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The Little Book of Safe Money: How to Conquer Killer Markets, Con Artists, and Yourself
One of today's most influential financial commentators offers his advice on keeping your money safe in an uncertain world The Little Book of Safe Money acts as a guide for those trying to make their way through today's down markets. The topics covered include everything from investing behavior-why our minds come with their own set of biases that often prove harmful-to the use of financial advisors. But this timely book goes one step further than the rest by questioning an investor's true appetite for risk. The Little Book of Safe Money also contradicts many of the myths that whirl around Wall Street with chapters like "Why Ultra-ETFs Are Mega-Dangerous" and "Hedge-Fund Hooey." Writing in the classic Little Book style, author Jason Zweig peels away layer after layer of buzz words, emotion, and myths to reveal what's really going on in today's financial markets. If you're serious about succeeding in today's turbulent markets, then The Little Book of Safe Money is what you should be reading.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 2009
36 people are currently reading
585 people want to read
About the author
Jason Zweig
16 books162 followersJason Zweig is an investing and personal finance columnist for The Wall Street Journal.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 5, 2013
Jason Sweig is widely respected as financial writer but boy this book strikes out.
Starting out with three “commandents” it sets the condescending and patronizing tone that continues throughout the book:
1) The First Commandment:
Thou shalt take no risk that thou needst not take.
2) The Second Commandment:
Thou shalt take no risk that is not most certain to reward thee for taking it.
3) The Third Commandment:
Thou shalt put no money at risk that thou canst not afford to lose.
The book is filled with an astoundingly amount of “don’ts” and surprisingly few “do’s”.
As a new investor I would not know where to put my money as everything and everywhere is just financial Armageddon!
When Jason Zweig is not talking about financial Armageddon he sprinkles the book with behavioral economics (e.g. men a worse at investing than women, stocks with fancy tickers demand a premium) and age-old advice e.g. Graham's Mr. Market analogy and value investing. A common theme however is the lack of explaining how you deal with the shortcomings and giving hands-down practical tools for investing instead.
Between the 3 commandants starting the book and Zweig's patronizing tone I was beginning to speculate if the book was written under the auspices of the wrathful old testament God.
I still have not precisely identified Jason Sweig’s purpose with this book.
Starting out with three “commandents” it sets the condescending and patronizing tone that continues throughout the book:
1) The First Commandment:
Thou shalt take no risk that thou needst not take.
2) The Second Commandment:
Thou shalt take no risk that is not most certain to reward thee for taking it.
3) The Third Commandment:
Thou shalt put no money at risk that thou canst not afford to lose.
The book is filled with an astoundingly amount of “don’ts” and surprisingly few “do’s”.
As a new investor I would not know where to put my money as everything and everywhere is just financial Armageddon!
When Jason Zweig is not talking about financial Armageddon he sprinkles the book with behavioral economics (e.g. men a worse at investing than women, stocks with fancy tickers demand a premium) and age-old advice e.g. Graham's Mr. Market analogy and value investing. A common theme however is the lack of explaining how you deal with the shortcomings and giving hands-down practical tools for investing instead.
Between the 3 commandants starting the book and Zweig's patronizing tone I was beginning to speculate if the book was written under the auspices of the wrathful old testament God.
I still have not precisely identified Jason Sweig’s purpose with this book.
July 5, 2010
I love learning of ways to save, earn and to invest. and this book has delivered some various ways to safeguard your investments, and how to do safe trading. I enjoyed the last few chapters the most. Book was very insightfull, for example when trading to look at the whole picture of the costs and taxes involved before comminting to trades - if it'll be worth it. Loved the chapter on picking out the right financial advisor - we do our investments and trading ourselves throu discount online trading companies but I have interviewed few before I decided to do in on my own. The questionaire provided would have been wonderful.
Great book with valid advise for todays investor. Looking forward to reading more of Zweigs books.
Great book with valid advise for todays investor. Looking forward to reading more of Zweigs books.
December 8, 2018
Good perspective on investment and saving, in short easily digestible chapters. I learned a few things from reading this book.
