenig, Portfolio Manager, Capitalistpig Hedge Fund, and regular contributor to Fox News Channel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“\u003ci\u003eRule #1\u003c\/i\u003e is probably one of the most inclusive, no nonsense, fundamental books about investing in the stock market I’ve ever read.\u003c\/b\u003e  This book is a must-read for \u003ci\u003eeveryone\u003c\/i\u003e; from beginner students of the market to super know-it-alls.” —Danielle Hughes, President and CEO, Divine Capital Markets LLC\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003eA refreshing departure from those boring investing books\u003c\/b\u003e… If you're tired of being shut out of how exactly the rich guys on Wall Street make money, this important book will teach you how to run with the bulls. \u003cb\u003eIt's priceless\u003c\/b\u003e.” —Elizabeth MacDonald, Senior Editor at \u003ci\u003eForbes\u003c\/i\u003e Magazine; regular, “Forbes on Fox”An ex-Green Beret and former river guide,  Phil Town is a self-made millionaire several times over and America’s most widely  sought-after speaker on investing. Phil  Town appears regularly on the same dais as Rudy Giuliani, Jimmy Carter, and Colin  Powell as part of the “Get Motivated” touring success seminar. He speaks to more  than 500,000 people annually about Rule #1. Town lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.\u003cb\u003eChapter 1: The Myths of Investing\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e An expert is a person who avoids small error as he sweeps on to the grand fallacy.\u003c\/i\u003e —Benjamin Stolberg (1891–1951)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The gold standard of low-risk investing is a ten-year  United States Treasury bond, which, at the time of this writing, has a return of  about 4 percent. Invest in nothing but these bonds and you’re guaranteed a 4-percent  haul. The only problem with such a strategy, especially for the millions of soon-to-be-retired  baby boomers, is that, at 4 percent, it takes 18 years to double your money. In addition,  after 18 years, even with a low inflation rate of 2 to 3 percent, most of the gain  is absorbed by higher prices, leaving you with only slightly more buying power than  you had 18 years earlier. Despite this reality, investors buy billions of dollars  of these 4-percent bonds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Why in the world would anyone want to own a bond that  barely keeps pace with inflation and realizes almost no real gain in wealth? Because  almost everyone is convinced that a higher rate of return necessarily means a lot  more risk. And they’re more afraid of losing money in an attempt to get a higher  return than of their inability to retire comfortably.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The fact is, a higher rate  of return is not necessarily contingent on incurring significantly more risk. Let  me explain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eHIGH RETURNS DON’T NECESSARILY MEAN MORE RISK\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eDuring a talk at the  America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, I asked the audience, “How many of you drove  your cars here today?” Most people raised their hands. “Okay, almost everybody. And  how many of you took a huge risk driving here?” A few hands went back up. “You guys  took a \u003ci\u003ehuge \u003c\/i\u003erisk driving here?” I asked incredulously. “Either you drivers didn’t  really take a risk and are just clowning around, or at last we’ve found the problem  with Phoenix traffic—you people with your hands up don’t know how to drive. Is that  it?” Everybody laughed. “Okay, so it wasn’t so terrifying to drive down here. But  now imagine that you’re coming here but instead of \u003ci\u003eyou \u003c\/i\u003edoing the driving, it’s your  eleven-year-old nephew behind the wheel. Are you taking a lot of risk now?” People  laughed and nodded yes. “The trip was the same—going from Ato B. But when you put  someone in the driver’s seat who doesn’t know how to drive, a relatively safe trip  becomes an incredibly risky trip.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Exactly the same thing holds true for your journey  to financial freedom. If you don’t know what you’re doing, your journey is going  to be either very slow or very dangerous. That’s why most people think that going  fast (going after a high rate of return) is dangerous—because they don’t know how  to drive the financial car, and not because going fast is \u003ci\u003enecessarily \u003c\/i\u003edangerous.  It’s only dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. And the essence of Rule  #1 is knowing what you’re doing—investing with certainty so you \u003ci\u003edon’t lose money!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eNow, you’re probably wondering, “What about mutual funds? What about all those techniques  we learn to minimize risk and maximize returns?” Well, folks, I hate to be the bearer  of bad news, but here’s the truth: Being a mutual fund investor is a whole lot riskier  than being a Rule #1 investor. Investing in a mutual fund is, in many ways, like  handing your car keys to that 11-year-old nephew.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eTHE MUTUAL FUND SCAM\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eIf you  own mutual funds that are attempting to beat the market, and you’re hoping your fund  manager can give you a nice retirement, you’re highly likely to be the victim of  a huge scam. You’re not alone—100 million investors are right there with you. \u003ci\u003eFortune \u003c\/i\u003emagazine reports that since 1985 only 4 percent of all the fund managers beat the  S\u0026amp;P 500 index, and the few who did it did so by only a small margin. In other words,  almost no fund managers have done what they’re paid by you to do—beat the market.  