961 The Barefoot Investor

This is the claim made by intrepid financial advisor Scott Pape about his book The Barefoot Investor ... "The Only Money Guide You’ll Ever Need". Can it be true? Possibly. It is the most annoying book I’ve ever read (from a stylistic point of view; Pape waffles and carries on with an extreme application of verbosity) … but the best financial book (as regards the content). The hardest bit was to separate the fluff from the really good advice, as I speed-read the book; as a result I edited my essay MONEY where I condensed the book into three points:

It’s true: His advice is simple, effective and cheap.

Other than, don’t listen to investment advisors ...

1) Do not use credit cards; use fee-free bank

accounts; don’t pay fees to banks or advisors.

2) Buy a house to live & retire in you can afford.

3) Invest in stocks & add to your super, i.e. save.

I really, really like the essay RUSSEL from my book en.light.en.ment ... of course a book on finances is not philosophy, but as regards writing styles, the essay is my guide. If you want to relate it to the Barefoot Investor, in the 2nd and 3rd sentences, replace 'philosophy' with 'financial advice' and 'philosopher' with 'financial advisor' ...

Russell strove to rid philosophy of meaningless assertions;

he sought precision in argument by the use of exact language.

Russell saw logic and science as the tools of philosophy;

he believed one task of the philosopher is to remove confusion.

... then it reads:

Russell strove to rid financial advice of meaningless assertions;

he sought precision in argument by the use of exact language. 

Russell saw logic and science as the tools of financial advice; 

he believed one task of the financial advisor is to remove confusion.