[amyji]

I'm starting a Book Club thread to discuss different finance books and this one is for Jim Cramer's Real Money.

I'm only on page 72 and find it a pretty easy read so far. His style is different, but I like how he presents his opinions. Here are some of the things I've learned so far:

- Never use a market order. Always limit orders when buying or selling stocks.

- Speculate! Invest in risky businesses! However, speculative stocks should not comprise of more than 20% of your portfolio, especially if you're not in your 20s anymore. In your 20s you can be risky up to 50%, and you should go down 10% every decade.

- The price of a stock has no bearing on its value. Figure the PE ratio to see its value. (current stock price / current EPS = the multiple or PE ratio)

- Another way to evaluate a stock is by calculating its yeild. The dividend divided by the price.

- And one that's obvious: Be less risky with your funds intended for your retirement, while the rest that's used to augment your paycheck can have more risk involved.

That's all I have for now, the little nuggets of wisdom I've highlighted up to page 72 in the Investing Basics chapter.