Read & Discuss – If You Can by William Bernstein (and Open Discussion)

During this meetup, we will discuss If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly by William J. Bernstein, and since this is a shorter read (should only take an hour or so) there will be plenty of time for open discussion (which we usually get in anyways).

NOTE: A booklet copy of this is available for free on Bernstein's website at the link following link. The audiobook is also often available on Amazon for free, depending on when you check.

http://efficientfrontier.com/ef/0adhoc/ifyoucan.pdf

"For years [Bernstein had] thought about a project to help today's young people invest for retirement because, frankly, there's still hope for them, unlike for most of their Boomer parents. All they'll have to do is to put away 15% of their salaries into a low-cost target fund or a simple three-fund index allocation for 30 to 40 years. Which is pretty much the same as saying that if someone exercises and eats a lot less, he'll lose 30 pounds. Simple, but not easy. Not easy because unless the millennials learn a small amount about finance, they'll fall victim to the Five Horsemen of Personal Finance Apocalypse: failure to save, ignorance of financial theory, unawareness of financial history, dysfunctional psychology, and the rapacity of the investment industry. If You Can is just the ticket to guide the young—and not so young—investor through this thicket."

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Some more general notes about the book club:

• We rotate through different types of books, with some more historical or about current events and others more along the lines of practical advice about how to do something.
• No specific ideas are necessarily endorsed – we try to read a variety of topics to expose ourselves to new ideas and ways of thinking.
• We try to grab the room to the back-right of Fortnight Brewing Company's main inside seating area (coming in the door on the front of the building, facing Maynard Road), but will get a table nearby if the room isn't available.
• No worries about coming in mid-discussion ― we usually manage to get off-topic anyways ― and feel free to come even if you didn't manage to finish the book. Also, no shame if you listen to it on Audible!