Advanced financial education from scratch: forum users back Spanish book
Forum users recommend Gregorio Hernández Jiménez's book, available on Amazon for €15.18 and around €7 on Kindle. An analysis of its theses and the criticisms it has drawn.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Advanced financial education from scratch: forum users back Spanish book
A forum user has recommended "Educación financiera avanzada partiendo de cero" (Advanced Financial Education from Scratch), a book by the Spanish author Gregorio Hernández Jiménez, and several participants in the thread have backed it as a work of financial education that is clearer than the genre's international bestsellers. The book sells on Amazon for €15.18 in paperback and just over €7 in Kindle format, and the user who started the thread described it as "one of the best books that has given me the most in my life". The enthusiasm is not unanimous, but several contributors agree in recommending it.
What Gregorio Hernández's book teaches
According to participants, the book presents itself as a guide for those starting from scratch who want to understand how investing works. Unlike Kiyosaki's manuals, which focus on real estate and the well-known "rat race", Hernández's book broadens the focus: it analyses why most traditional investments —deposits, art, property— have serious problems with returns or liquidity, and argues that the stock market is the most efficient vehicle in the long run. One reader sums it up like this: "It's simple, intuitive, and makes Kiyosaki's books look like nonsense".
The author has not stopped at one title. He has also published "Cómo invertir en Bolsa a largo plazo partiendo de cero" (How to Invest in the Stock Market Long-Term from Scratch), where, according to one forum user, he details the criteria for selecting companies and warns that you must be prepared to endure 50% drops in your portfolio during crises. That realism, absent from many manuals, is what some readers miss in the first book.
The criticisms: too much optimism about the stock market
Not everyone buys the story. A reader with experience sums up his impression after two hours of reading: "All investments are bad in one way or another except the stock market, which is the best of the best". His objection is specific: the book seems to assume that dividends are maintained indefinitely even if the share price plummets, when reality shows that many companies cut or eliminate the dividend in bad times. Another adds that the text "doesn't list the dangers there may be and paints everything rosy".
The strongest defence comes from another angle: according to one forum user, precious metals generate no income, only custody costs, so their exclusion is not an ideological whim but a technical decision. The stock market, on the other hand, produces dividends. That is the line of argument the author holds to and that his defenders repeat.
Kiyosaki in the crosshairs
The comparison with Robert Kiyosaki is inevitable and appears from the very first post. Some recall that Kiyosaki was innovative in his day —he introduced concepts such as "passive income" or "asset"— but that his formula has run its course: "His success lies in being written for a stupid audience", one participant declares. Another admits having read both and considers that Hernández's book "builds on Kiyosaki's foundations", though it surpasses him in depth and variety of topics.
The fundamental difference lies in the approach. Kiyosaki insists on bricks and mortar and the entrepreneurial mindset; Hernández analyses financial assets, explains how the stock market works and offers tools for selecting companies. For anyone looking for a practical introduction to dividend investing, the second is more useful. For anyone looking for motivation and a change of mindset, the first still has its defenders.
The business behind the advice
Hernández sells his books on Amazon and on his own website, which includes a forum, articles and free spreadsheets. Some readers have questioned whether he should profit from his knowledge, to which the most common answer is simple: "€7 for a book that teaches you to invest seems like a gift to me". The website also lets you sample the author's style before buying, and his posts on the forum are available for anyone who wants to assess his judgement.
The price, in any case, is not the barrier. Fifteen euros in print, seven in digital. Less than a cinema ticket. The question left hanging is a different one: if the method works, why doesn't anyone teach it in school?
A forum user has recommended "Educación financiera avanzada partiendo de cero" (Advanced Financial Education from Scratch), a book by the Spanish author Gregorio Hernández Jiménez, and several participants in the thread have backed it as a work of financial education that is clearer than the genre's international bestsellers. The book sells on Amazon for €15.18 in paperback and just over €7 in Kindle format, and the user who started the thread described it as "one of the best books that has given me the most in my life". The enthusiasm is not unanimous, but several contributors agree in recommending it.
What Gregorio Hernández's book teaches
According to participants, the book presents itself as a guide for those starting from scratch who want to understand how investing works. Unlike Kiyosaki's manuals, which focus on real estate and the well-known "rat race", Hernández's book broadens the focus: it analyses why most traditional investments —deposits, art, property— have serious problems with returns or liquidity, and argues that the stock market is the most efficient vehicle in the long run. One reader sums it up like this: "It's simple, intuitive, and makes Kiyosaki's books look like nonsense".
The author has not stopped at one title. He has also published "Cómo invertir en Bolsa a largo plazo partiendo de cero" (How to Invest in the Stock Market Long-Term from Scratch), where, according to one forum user, he details the criteria for selecting companies and warns that you must be prepared to endure 50% drops in your portfolio during crises. That realism, absent from many manuals, is what some readers miss in the first book.
The criticisms: too much optimism about the stock market
Not everyone buys the story. A reader with experience sums up his impression after two hours of reading: "All investments are bad in one way or another except the stock market, which is the best of the best". His objection is specific: the book seems to assume that dividends are maintained indefinitely even if the share price plummets, when reality shows that many companies cut or eliminate the dividend in bad times. Another adds that the text "doesn't list the dangers there may be and paints everything rosy".
The strongest defence comes from another angle: according to one forum user, precious metals generate no income, only custody costs, so their exclusion is not an ideological whim but a technical decision. The stock market, on the other hand, produces dividends. That is the line of argument the author holds to and that his defenders repeat.
Kiyosaki in the crosshairs
The comparison with Robert Kiyosaki is inevitable and appears from the very first post. Some recall that Kiyosaki was innovative in his day —he introduced concepts such as "passive income" or "asset"— but that his formula has run its course: "His success lies in being written for a stupid audience", one participant declares. Another admits having read both and considers that Hernández's book "builds on Kiyosaki's foundations", though it surpasses him in depth and variety of topics.
The fundamental difference lies in the approach. Kiyosaki insists on bricks and mortar and the entrepreneurial mindset; Hernández analyses financial assets, explains how the stock market works and offers tools for selecting companies. For anyone looking for a practical introduction to dividend investing, the second is more useful. For anyone looking for motivation and a change of mindset, the first still has its defenders.
The business behind the advice
Hernández sells his books on Amazon and on his own website, which includes a forum, articles and free spreadsheets. Some readers have questioned whether he should profit from his knowledge, to which the most common answer is simple: "€7 for a book that teaches you to invest seems like a gift to me". The website also lets you sample the author's style before buying, and his posts on the forum are available for anyone who wants to assess his judgement.
The price, in any case, is not the barrier. Fifteen euros in print, seven in digital. Less than a cinema ticket. The question left hanging is a different one: if the method works, why doesn't anyone teach it in school?
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (40 replies).
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