Motivating the Bogleheads

We can sum up the final chapter of The Boglehead's Guide to Investing, by Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer and Michael LeBoeuf in one word: motivation.

This is true for any good book on investing that you will ever read. The final chapter is always about taking the key points made in the book and putting them to work.

But what are the key points you should take away from the book? The last chapter is also the authors' last chance to really underscore the points they believe are the most important they made in writing the book. Here's our list of the authors' key points with links to the corresponding posts reviewed by other members of The Boglehead's October Project:

• Choose and live a sound financial lifestyle.
  
• Start to save early, invest regularly and diversify your investments!
  
• Don't invest in things you don't understand.
  
• Pay attention to investing costs and especially taxes!
  
• Plan! Plan! Plan! Plan! Plan! Plan! Plan!
  
• Avoid fads and master your emotions.
  

While All Financial Matters provides a better guide to the topics listed above, we hope you get the gist of what the Bogleheads advocate....

One theme that the Bogleheads consistently communicate is that you're not in it alone. To that end, the other offer the Bogleheads bring to the table in the final chapter of the book is access to the Boglehead community, where you can interact online with the groups members to find answers to the unique questions you might have for your situation.

The only question left now is whether or not you've learned or re-learned enough from The Boglehead's Guide to Investing and are enthusiastic enough about what you've read to go out and bet your life's earnings on it. That's really what the Bogleheads are all about: taking solid and time-tested lessons in minimizing the risks of investing and putting them to work to build a more comfortable life.

Are you ready?

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