Hello all,
I also wanted to add my thumbs-up to the pile for Mr. Collins' book, and this despite having read through his 'Stock Series' several times plus most of the other entries on his blog. I purchased the book partially to support Jim and send him some monetary thanks for all of the good advice on his site, and also to have all of that information physically at hand. It takes me a lot of repetition to really get some of the finer financial details to stick in my brain, and I think we can all also agree that it helps to re-read the overarching concepts, particularly when dealing with a potentially emotional subject like money coupled with the occasionally gut-wrenching ups and downs of the market. So, for me it's been worth it alone just to have this guide right at hand to re-read and be reminded of why it's good to keep things simple and stay the course.
As an additional bonus, though, I find the text of the book much more readable than that on Jim's blog, perhaps simply because I'm looking at a page and not a screen. Of course, he's also reworded and rewritten where necessary to put all of the information into book form which helps as well. Above all of that, the chapters are all nicely laid out in a suitable arc so that concepts are introduced at an appropriate time. I also really liked that even after digging into the finer nuts and bolts of different retirement accounts and case studies that he then pulls back out and discusses general concepts again. It's a really pleasant way to take in all of the information.
Lastly, I now have a book in hand that I can pass on to someone else. My wife is now much more likely to really dig into all of the chapters/articles, and afterward we can give our copy to a friend, or perhaps better yet just donate it or leave it in a book exchange. As some extra thanks to Jim for a fine piece of work, I'll be contacting him to see if there's an address to which I might send a good single malt whisky.
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As an aside, this is my first post here in the forum after having read and followed all of your posts for at least a couple of years, so I'm pleased to finally join and post some questions (and perhaps even some useful responses) of my own! In a world full of noise, this forum is one of the best financial, if not lifestyle, resources out there. Cheers, everyone.