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Posted by John L on January 13, 2008, 8:48 pm
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>This will be my first year trying to make financial decision and
>understand/file taxes by myself (hubby died recently) and I've got
>some question that I'm hoping you can help me with.
I agree that the near future for the market looks iffy, but more
importantly I concur with the advice not to make any quick moves. As
a new widow, you're in a new financial situation and I think you'll be
better off and feel better about your situation if you figure out what
that situation is first, then think about what financial changes to
make to reflect it.
I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of nearby financial advisors
since way too many alleged advisors are actually thinly disguised
salesmen whose recommendations somehow always tend to be things that
pay them commissions. (I live next door to a stock broker, and
although he's a nice enough guy, I wouldn't dream of letting him get
his hands on my money.)
Here are some books that I've found useful to figure out my financial
situation, all of which should be available in a nearby library, or
you can buy inexpensively online:
Eric Tyson, "Personal Finance for Dummies". Don't be put off by the
title, he's a good writer and knows what he's talking about.
Andew Tobias, "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need." This
modestly named book mostly tells you about all the dumb things you
can avoid by not doing them.
Burton Malkiel, "A Random Walk down Wall Street." Slightly more
technical, but well written by a Princeton professor. This is the
book that told us all to stop chasing trendy investments and in the
long run index funds do at least as well.
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