THE WANNABE INVESTOR

Sabath offers a personal finance guide for those considering investments for the first time.

The author, a small-business owner and successful personal investor, presents “an easy-to-understand guide to the basics of investing for you,” featuring 40 facts that one must know before diving in, explained in layperson’s terms. These include such basics as “Financial literacy is crucial for achieving economic stability and building wealth,” “Stock is an ownership stake in a company,” and “You’re never too old to start investing in the stock market,” among many others. Each short, easily digestible chapter starts with a relevant quote from an investment expert, businessperson, or other famous figure, and goes about explaining the fact at hand by providing context and clarifying its importance in the overall investment process. Each chapter closes with a pithy quote called an “Allanism”—advice from her own very successful “investing guru,” identified only as Allan—which reinforces the central idea in colloquial, common-sense terms: “Buy only what you understand”; “Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither will be your success in the market.” She also helpfully and authoritatively underlines certain points, especially with regard to time (or, as Sabath puts it in “Must-Know Fact 37,” “If I’ve given you one takeaway from this book, I hope it is this: Invest for the long term!”). For neophyte or casual investors, Sabath’s book could well become a primer for how to get started while minimizing risk; the information is presented in a clear, sensible order, and the prose is personable and friendly, often illuminating certain principles with accounts from her own personal experience, whether it’s good or bad. The author also includes copious references and suggested readings several paths for those interested in pursuing particular ideas further.

A cogent, warmly written guide to beginning investing.