Jonathan Clements 
The Little Book of Main Street Money 
21 Simple Truths that Help Real People Make Real Money

‘A gem from one of the most brilliant minds in personal finance.’

— Ben Stein, author, actor, TV personality, and New York Times columnist

In a financial world gone mad, you still need to manage your money, put your kids through college, and save for retirement. To the rescue comes Jonathan Clements with 21 easy-to-follow rules to help you secure your financial future. Clements has spent a quarter century demystifying Wall Street for ordinary, real people on Main Street, including more than thirteen years as the Wall Street Journal’s hugely popular personal-finance columnist.

In The Little Book of Main Street Money, Clements brings us back to basics, with commonsense suggestions for intelligent money management. Chock-full of financial guidance that will stand up in any market, the book also reflects a financial philosophy that Clements has developed over a lifetime of watching Wall Street and writing about money–and that is even more important in the current volatile market. From the big picture (home, retirement, financial happiness) to the micro (taxes, inflation, investment costs), he offers clear-cut advice for taking control of your financial life, detailing the strategies needed to thrive in today’s tough economic times.

The 21 truths outlined throughout this book are a guiding light for everyone, young and old, whether starting out or soon retiring. Each chapter reads like a Clements column–clear, pithy, and feisty. From the obvious to the counterintuitive, the truths will bolster your returns, cut your costs, and give you financial peace of mind. Collectively, the 21 truths show you how to think about your entire financial life–not just stocks and bonds, but your home, your debts, your financial promises to your children, your income-earning ability, and so much more. They will help you not only survive today’s treacherous financial terrain, but also prepare you for success tomorrow.

Renowned for his spirited writing and shrewd investment guidance, Clements is the sane voice investors need to stay grounded in the midst of so much financial insanity.

Table of Content

Foreword xv

Introduction

Let the Rebuilding Begin xxi

Chapter One Our Finances Are Bigger than a Brokerage Account 1

Chapter Two We Can’t Have It All 11

Chapter Three Money Can Buy Happiness–If We Spend It Carefully 17

Chapter Four Even the Best Investors Need to Be Great Savers 25

Chapter Five Time Is as Valuable as Money 33

Chapter Six No Investment Is Risk-Free 41

Chapter Seven Portfolio Performance: It’s All in the Mix 51

Chapter Eight Stocks Are Worth Something 59

Chapter Nine To Add Wealth, We Need to Overcome the Subtractions 67

Chapter Ten Aiming for Average Is the Only Sure Way to Win 75

Chapter Eleven Wild Investments Can Tame Our Portfolios 93

Chapter Twelve Short-Term Results Matter to Long-Term Investors 105

Chapter Thirteen A Long Life Is a Big Risk 113

Chapter Fourteen Markets May Be Rational, but We Aren’t 121

Chapter Fifteen Our Homes Are a Fine Investment that Won’t Appreciate Much 135

Chapter Sixteen Paying off Debts Could Be Our Best Bond Investment 143

Chapter Seventeen Saving Taxes Can Cost Us Dearly 151

Chapter Eighteen A Tax Deferred Is Extra Money Made 159

Chapter Nineteen Insurance Won’t Make Us Any Money–If We’re Lucky 167

Chapter Twenty Even If We Have a Will, We May Not Get Our Way 175

Chapter Twenty-One Financial Success: It’s About More than Money 181

Conclusion

Wall Street? That Isn’t So Far from Main Street 189

Acknowledgments 193

About the author

JONATHAN CLEMENTS is Director of Financial Guidance for my Fi (www.my Fi.com), a new financial service from banking giant Citicorp. Before joining my Fi, he spent eighteen years at the Wall Street Journal, where he was the newspaper’s award-winning personal finance columnist. He has appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NBC’s Today show, and Consuelo Mack Wealth Track, and is an occasional guest on public radio.