That significant fact went unnoticed through the roaring 1980s and 1990s as the stock  market surged with double-digit growth, bringing your fund manager along for the  joyride. But now the ride is over, and investors are starting to notice that their  fund managers are pretty much useless. This is not a new observation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Several years  ago, Warren Buffett said this about your fund manager: “Professionals in other fields,  like dentists, bring a lot to the layman, but people get nothing for their money  from professional money managers.” The key word here is \u003ci\u003enothing. \u003c\/i\u003eAnd yet, what do  you do? You give your hard-earned money to one of these guys and hope he can deliver  those 15-percent-or-better returns, like the ones you got in the 1990s. Why? Because  you don’t want to invest your own money, and because you’ve been convinced by the  entire financial services industry that you can’t do it yourself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Come on, get real.  From 2000 to 2003, mutual funds lost half their value. You could have lost 50 percent  of your money without the help of a professional. In fact, in 1996 a monkey was hired  to compete with the best fund managers in New York. He beat them two years in a row.  When I told this story one day to an audience in Los Angeles, someone from the upper  deck in the Arrowhead Pond Arena yelled out, “What’s the name of the chimp?” This  is proof that some people will do anything to avoid investing their own money.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Peter  Lynch, one of the few fund managers who made above-market returns and then got out  before the market leveled him, wrote in his book \u003ci\u003eOne Up on Wall Street \u003c\/i\u003ethat the amateur  investor has “numerous built-in advantages, which, if exploited, should result in  outperforming the market and the experts.” In other words, you should be doing this  yourself. But you don’t. The reason you don’t is that the entire financial services  industry perpetuates three myths of investing to keep people investing with them  in spite of the industry’s dismal performance over any long period.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eTHE THREE MYTHS  OF INVESTING\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eMyth 1. You Have to Be an Expert to Manage Money.\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThe first myth I  want to bust is that it takes a lot of time and expertise to manage your money. It  would if investing were hard to learn or if getting the information to make a decision  took a lot of time. I’ll prove to you that it doesn’t, even though the financial  services industry wants us to believe it does. The industry stands to make billions  from commissions and fees if it can keep you thinking you can’t do it on your own.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Internet has changed everything. Now the tools that used to cost $50,000 a year  are available for less than two bucks a day and take only minutes a day to use instead  of 50 hours a week. And the Internet tools are more accurate, more timely, and easier  to apply than anything your fund manager had just a couple of years ago. All you  need is a little instruction and a brief learning period. But don’t bother to ask  your broker, financial planner\/adviser, certified public accountant (CPA), or fund  manager if you should do this on your own. You know what \u003ci\u003ethey’re \u003c\/i\u003egoing to say. Something  like, “But that’s what I do for you, so you don’t have to worry about it.” Well,  you should worry about it. Alot. It’s your money and you’re the only one who really  cares about what happens to it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Even the pros like Jim Cramer, a guy who’s in your  corner and who wants to see you invest on your own, doesn’t really know what it’s  like to be one of us. Like the rest of the top of the financial industry, Jim’s Ivy  League, incredibly smart, loves playing with stocks all day and night, lives it and  breathes it and has no sense of what it’s like to be you and me out there digging  ditches someplace and hoping we can retire. For these guys it’s a game. Aserious  game, but still a game. Jim’s a trader and loves to speculate. Following his approach,  you’ve got to put in five to ten hours a week minimum and you’re playing a very dangerous  game with money you can’t afford to lose against really rich, really smart, and really  motivated guys—guys just like Jim.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e If you think you can win at that game, be my  guest. And if you do win, my hat goes off to you. You’re a lot smarter than the rest  of us. For everybody else, me included, there has to be another way. Most of us don’ t have five hours a week for investing. Let’s face it. We’ve got kids to raise, lives  to live, and jobs that already take more time than we have. We also don’t want to  be chained to watching the stock market or to become frantic day traders. What fun  would that be? We’re just looking for something to invest in that gets really great  returns without the risk of losing money and without spending a lot of time at it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Rule #1 is investing for the rest of us.The #1 New York Times Bestseller","brand":"Crown Currency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46299910635749,"sku":"NP9780307336842","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780307336842.jpg?v=1767735957","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/rule-1-isbn-9780307336842","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}