Time to invest in your future

As tax deadlines loom, we all start thinking about finances and the

investments we could have or should have made.

What better time to start planning a new and improved investment

strategy? The business books at the Newport Beach Public Library

cover all types of investing -- from the stock market to real estate;

trading as well as domestic.

Start them young! Joline Godfrey’s “Raising Financially Fit Kids”

aims to help parents give their youngsters the background to become

financially savvy adults. She identifies 10 specific skills including

saving, keeping track of money, spending wisely and investing.

Godfrey promotes philanthropy and discusses the merits of instilling

independence and responsibility.

The collection includes two new titles from classic investing

experts. “What Do I Do With My Money Now?: Answers For Any Market

From Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, and Other Investors You Can Trust”

is an anthology of investment writings published over the last 200

years. The book is edited by Clint Willis, a well-known financial

writer for Money magazine. Each of the 16 chapters is by a different

individual and covers topics such as mutual funds, stocks, asset

allocation and more.

Burton G. Malkiel, author of “A Random Walk Down Wall Street,” has

a new book on the basics of investing, “The Random Walk Guide to

Investing.” It offers 10 “simple, time-tested” rules for the investor

to follow. He even includes a life-cycle investment guide to cover

the differing strategies to be used at various ages.

For another take on investing, take a look at Richard A. Geist’s

“Investor Therapy: A Psychologist and Investing Guru Tells You How To

Out-Psych Wall Street.” Geist, a psychiatrist and professor at

Harvard Medical School, argues that it’s more important that

investors understand their own emotions than have information about

the market. He feels that emotions allow people to make informed

decisions based on experience.

B. Mark Smith discusses how global stock markets have become a

very powerful but misunderstood economic force in the world today in

“The Equity Culture: The Story of the Global Stock Market.” A former

stockbroker, Smith traces the history of the market. He shows how

global investors are changing the way the world does business by

pressuring foreign businesses to behave more like American

enterprises.

Perhaps real estate is more your choice when investing. If so,

Robert Shemin, a nationally known real estate expert featured in such

publications as BusinessWeek, has two new titles in the collection.

“Secrets of Buying and Selling Real Estate...Without Using Your Own

Money!” is a guide to real estate financing, both traditional and

creative, that walks the reader through the financial process

step-by-step. Shemin also wrote “Successful Real Estate Investing:

How to Avoid the 75 Most Costly Mistakes Every Investor Makes.” This

one is geared to the novice investor, and each chapter covers a

particular mistake and how to avoid it.

John A. Rubino takes a different tack with his “How to Profit from

the Coming Real Estate Bust.” He argues that the housing bubble will

soon pop and asks the reader to look at the history of real estate

ups and downs in the last century. Rubino advises on, “doing the

opposite of what worked in the 1990s.” He recommends converting

riskier investments into those that are safer, such as money markets,

bank CDs and treasury notes.

So, whether you’re looking for business basics or the latest

market research to plan your financial future, make the library a

regular stop. It could be your best investment yet.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Susie Lamb. All titles may be

reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at

https://www.newportbeach

library.org. For more information on the Central Library or any of

the branch locations, please contact the Newport Beach Public Library

at (949) 717-3800, option 2.