My eBooks/Paperbacks - (available via Amazon)
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‘DIY Introduction...’ - this is my first book published in February 2012. It is a basic introduction to personal finance and covers issues of debt, savings, pensions and investments. In the final chapter I have provided a couple of practical example of using a combination of investment trusts and low cost index funds/ETFs. The book was updated with the new title in Feb 2017 to reflect the significant changes to pensions and ISAs as well as to reflect developments to my investing strategy.
(ebook £1.99 - free loan via Amazon Prime & Kindle Unlimited. Paperback version £4.50)
DIY Introduction...
‘DIY Pensions’ - this was originally published in January 2013 and is a guide to anyone who is thinking of managing their own pension affairs via a low cost diy sipp. It attempts to cover the differing approaches to building a pension pot, looks at the option of income drawdown and how to manage a flexi-access drawdown portfolio. I also include a chapter looking at the flat-rate state pension introduced in 2016.The book was last updated in 2019.
(ebook £4.50 - free loan via Amazon Prime & Kindle Unlimited.
Paperback version £6.95)
Customer Reviews "I have found this book very useful. I have had a SIPP for years but it had an unwieldy thing with scores of different funds being invested in. There was no real rationale behind it all. This book has helped me rethink my whole strategy and really think about costs and breakdowns". Rob (June 2019)
D-I-Y Pensions
'DIY Income' - this was first published in May 2014 and looks at the various ways to generate income from shares, investment trusts, ETFs and bonds. It expands upon the final chapter of 'DIY Introduction...' and is aimed at those who are struggling with the low returns from cash savings and wanting to explore the options of securing a higher return on savings or pension lump sum.Customer Reviews "An excellent read, well presented information and if you are like me self employed a great guide to building a pot for the future" Ian(Sept 2014).
"Very good read, there really is plenty of practical advice, and the author does share his own investment strategy. I thought there were some useful links at the the end too".Froxfield (Feb 2017)
(ebook £3.75 - free loan via Amazon Prime/Kindle Unlimited. Paperback version £6.50)
DIY Income
'DIY Simple Investing' - this is my fourth book published in June 2015 and is a guide to help anyone and everyone to better understand the investing process. Most ordinary people lead busy enough lives without having to think about stocks and shares, pensions and ISAs. Maybe all they really want or need is a simple, low cost solution which makes sense and which they can implement with a minimum of fuss. The book therefore suggests a very low cost, simple all-in-one strategy for developing a no frills investing option using multi-asset index funds.
Customer Review "Excellent book. I am a beginner at investing and found this book really helpful. The basics explained very well and free of jargon". Lee (June 2015)
"The author made it simple to understand a topic that I have been interested in but shied away from tackling for a while. This short, well-written book has helped me with making my first step to becoming smarter with my savings". Rene (June 2016)
(ebook £3.95 - free loan via Amazon Prime & Kindle Unlimited. Paperback version £6.50)
DIY Simple Investing
'Climate Emergency' is my latest book published in January 2020. Climate change is an existential threat to our way of life and I wanted to help ordinary people get a better understanding of the issues. What's causing the global warming and what can we do about it?(ebook £2.95 - free via Amazon Prime. Paperback £4.95)
Climate Emergency
Other Recommended Books & Video
'Smarter Investing' by Tim HaleProbably a 'must read' book for anyone thinking about investing for the first time. Thinking about active investing? Forget it...the book comes down strongly in favour of a diversified, low cost index approach supported by well-researched empirical evidence that is difficult to refute. Whether just starting out or a seasoned investor, this book has a great deal to offer. (paperback £19.99 on Amazon, Kindle price £17.99)
Smarter Investing
'The Intelligent Investor' by Benjamin GrahamA timeless classic. The definitive text on value investing. Warren Buffett regards this as 'the best book about investing ever written.'
"We have seen much more money made and kept by 'ordinary people' who were temperamentally well suited for the investment process than by those who lacked this quality, even though they had an extensive knowledge of finance, accounting, and stock market lore".
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"With every new wave of optimism or pessimism, we are ready to abandon history and time-tested principles, but we cling tenaciously and unquestioningly to our prejudices".(paperback £10.49 on Amazon)
The Intelligent Investor
"The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" by Jack Bogle (founder of Vanguard). The title really says it all...a short read but packed with lots of thought-provoking ideas which will serve both beginner and seasoned investors well. Bogle shares his own time-tested philosophies, lessons and anecdotes to explain why outperforming the market is an investor illusion, and how the simplest of investing strategies - indexing - can deliver the greatest return to the greatest number of investors...."while such an index-driven strategy may not be the best investment strategy ever devised, the number of strategies that are worse is infinite".
(new edition)
Common Sense Investing
‘the long and the short of it’ by John Kay - sub titled ‘a guide to finance and investments for normally intelligent people who aren't in the industry’
An all too rare book on investing from a UK perspective. I enjoyed this very much but got a little lost in the middle section discussing known knowns and known unknowns. Written in 2008, it is a tad dated but nonetheless an excellent investment guide which I think will be useful to the beginner as much as the seasoned investor. Kay's broad theme is that you should put little trust in the financial services industry (amen to that!). The book explains how to put your finances in the only hands you can confidently trust - your own! (paperback £9.99 on Amazon - Kindle edition £5.03)
the long and the short of it
The book assumes no prior knowledge and is therefore a good basic introduction to the world of diy investing and will help the aspiring novice investor as well as covering many more complex matters which will be of benefit the more experienced DIYer with such aspects as investing strategy and avoiding expensive investing mistakes. The book explains how investing can be simple to manage as well as low cost and tax efficient. (paperback £13.59 on Amazon - Kindle edition £10.20)
The DIY Investor
The Investing Demystified video series is based on the premise that most investor can’t beat the market (or pick investment funds to do so for them). Those investors should only buy world equity index trackers for their equity exposure, and can easily implement the simple and cheap portfolio tailored to their risk profile. They will most likely be far better off in the long run as a result!
