Jim Cramer's Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich

If people think that Jim Cramer is all about entertaining people with sound effects and jokes, you really shouldn't watch his show or read his books. Truth by told, I love Cramer. He tells you the secrets of how the big boys do things on The Street. While it is true this book seems to be written to help promote...er..explain the goings-on with his TV show, there are still many great investing lessons provided. I have read a dozen investing books and now after reading this, I finally understand things like EBITDA, P/E and PEG ratios. I think many people who question and complain about the man are still from the old school of 'stocks are dangerous' and 'mutual funds are the only safe way to invest'. You really are missing the point if you feel this way, because you are leaving more money on the table for us. This is a great book. Entertaining, easy to read and a must-have if you have any money invested anywhere. This and his earlier book "Real Money" should be required reading in "B" schools across the country.

Forget all the craziness, and loud shrieking voice coming at you. This man is the real thing. He was a hedge fund manager for years, and made BIG MONEY doing it. He simply prefers to cultivate a national image by being in the media. This in no way negates the wealth of fabulous information that he imparts to people on a daily basis. Cramer is a TEACHER too, and that's what you need to know. If you listen to him, and then take the time to study what he is saying, it is the same as pursuing an MBA in stock picking. The difference is that in this case, the professor is giving it away for FREE. As you know, very few people ever appreciate that which is given away. If you charge for it, people's ears will perk up. They will strain to hear what you are saying, but give it away for free, and what happens? They just sit back, and say ENTERTAIN ME. Cramer is loud, and frankly has gone Hollywood. He probably feels compelled to act in this manner in order to draw a big crowd to his television show. By doing this however, he may be taken less seriously. It probably also ensures however that he will gather a larger and larger audience, although there will be a lot of people watching that can not appreciate the contribution this man is making to improving the stock picking abilities of hundreds of thousands of people. The truth of the matter is that anyone who is a real stock investor should be paying money to sit in a room with this man, and listen to what he has to say. If you listen to any great thinker for a long enough period of time, something becomes quite evident. People always have to reveal themselves, and reveal the truth in the process. A person can only put on a false front for so long. The façade has to come off, given enough time. This is why Jim Cramer is so worthwhile, with a great show, and a fabulous book. Cramer is the REAL THING, and don't you ever doubt it. I run an enormous amount of money, both as the Founder , and the Senior Managing Partner of Rockefeller Capital Partners, LLC. I talk to some of the smartest people in the world. If necessary, I write checks in order to be able to consult with them. I have probably absorbed the contents of over 1000 different books on finance, investments, and money. Cramer's book is the work of a man who has paid the price in money, stress, and brainpower to learn what he has to teach. I know because I have been there. When all is said and done, I find Cramer to be an absolute joy to listen to. This book Mad Money is even better than listening to him. In this book whether Cramer intended to or not, you have some pearls of investing wisdom that are individually worth a 100 times the price of this book. Here are several of them: · A stock is only worth what the big institutions are willing to pay for it (p3). · You can't be sure about research from this or that brokerage house. They've all been tarnished... for colluding with their clients (p3). · Tips are for waiters (p23). · Learn in ver

I own both Real Money and Mad Money. I am also a faithful watcher of Mad Money the show. First off the guys who like to bash him because they lost money on one of his recommendations are naive lemmings. No person on this earth can bat 1000 picking stocks. As he states if your correct 60% of the time your as good as most money managers. What Jim does is give you ideas as well as insights on what moves the market. Its not all fundamentals. Much of its market psychology. Anyone who would ever doubt his ability to manage a portfolio need only research his history as a hedge fund manager. A 24% year over year gain for more than 10 years speaks for itself. If your a lemming your gonna lose your money. If you follow his rules of homework, diversification, and you understand the relationship between GDP growth, interest rates and cyclical cycles you can easily beat the S & P 500 year over year. I don't agree with every pick Jim makes (as some are to risky for my style) but when he points out a best of breed play I give it ample homework time. I exit quickly if the play doesn't go my way and ride the upside as far as possible when it does. Limit your loss on the downside and the statistics will carry you through. If you really want to understand the market, Real money and Mad Money are excellent references.

This book follows the same path as his last book, Real Money, but actually gives you more investing basics, including a very useful worksheet to use in evaluating a company you may want to invest in. Many people who watch his TV show expect "tips," but as Jim says, tips are for waiters. The TV show is entertainment, but his radio show, unfortunately not on the air anymore, replaced now by online videos, and his books are serious about HOW to invest. They teach you a method. Cramer's is just one of many, but all have the basic same rules: if you want to buy a stock you need to know how to evaluate the financials of a company and how it fits into its sector. Cramer also shows you how to think about the real world of market cycles, consumer behavior, product differentiation and most importantly, how the big players in mutual funds and hedge funds work and affect the market. He's done it all, made all the mistakes, but also made some great calls. He called Enron and he called the top of the Nasdaq bubble in 2000. If you read carefully, you can make money. But don't expect miracles. Do your homework. My portfolio is up 20% this year, much of it through following his method, not necessarily buying the stocks he recommends.

If you are a fan of Jim Cramer and Mad Money this book is an absolute must have. Jim goes into more detail in this book about how to invest than he has time for on his TV show. You will learn the following from this book: Chapter 1:You must know yourself and your goals to decide whether you should buy a stock. Do you like to take risks with aggressive growth stocks with P/E ratios of 30+ or do you fell more comfortable buying Dow components at a value price and low p/e? Only buy stocks that fit your personality type that you feel comfortable with. Chapter 2:Only own between 5-10 stocks at a time, and only if you are willing to do one hour of homework on each, every week. Buy and Homework instead of Buy and Hold. Chapter 3:ONLY use limit orders to buy stocks, so you use your price, you will be gouged by brokers if you use market orders. If at first you miss your buy price try again. Chapter 4: When your stock rises 20%-50% take some profit, do not give your gains back to the market. Bulls make money, Bears make money, Pigs get slaughtered. Chapter 5:The secrets of how Jim does the lightning round are revealed. The main indicator of whether he will give a buy or sell is determined by what sector the stock is in and where the economy is in the business cycle. This determines his decisions 50% of the time. Chapter 6:How to play the lightning round yourself. Chapter 7:He explains how to listen for clues during CEO interviews on whether to buy or sell their companies stock. Can they explain in great detail why their stock will rise? Chapter 8:Here he explains all the new lessons he has learned from all his recent bad calls he has made on Mad Money. Chapter 9:Here you will find all the lessons he learned from all of his successful calls on Mad money. Chapter 10: Explains how Cramer gets his ideas for the show buy reading the WSJ, IBD, NY Times, the Economist, his local paper, 12 trade journals and by watching Oprah.(The Oprah effect) Chapter 11: Here is where you learn why he throws chairs (He thinks they are for the lazy), where booyah came from (a caller from New Orleans) and what every buttons sound effect means. You will also get two useful appendixes with this book a great stock worksheet that gives you all the questions to ask before you buy a stock and the best chart I have seen for what cyclical sector stocks to buy during each stage of the business cycle determined by interest rates. I have returned over 20% in my investments over the past 4 years and Cramer is one of my greatest teachers. I highly recommend buying this book and watching Mad Money, let Cramer keep you up to date in the market.