Never Short a Stock on Wednesday: And 300 More Financial Lessons You Can't Afford Not to Know

'Sophie Tucker . . . was right when she said being rich is a whole lot better than being poor . . . She moved with the times. So must you.' Nancy Dunnan's latest list of money-making ideas is full of ideas for improving your stance versus the tax authorities, purchasing items for less, making better investments, and living a more intelligent life through accessing key ideas on the Internet. Here are a few examples:Never buy a mutual fund in December -- that's when they distribute their capital gains for the year and you'll pick up a tax bill for gains that you really didn't get to enjoy (if you make the purchase in a taxable account).You can get a higher rate of interest on federally-insured bank CDs by buying them from your regular stock broker -- they look around for the best deal across the country and will charge nothing if you already have an account with them. You can often get an extra half point of interest that way.If you want to own index mutual funds, own them in taxable accounts and buy high turnover mutual funds with your tax-free accounts. You'll save a lot of taxes that way. Know what the annual trading turnover is on the mutual funds you own or are considering purchasing. Generally high-turnover funds will cost you more money in fees and taxes.Get a Roth IRA for you and one for each of your children if you qualify. Having been held for 5 years and after age 59 1/2, the withdrawals are tax-free and you can withdraw whenever you want.If inflation starts to rise and you want interest income, buy the U.S. Treasury's new I bonds that are indexed to inflation. Your interest payments will rise, and your principal will be safe.Make your airline reservations just after midnight. That's when airlines make more discount seats available.If you're having trouble getting venture capital, approach the business school you attended. They often invest now in projects sponsored by alumni/ae.If you like to trade on-line, have two accounts in case one is down because of computer problems.Double check all of your on-line confirmations. There's lots of good ideas for catching and correcting mistakes.The only area where I found the book a little wanting was in picking stocks. Many of the old chestnuts (dogs of the Dow, quality growth stocks, etc.) were described. But the latest research has shown better ways to do each of these things than are described here. For example, see ChangeWave Investing for finding high growth stocks. You can check your ideas with the items here, but don't count on this book as a source of cutting edge stock-picking advice.You'll get your money back many times over however with this fine book, and you'll enjoy the simple, clear writing style. Financial advice doesn't have to be long and complicated to be helpful.

You can't afford NOT to buy this book. It gives you many things in life that we take for granted. For instance, when at a car dealership- never tell a salesman the exact model and color you're looking for. The salesman would try to put extra add ins in the cost, but if you refuse all of it. Most likely to close the deal, the salesman would throw it in FREE. I am happy that I'd read this book before I'd bought my new car. I've saved alot from many other examples in the book and so would you.Recommendation: Strong Buy