October 18, 2015
I first heard about Jason Zweig on his preface of one of Ben Graham's books and that got me curious. This is a short summary of the value investing principles and behavioral biases when it comes to personal and private investment decisions. Seasoned value guys will already know but these things are always good to remember.
My main random take aways are as follows : Investing is simple but not easy. Don't take risk that is not necesary. Don't take risk that is unlikely to be rewarded. Don't invest money you cannot loose (dont leverage). Think twice. Always have one year of living expense at the bank. Be aware of the risks to your income streams, curreny, job sector, skill obsolesence. Don't invest where you work. Build up your human capital. That reminded me that WB keeps repeating: invest in yourself. I have always been a big believer in continous education myself and couldn't agree more. I wished he had stressed how even more so this has become in an era of accute specialisation and rapid change which can leave many people on the sideline. I believe the risk today is that the gap with those who don't get that will grow ever bigger. Focus on risk vs reward. Invest to own businesses. Preserve a margin of safety in case things don't turn out as expected. Favor passive indexing as same thing as owning the whole economy of your country. No risk of missing out or failing to cherry pick. Save as much as possible. Be careful of people who want to sell something to you. Engaging names for products and fancy tickers for fancy stocks are marketing tactics. Always be cautious.
Women are better investor. Why? less bragging, less competitive, more cautious, more sensible, trade less frequently, expect lower return, realistic, more concerned, wait before taking action. Bottom line ask your wife to review your investing ideas and in general your life decisions I would even add. My wife says I don't do enough of that, but I think she exaggerates lol.
Be careful of the behaviroal biases: framing, cognitive ease, priming, halo effect. Remember the importance of score cards. Sleep over decisions before taking them. Dont listen to promises of quick wealth. Be scpetical. Don't fall in fools traps.
He also talks about a book "how to lie with statistics" which I saw in Bill Gates' reading list. I think I'll add it to the priority list.
My main random take aways are as follows : Investing is simple but not easy. Don't take risk that is not necesary. Don't take risk that is unlikely to be rewarded. Don't invest money you cannot loose (dont leverage). Think twice. Always have one year of living expense at the bank. Be aware of the risks to your income streams, curreny, job sector, skill obsolesence. Don't invest where you work. Build up your human capital. That reminded me that WB keeps repeating: invest in yourself. I have always been a big believer in continous education myself and couldn't agree more. I wished he had stressed how even more so this has become in an era of accute specialisation and rapid change which can leave many people on the sideline. I believe the risk today is that the gap with those who don't get that will grow ever bigger. Focus on risk vs reward. Invest to own businesses. Preserve a margin of safety in case things don't turn out as expected. Favor passive indexing as same thing as owning the whole economy of your country. No risk of missing out or failing to cherry pick. Save as much as possible. Be careful of people who want to sell something to you. Engaging names for products and fancy tickers for fancy stocks are marketing tactics. Always be cautious.
Women are better investor. Why? less bragging, less competitive, more cautious, more sensible, trade less frequently, expect lower return, realistic, more concerned, wait before taking action. Bottom line ask your wife to review your investing ideas and in general your life decisions I would even add. My wife says I don't do enough of that, but I think she exaggerates lol.
Be careful of the behaviroal biases: framing, cognitive ease, priming, halo effect. Remember the importance of score cards. Sleep over decisions before taking them. Dont listen to promises of quick wealth. Be scpetical. Don't fall in fools traps.
He also talks about a book "how to lie with statistics" which I saw in Bill Gates' reading list. I think I'll add it to the priority list.
February 9, 2020
The book started with interesting thoughts about solid vs liquid assets and de-risking yourself as a financial asset. As I read more though, the later chapters devolved into common sense tips such as how to be more frugal (e.g. turn down your thermostat), collaborate with your spouse on investing, and being aware of unconscious biases.
There’s probably only about 30% of useful content.
There’s probably only about 30% of useful content.
January 7, 2022
Utile, cerca di insegnare e di far notare alcuni aspetti psicologici di quando si investe e non solo. Cerca di far ragionare riguardo le statistiche, come si approcciano determinate scelte e cerca di dar credito alle sue parole utilizzando lo storico delle performance di fondi oppure delle azioni. Adatto a chi si sta approcciando ora a questo mondo.
