The Ultimate Safe Money Guide: How Everyone 50 and Over Can Protect, Save, and Grow Their Money

One of the goals stated on Martin Weiss’s Web site is “to be the No. 1 authority on conservative money investment strategies,” and his book The Ultimate Safe Money Guide certainly reflects that intention. Aiming at those 50 and over, Weiss offers advice on everything from real estate and insurance to annuities and tax-exempt bonds. What makes The Ultimate Safe Money Guide especially timely (this book was written before the Enron disaster made headlines) is the contempt in which he holds both Wall Street and corporate America. According to Weiss, “hype and distortion” is the norm, both in the brokerage/analyst community and in how American business discloses its financial results. He writes that “stock ratings are bought by the companies,” and that based on significant discrepancies between the earnings and cash flow of 6,000 companies his firm has analyzed, 31 percent may be guilty of manipulating their earnings reports. And while Weiss does not eschew stock market investing altogether (his firm sells stock advice), he believes most investors, especially those over 50, need to seriously rethink their risk tolerance for stocks.The Ultimate Safe Money Guide goes against the grain of most investment advice on the market today, but if retirement is on your horizon, Weiss’s advice is worth considering. --Harry C. Edwards