PREFACE
A simple Savage Truth opened the first edition of The Savage Truth on Money: If it were that easy to be wealthy, we’d all be rich!
A decade ago it seemed there were so many easy ways to get rich—or live as if you were rich. It seemed simple to make a fortune in the stock market. Then it seemed easy to get rich in real estate, not only on your own home, but by buying and “flipping” new homes and condos. And if you didn’t invest your way to easy wealth, you could always borrow your way to riches—living beyond your means via home equity loans and credit card offerings.
That all seems so long ago, as our country has endured one of the longest and most devastating recessions in our history. Dreams and illusions have been shattered, and a sense of pessimism abounds. The Savage Truth is that neither extreme is correct, but we are always carried to extremes by our own belief that what is current will continue into the future. That’s why we need to understand the basic Truths about money, markets, and human emotions.
Truths don’t change like fashion or emotions. The Savage Truths you could have read a decade ago have not been dented by the markets or the recession. That’s not to say you could have avoided all the negative impacts of the past decade. But those who were unable or unwilling to see the basic Truths found that their personal finances took a much larger hit than those who had more perspective and more discipline.
The first edition of The Savage Truth on Money was written ...