August 30, 2016
A portable little book of potentially useful finance information for the non-expert investor.
July 19, 2018
Safe
It's not a good idea to compare every book on investing to the gems like The Intelligent Investor.
The articles and the book, written by Jason Zweig, however, for a while make you think that you're actually reading something more important, easy to understand but that much hard to be persistent about.
The author Jason Zweig has written about ETFs, Hedge Funds, Sex, human psychology, controlling the mind and whatever is related to investing and trading. Of course, this book doesn't go into the technicals and the details like The Little Book of Valuation: How to Value a Company, Pick a Stock and Profit, however, it gives you many important ideas, aspects of trading, investing and your psychology.
The book is well written, and after reading this book I realized that this is the same author who has written the edited version of The Intelligent Investor.
Do read this book, and after this have a look at the articles written by him on his website.
He really wants you to safeguard your money, and maybe grow too.
Akshat Solanki
It's not a good idea to compare every book on investing to the gems like The Intelligent Investor.
The articles and the book, written by Jason Zweig, however, for a while make you think that you're actually reading something more important, easy to understand but that much hard to be persistent about.
The author Jason Zweig has written about ETFs, Hedge Funds, Sex, human psychology, controlling the mind and whatever is related to investing and trading. Of course, this book doesn't go into the technicals and the details like The Little Book of Valuation: How to Value a Company, Pick a Stock and Profit, however, it gives you many important ideas, aspects of trading, investing and your psychology.
The book is well written, and after reading this book I realized that this is the same author who has written the edited version of The Intelligent Investor.
Do read this book, and after this have a look at the articles written by him on his website.
He really wants you to safeguard your money, and maybe grow too.
Akshat Solanki
August 23, 2023
Was reading along in this book, ok seems like solid information, cool cool cool; then I get to this passage:
"...Jeremy Siegel....[made] the case that stocks have outperformed bonds over long periods ever since the days when Thomas Jefferson was daydreaming about Sally Hemings."
RECORD SCRATCH
w. t. FFF is wrong with you Jason Zweig? WHY. In what universe is it ok to make a lighthearted comment minimizing and romanticizing rape. Let's be clear, 44 year old Jefferson didn't "daydream" about 14 year old Sally Hemings. He wasn't some moonstruck youth offering endearingly clumsy tokens of courtship like paper valentines ragged with earnest effort. He imprisoned, abused and raped her. Repeatedly. Why do I need to read this disgusting, triggering garbage, in a book on finance no less where it comes with zero warning and zero reason to be there.
This honestly ruined the entire book for me.
As another reviewer noted, the book is also frustratingly devoid of any suggestions about managing and investing savings prudently (other than some throwaway lines about index funds.) For much better content, I'd recommend Jane Bryant Quinn's Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People, Olen & Pollack. The index card, and Lindauer. Bogleheads Guide to Investing.
"...Jeremy Siegel....[made] the case that stocks have outperformed bonds over long periods ever since the days when Thomas Jefferson was daydreaming about Sally Hemings."
RECORD SCRATCH
w. t. FFF is wrong with you Jason Zweig? WHY. In what universe is it ok to make a lighthearted comment minimizing and romanticizing rape. Let's be clear, 44 year old Jefferson didn't "daydream" about 14 year old Sally Hemings. He wasn't some moonstruck youth offering endearingly clumsy tokens of courtship like paper valentines ragged with earnest effort. He imprisoned, abused and raped her. Repeatedly. Why do I need to read this disgusting, triggering garbage, in a book on finance no less where it comes with zero warning and zero reason to be there.
This honestly ruined the entire book for me.
As another reviewer noted, the book is also frustratingly devoid of any suggestions about managing and investing savings prudently (other than some throwaway lines about index funds.) For much better content, I'd recommend Jane Bryant Quinn's Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People, Olen & Pollack. The index card, and Lindauer. Bogleheads Guide to Investing.
December 13, 2025
Ho letto con grande interesse questo libro, come accade spesso quando si parla di finanza. Offre molti spunti utili e valutazioni che un investitore dovrebbe fare prima di investire anche solo un euro.
