The Motley Fool Personal Finance Workbook: A Foolproof Guide to Organizing Your Cash and Building Wealth
The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens: 8 Steps to Having More Money Than Your Parents Ever Dreamed Of
The Motley Fools What to Do with Your Money Now: Ten Steps to Staying Up in a Down Market
The Motley Fool Investment Guide: How the Fool Beats Wall Streets Wise Men and How You Can Too
The Motley Fools Investing Without a Silver Spoon: How Anyone Can Build Wealth Through Direct Investing
The Motley Fool You Have More Than You Think: The Foolish Guide to Personal Finance
About the Authors
David and Tom Gardner cofounded The Motley Fool, an Alexandria, Virginiabased multimedia company, in 1993. They started out publishing a modest investment newsletter for friends and family, started talking stocks online in the early days of AOL, then launched their own investment education Web site, Fool.com in 1997.
Tom graduated with an honors degree in English and creative writing from Brown University. David graduated as a Morehead Scholar from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With many ideas and no regrets, he quit his job writing for Louis Rukeysers Wall Street newsletter in order to found The Motley Fool with his brother.
Today, The Motley Fool has grown into an international multimedia company offering financial solutions to millions of individuals worldwide seeking to make better financial decisions and improve their overall quality of life. Tom and David have coauthored four New York Times business bestsellers, including The Motley Fool Investment Guide, The Motley Fool You Have More Than You Think, and The Motley Fools Rule Breakers, Rule Makers. In addition to writing bestselling books, the Gardners oversee a nationally syndicated newspaper column, which is carried by more than 200 newspapers, and host a weekly radio program on NPR. The Gardners, once voted Interactive Ages Entrepreneurs of the Year 1996, recently hosted the award-winning PBS show The Motley Fool Money-Making, Life-Changing Special.
Additional Resources at Fool.com
We hope you have enjoyed reading this workbook and that it has provided you with valuable and helpful information. Throughout the workbook, you have been pointed toward additional resources and services to help you invest your money. Fool.com offers many of these additional resources at your fingertips. Below is an abbreviated but helpful list of some of the key areas, most of which have appeared in this workbook:
Discount Broker CenterBroker.Fool.com
- Looking to start investing, to switch from a full-service broker to a discount one, or maybe to select a better discount broker? We can help you compare, choose, and use discount brokers, and even get started investing directly online.
Fool SchoolFool.com/School
- The Fool School area will get you started with the basics. Learn the 13 Steps to Investing Foolishly, the skinny on mutual funds, and some beginner investing strategies such as dividend reinvestment plans and index funds.
Index CenterIndexcenter.Fool.com
- Learn about stock market indices, why they are important to use in comparison to your portfolios performance, and how you can earn their investment returns.
Short-Term Savings CenterSavings.Fool.com
- Everyone needs a cash stash for emergencies. Well help you determine how much you need and where to keep it.
Motley Fool Stock Advisorwww.Fooladvisor.com
- Whether you are just starting to invest or digging deeper into analyzing stocks, Tom and David offer ideas for you in the Motley Fool Stock Advisor. In this monthly newsletter, the Gardners present their outlook on the stock market, individual stock suggestions, and tips on the best ways to manage your personal finances and investing.
The Fool CommunityBoards.Fool.com
Join other members online to interact, learn, question, and exchange ideas. The Community offers:
- An opportunity to post messages to get your questions answered
- Staff-monitored discussions
To check out what other Fools are saying, take a peek with a 30-day free trial.
TMF Money Advisor
Http://TMFMA.Fool.com
TMF Money Advisor provides personalized, objective advice for all aspects of your financial life. With TMF Money Advisor you get:
- Access to an unbiased, unconflicted financial advisor
- An online tool you can use to create a personal financial plan
- A package of ten Motley Fool online seminars
And, as a special bonus for all our book readers, we offer a special discount for our TMF Money Advisor service. To get this special offer, go to http://TMFMA.Fool.com.
The Motley Fools aim is to help you find solutions to the many and sometimes complex matters of money and investing. Whether youre looking for new investment ideas, home-buying tips, minute-by-minute stock quotes, or just a place to interact with other investors, Fool.com has all of that and moreavailable twenty-four hours a day.
Chapter 10
Valuing Your Company
Now youre ready to start buying stocks. Congratulations. Its a fascinating, stimulating, andhopefullyenriching step.
To start this chapter, lets head straight to the dictionary for a refresher in the meaning of the word investing. OK, maybe you dont want to get up, jog into the den, and lug that fun-filled volume off the shelf, so well look it up for you, courtesy of Merriam-Webster: To commit money or capital, it reads, in order to gain a financial return.
Read the second part of that sentence again: in order to gain a financial return. You invest, in other words, by committing money or capital with the expectation that someone, someday, will buy whatever asset you purchased for more than you paid for it.