Put Your Money Where Your Life Is: How to Invest Locally Using Self-Directed IRAs and Solo 401(k)s

by Michael H. Shuman

Overview

"As so many Americans feel powerless to confront a financial system designed to serve the few, Shuman offers us real choices: tools that align our lives with our values. That's power. I love this highly readable, timely, surprising book."
—Frances Moore Lappé, author of Daring Democracy and Diet for a Small Planet

Americans agree on very little these days, but red state conservatives and blue state progressives can agree on one critical point: Wall Street can no longer be trusted. Yet most of us continue to invest our money in the stocks and bonds of Fortune 500 companies, transferring our capital far from where we live and work. Local investing expert Michael Shuman offers another alternative. He shows how we can use two well-established—but rarely used—investment tools to keep our money close and get a return as good as or better than what we'd get investing in distant, indifferent corporations.

Shuman explains the nuts and bolts of self-directed IRAs and solo 401(k)s and how they can be combined with other recently legalized local investing tools. He details how to set these accounts up, identify and evaluate a whole range of local investment opportunities, and make sure account holders stay on the right side of the law. While the book is written for people without a lot of investment experience—Shuman explains concepts like "liquidity" and "diversification" in simple terms—even if you're as experienced as Warren Buffett, this book will make you rethink everything you know about investing. With Shuman's expert advice, you can strengthen your investment portfolio and your community, neighborhoods, and schools at the same time!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781523088904
Publisher:	Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	829,319
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Michael H. Shuman is an economist, attorney, author, entrepreneur, and leading visionary on community economics. He is director of local economy programs for Telesis Corporation, a nonprofit affordable housing company, and currently an adjunct instructor at Bard College's business school in New York City. He is the author of nine previous books, including The Small-Mart Revolution; Local Dollars, Local Sense; and The Local Economy Solution.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Preface xv

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Putting Your Money in Your Life 13

Chapter 2 Caring about Local 21

Chapter 3 Investing Locally 35

Chapter 4 Beating the Street 53

Chapter 5 Introducing DIY Accounts 95

Chapter 6 Setting Up Your Account 109

Chapter 7 Identifying Local Investment Opportunities 119

Chapter 8 Evaluating Local Investments 137

Chapter 9 Screening Out Prohibited Transactions 151

Chapter 10 Administering Your DIY Account 167

Chapter 11 Preparing for the Future 179

Notes 193

Resources 205

Acknowledgments 207

Index 209

About the Author 219

Editorial Reviews

As so many Americans feel powerless to confront a financial system designed to serve the few, Shuman offers us real choices: tools that align our lives with our values. That’s power. I love this highly readable, timely, surprising book.”
—Frances Moore Lappé, coauthor of Daring Democracy and author of Diet for a Small Planet
 
“Local cheese, local beer—and local investing! This is a valuable guide to taking money out of the few giant banks (which are probably using it to underwrite the fossil fuel industry) and putting it to work close to home!”
—Bill McKibben, author of Falter
 
“Once again Michael Shuman has given us a clear manual for how well-meaning, good people (the 99.99 percent of us) can put their money where their hearts are—in communities where they live, in local businesses, trade, and retail.”
—Vicki Robin, coauthor of Your Money or Your Life and author of Blessing the Hands That Feed Us

From the Publisher