Wealth Without Risk: How to Develop a Personal Fortune Without Going Out on a Limb

Having made and lost two fortunes, popular financial guru Givens says he now has the keys to successamong them, no-nonsense use of credit cards, tax-favorable self-employment and home ownership. Another suggestion: regular investment of 10% of income for 20% annual return through mutual-fund switching among stocks, bonds and the money market according to a formula linked to the daily-published prime interest rate. (He explains separately the tax consequences of this system.) The author also cites, among many such nuggets, a little-known government-backed ``parent loan'' to help pay for college through near-campus real estate (students always need rooms, right?). Or how about buying local mortgages one-on-one for a 30% ``guaranteed'' return? One eyebrow raiser: in a general insurance-industry bashing, Givens claims life-policy beneficiaries should be entitled to collect both the policy's face value and its accumulated cash value. With charts, graphs, source lists and anecdotes, this is a top money guideentertaining, exciting and full of new ideas. (Dec.)