In this witty, eye-opening guide, Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor Rick Johnson shares his no-holds-barred approach to investing. Drawing on more than twenty years of experience in financial services, he shows hard-working Americans how to design successful investment portfolios and build financial strategies that are fully aligned with their personal values and life goals.;Johnson debunks commonly held myths, exposes misconceptions, and delivers plenty of practical advice and relevant, real-world techniques and secrets for:;* Avoiding the usual--and costly--mistakes that even professionals make;* Determining how much risk you can tolerate;* Setting reasonable, achievable expectations (and then meeting or exceeding them);* Designing a custom portfolio centered on your individual values, needs, and goals and accounting for future contributions, expenditures, and withdrawal needs;* Simultaneously investing for good markets and bad markets;* Selecting and hiring a financial professional