Ho apprezzato in particolare il modo in cui vengono trattati liquidità, psicologia dell’investitore ed evitamento delle truffe. Meno convincente, invece, l’insistenza sul minor costo dell’acquisto diretto di azioni e obbligazioni rispetto a fondi ed ETF: il tema non è solo il costo, ma soprattutto il rischio e la difficoltà di diversificare per chi investe capitali limitati.
Ho inoltre notato una certa predilezione dell’autore per i titoli legati all’inflazione (inflation-linked), senza considerare a sufficienza che esistono fasi di mercato in cui anche questi strumenti soffrono: in finanza non esistono pasti gratis.
Al netto di alcune posizioni discutibili, resta un libro che contribuisce a migliorare la consapevolezza finanziaria e che, proprio per questo, consiglio di leggere.
Ho apprezzato in particolare il modo in cui vengono trattati liquidità, psicologia dell’investitore ed evitamento delle truffe. Meno convincente, invece, l’insistenza sul minor costo dell’acquisto diretto di azioni e obbligazioni rispetto a fondi ed ETF: il tema non è solo il costo, ma soprattutto il rischio e la difficoltà di diversificare per chi investe capitali limitati.
Ho inoltre notato una certa predilezione dell’autore per i titoli legati all’inflazione (inflation-linked), senza considerare a sufficienza che esistono fasi di mercato in cui anche questi strumenti soffrono: in finanza non esistono pasti gratis.
Al netto di alcune posizioni discutibili, resta un libro che contribuisce a migliorare la consapevolezza finanziaria e che, proprio per questo, consiglio di leggere.
November 19, 2016
Anything Jason Zweig writes is worth your time, and this book is no exception. As the "Intelligent Investor" columnist for The Wall Street Journal, he knows his stuff. Reading this book and putting his advice into practice will help you build your wealth and safeguard your future, and is recommended reading for any investor. (And if you have a 401k and any hope of retiring someday, you're an investor.)
As Zweig writes, "In financial life, there are no prizes for making the fastest decision - but there are many rewards for making the best decision." Jason Zweig can help you do exactly that.
As Zweig writes, "In financial life, there are no prizes for making the fastest decision - but there are many rewards for making the best decision." Jason Zweig can help you do exactly that.
August 8, 2025
This book helps me inspect the idea of "safe money." While safe money can be construed as securing gain and avoiding lethal losses, it is unclear how to achieve those goals. Zweig masterfully introduces me to various mistakes or false beliefs an investor could have made, and more importantly, how to avoid them.
My favorite insight: your lifetime net worth (skills, culture, background, etc.) is also a capital you also need to protect.
My favorite insight: your lifetime net worth (skills, culture, background, etc.) is also a capital you also need to protect.
July 17, 2021
Was drawn to this book because I read Mr. Zweig's column in the WSJ every Saturday.
I thought the book would be just about index funds and very basic concepts that are so common in many money books. However, I was pleasantly surprised to be exposed to some new ideas.
A good book to listen to on Audible.
I thought the book would be just about index funds and very basic concepts that are so common in many money books. However, I was pleasantly surprised to be exposed to some new ideas.
A good book to listen to on Audible.
August 17, 2023
Full of great advice, especially for young adults
Easy to read, easy to understand. I can’t think of an area of investing that wasn’t covered.
Only con is some of the references are dated.
(If you’re a series 7, 63, or 55, CFA or similar, this book will be too elementary.)
Easy to read, easy to understand. I can’t think of an area of investing that wasn’t covered.
Only con is some of the references are dated.
(If you’re a series 7, 63, or 55, CFA or similar, this book will be too elementary.)
January 28, 2018
Some Commandments to remember with the heart.
December 28, 2018
It will always be good to read reasonable investment advice. This is one of those books.
June 11, 2020
Succinct and filled with practical advice on a variety of investing topics.
October 18, 2024
Simple yet basic guidance on investment. But good bit of track when the author goes into behavioural aspects. Not a book I would recommend
October 31, 2025
Un libro bastante práctico y fácil de leer. Aborda, en un lenguaje sencillo, las estrategias para cuidar el capital, gestionar el riesgo y tomar mejores decisiones financieras en las inversiones.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews