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| | Description | An insightful look at how to protect, save, and grow wealth in difficult economic times Having an effective financial and personal plan for the future is now more crucial than ever. And with the bestselling The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide now in paperback, you'll quickly learn how to create such a plan. This comprehensive guide was especially designed to help people map out a practical financial plan in this unpredictable economic environment, so that they can stop worrying about their money and just enjoy life. Step by step, Martin Weiss-America's Consumer Advocate for Financial Safety-introduces, explains, and helps solve many of the new challenges and risks that face millions of Americans. Throughout the book, Weiss provides you with sound strategies for coping with the credit crunch, housing bust, and decline of the U.S. dollar. - Discusses different ways to adapt to the realities of continuous market volatility
- Contains solutions to dealing with sinking real estate or falling stocks
- Examines the opportunities you'll have to buy choice assets at bargain prices during a depressed economy
The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide also examines important topics that today's investor must be familiar with-including global investing, foreign currencies, and commodities-if they intend to make it through the decade ahead. | |
| | Product Details | | Author: | Martin D. Weiss | | Hardcover: | 240 pages | | Publisher: | John Wiley and Sons | | Publication Date: | April 06, 2009 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 0470393777 | | Product Length: | 9.1 inches | | Product Width: | 6.1 inches | | Product Height: | 0.9 inches | | Product Weight: | 0.9 pounds | | Package Length: | 9.0 inches | | Package Width: | 6.5 inches | | Package Height: | 1.0 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.75 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 90 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 90 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
130 of 138 found the following review helpful:
 Be Very Careful of the Investment Recommendations May 16, 2009
By Paul E. Puckett Jr.
"Paul"
I have a great deal of respect for the author's intellect and courage in predicting various economic events. However, the investment advice given in this book is not fully presented by the author and may actually be harmful to some investors.
In Chapter 7, he recommends creating your own hedge positions using ETFs. An experienced and knowledgeable investor will easily understand this section and know, even though it isn't included, of the trade-offs created by the use of inverse index ETFs. But, for most readers, the concept of inverse index funds is probably new to them and, although there are a few warnings in later chapters, they should be provided with the hypothetical investment returns if the market were to rise.
Basically, inverse funds move in the opposite direction of the index that they track, so if the inverse ETF tracks the S&P500 and the S&P500 drops 10%, the inverse fund would theoretically go up 10%. The problem with the illustrations, on pages 108-109, is that the potential returns are only shown for how the portfolios would perform if Mr. Weiss is correct and the market continues to fall. He does not show what happens when the market goes up 10%. I would highly recommend that anyone attempting to implement any of the recommended portfolios perform their own analysis or find a competent fee-only financial planner or fee-only investment advisor to help them. I'm not against hedging, but if you don't know what you're doing and you don't monitor this type of portfolio, you might get a rude awakening after any market surge. As described in the book, when the index rises 10%, the single leveraged, or 1X, inverse fund will drop 10%. The 2X drops 20% and the 3X would fall 30%. If we have a year like 2003 and the index does almost 30%, the leveraged 3X fund would drop almost 90%. In essence, the author is recommending that the investor give up some of the gain in good markets to hedge against those times when the market falls. This is commonly used by institutional investors, but they typically use professional advisors to handle the day-to-day details of a hedged portfolio. These funds are intended for daily trading, not long-term holding. The funds are designed to move inversely to the index on a daily basis. For longer periods, volatility drag causes the returns of these funds to vary, sometimes dramatically, from the index. See the comments below this review.
(Since writing this review last month, FINRA, the regulatory agency for the brokerage industry and its' products released a Regulatory Notice #09-31 regarding Leveraged ETF's. You can view this release by going to the FINRA website, selecting Investment Professionals, Regulation (upper left) click the word "notices" and download the pdf. I would strongly suggest any investor review the FINRA notice and fully review the leveraged ETF products prior to considering any implementation of the investment plan described in The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide.)
It is possible this information is available to subscribers to his newsletter or on his website, but you should know the anticipated outcome of these portfolio's if he's wrong about a continuing depression. The rest of the book offers some good advice on what he believes will happen and how to handle it. Often, the investment recommendations are dependent on the reader subscribing to a newsletter or email so that they can be notified when the time is "right" to make changes in their 401k, investment accounts, etc.
57 of 59 found the following review helpful:
 Treat the Book as Light Entertainment. As Advice It Could Leave You Broke! Mar 05, 2010
By Richard A. Lawhern
I have subscribed for several months to Martin Weiss's free Internet newsletter "Money and Markets". Thus I have read many of the ideas brought together in this book. I am amazed so few people bother to research the backgrounds of guys like Martin before plunging headlong into investments that can make them poor.
This is not to say that Mr. Weiss is deliberately defrauding anyone. It is conceivable that, like prominent authors such as Howard J. Ruff and Gary North in 1979-1982, Weiss believes what he writes. Nor am I suggesting that the US economy is in great shape and won't plunge us into another major equities market crash soon. One may accept both premises and still believe Mr. Weiss's advice to be unsound.
Ultimately, the "proof of the pudding" is in the eating. Many of Howard Ruff's followers discovered to their personal woe that the economic world of 1980 wasn't coming to an end in quite the manner that their prophet predicted. Gold did not appreciate to $2,000 per ounce and gold stocks did not provide leverage on this predicted explosion in hard asset values. Silver crashed 90%+ after the Hunt Brothers' effort to corner the silver market failed. Quite a number of Ruff's investors crashed along with their money and investors who follow Weiss could follow a similar trajectory.
Weiss' advice might be assessed from the investment results he has already produced for people who have paid thousands of dollars for his advice. In this context, I suggest that readers investigate the following:
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING File No. 3-12341 Securities and Exchange Commission, June22, 2006. This proceeding details findings supporting administrative penalties of over $2 million dollars assessed against Mr. Weiss and his associate Larry Edelson. A finding of the Cease and Desist order was "...during the relevant time period, many subscribers who followed each Weiss Research trading recommendation - as Weiss Research encouraged its subscribers to do - experienced overall returns that were substantially lower than Weiss Research's profit examples and most actually lost money." Also pertinent was the finding that Weiss and Edelson acted as Investment Advisers under SEC definitions, at a time when not licensed to do so. You're going to trust these guys to guide your financial future? What are you thinking?
Another source appears to have been written by former investors of Martin Weiss, in the UK. The site features a long-term trading history for investments recommended by Mr. Weiss to his paying clients. This source confirms that Weiss investors have persistently lost money. Search Google for the term "trading and legal history" plus "Martin Weiss".
Recent issues of Weiss Research "Money and Markets" make claims of "guaranteed profits" by applying a type of technical analysis called "cycle theory". This theory is supposedly validated by data analysis of the Foundation for the Study of Cycles, now directed by Richard Mogey. However, multiple online references reveal that the methods of the Foundation have been discredited by legitimate economists since it was chartered under Herbert Hoover. As but one example, the Foundation claims to be able to predict major economic shifts from the study of over 200 years of economic history. Such a claim is foolish to the extreme. The structures and processes of our economy changed radically between any two 50 year periods of that time. Thus there is no underlying cause-and-effect mechanism from which to derive an "economic cycle" that applies to the full period. One might as well be dredging up investment advice from a seance.
Thus to the reader: treat the book as light entertainment. If you act on its advice, you could find yourself poor within a few years.
105 of 120 found the following review helpful:
 Comprehensive survival guide for the depression Apr 13, 2009
By Sandy Winnich
"Certified Financial Planner"
Weiss' "The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide" is a smart, well-written book full of sound financial principles, all of which make it worth buying. Using historical examples, recent trends, and advice from dad, Weiss brings a well-rounded understanding of the current economic crisis to the reader in a simple, easy-to-understand fashion.
His advice is summed up in a couple quotes: the depression was inevitable because of the housing bust, the mortgage meltdown, and the biggest debt crisis in history. The housing bust was cased by Fannie and Freddie Mac (as Weiss explains, "some of the largest speculative bubbles of all time were born out of government-sponsored monopolies"). And we can "kick the can down the road" (meaning we can bailout broken firms and "stimulate" the economy, but that will just delay the inevitable major crash.
But we can't do anything about our governments' reckless behavior until the next election, so Weis offers immediate advice to readers that they can do somehting about: save, reduce debt and sell stocks (the latter one might not be such a hot idea since it appears the markets have at least started a major rebound). He gives very good advaice about looking for the bottom of the economic retraction: look for the government to capitulate (give up trying to save the world!). He recommends investing in etfs (or reverse etfs) and treasury-only MM Funds.
This is a great read and highly recommended, though Weiss neglects a major contributor to the problem: the Federal Reserve. If you're looking for a bit more unconventional but very beneficial techniques for thriving in this economy check out Surviving the Second Great Depression: How to Take Advantage of the Government That Is Trying to Take Advantage of You. For a better summary of what got us here check out Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse.
28 of 30 found the following review helpful:
Good Stuff - Reader Friendly, Practical and Realistic Apr 23, 2009
By javajunki
"javajunki"
I've been a fan of the Weiss Publications for many years so wasn't sure this book would have anything new to offer. So often, the books published by those with ongoing newsletters or other online services tend to be increasingly shallow, reprints of information you have encountered repeatedly or-- worse of all -- shallow promotional tools hyping the sale of their expensive products or service subscriptions.
While the author does indeed have many information products including newsletters etc...he refrains from watering down his content Or shameless promotional efforts throughout. Instead, he delivers delightfuly fresh content, easy to read and relevant.
I read a lot of business books...in fact, I teach business/finance etc at the college level, write and consult on the topic so I'm always in the middle of reading at least one (or more) business books. Here are a few things that set this one apart from the rest...
1. The author is unapologetic about his position. In fact, he publishes his email and contact information right up front so you can write or comment.
2. Accessible. This book is reader friendly and designed to appeal to a wide audience. The advice is do-able and can be easily modified to fit any budget...this is not a book only for those with massive portfolio's searching for a bigger/better return but truly a survival manual. Those with little money concerned how they will cover the basics are likely to find as much value in the book as those nearing retirement watching their 401k or other investments shrink in recent years.
3. Practical. The advice is meant to take action on...not sell you the next level. Likewise, the information is different from that of the newsletters although regular readers of Martin Weiss will be pleased to find it consistent with his core suggestions and outlook.
Bottom line...whether you grow wealthy or simply preserve your standard of living while others sink this book is well worth the time and effort to review.
40 of 45 found the following review helpful:
A Great Book if this was 1929! Terrible for 2009! Jun 06, 2009
By James Hoffman
"Daddy Jim"
His entire philosophy is based on us going through a deflationary depression just like last time. His main piece of advice is to put all your money in US Treasuries. Yeah right...hear that China, stop buying up all those commodities and just keep buying our worthless Treasury bonds. The Chinese aren't stupid and neither am I, this is going to be an inflationary depression. When we went through the first Great Depression, we were on the gold standard. This time it's a totally different situation with our fiat currency and a Federal Reserve creating trillions out of thin air. How can the author be so wrong in his world view. I blame his father, a survivor of the Great Depression, who shaped the author's understanding of how a depression works. His viewpoint has obviously been skewed by all of the conversations he references with his father. But for him not to be able to see that this time it's an inflationary rather than deflationary depression blows my mind. Out of respect for his father or the fact that he makes a commission from selling T-bills, he has written a book that is more suited for 1929 than it is for 2009.
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