Personal Finance For Dummies

By Eric Tyson

Book Overview

Covers the financial impact of the recent tax cuts "Detailed, action-oriented advice . . . A standout personal finance primer." --Kristin Davis, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Do you need help managing your financial priorities? Relax This friendly guide, now updated to include changes to the tax code, gives you just the information you need to take control of your finances, buy the right insurance coverage, and weather economic downturns. Praise for Personal Finance For Dummies ." . . provides tremendous insight and guidance into the world of investing and other money issues." -PBS Nightly Business Report "Tyson doesn't tell you what to do or consider doing without explaining the hows and whys - and the booby traps to avoid - in plain English." -Chicago Tribune "Smart advice . . . . Rewards your candor with advice and comfort." -Newsweek

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764525905
• ISBN13: 9780764525902
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 1.1" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

If you make money, you need this book

They don't teach personal finance in schools. In this book, author Tyson teaches what every high school in the nation should teach anyone who plans to earn money. This book provides excellent advice on how to save your money and how to set your savings and spending priorities. In particular, Tyson takes into account the tax advantages and disadvantages of various approaches, and he gives an easy to implement way to maximize the tax benefits that the government provides to encourage wise financial decisions. It is true that the author likes Vanguard's mutual funds and his book clearly recommends them (along with some others). He's in good company: Consumer Reports also recommends some of Vanguard's mutual funds, and Vanguard consistently has the lowest costs in the mutual fund industry. Finally, a word of advice: Avoid, avoid, avoid any book that recommends dubious tax evasion schemes like starting your own fictitious business for the purpose of taking tax deductions on personal expenses. Instead, buy this book and follow Tyson's recommendations on taking advantage of legitimate tax benefits associated with wise saving and spending.

The most informative book on the subject I have ever read!

I work as a financial professional, counseling individuals regarding the options in their employer-sponsored retirement plans. Although the counsel I can give is limited to their retirement plan, several have asked me for advice in other areas of their financial lives. I do not hesitate to recommend this book. Whether you are starting from square one in getting your financial house in order, or your checkbook is balanced to the penny every week, there is information in this book that will benefit you. The "For Dummies" format is perfect for this subject, and Eric Tyson does an excellent job of breaking into layman's terms the most complex of finance and investing concepts. Also, an excellent section on selecting a financial planner is provided. I have often seen the devastating effects that the wrong financial advice has wrought in people's lives. The list of criteria to apply when seeking a financial advisor is one of the most valuable tools I have seen on the subject. This book is one of the most valuable resources I have ever seen in helping the average person get control of their financial lives. Applying its principles will pay immediate as well as long-lasting rewards.

Required Reading

When I bought the first edition of this book, I was a poor post-graduate loaded with bad debt. At the time, I knew nothing about CD's, funds, stocks, bonds, insurance, 401(k)'s, home-buying, budgeting, saving, debt-reduction, taxes, or any other basic issues of personal finance. All I knew is that I never could seem to "get ahead" financially. Tyson's book led me from this sorry state through four years of self-education and growing self-confidence about controlling my own financial future. Even now, debt-free and market-positioned, I still reference this book when I encounter a new facet of my financial life. No "get-rich-quick" scheme, Tyson lays out a solid framework for anyone interested in getting and maintaining control of their own financial situation throughout a lifetime. The ideas he lays out help a person not only educate him/herself concerning money, but also instill confidence that a financial situation can be corrected or controlled personally.Although this book would serve as a valuable reference to ANYONE interested in their own financial future, it would especially be useful to a young person just "starting out" or to any person who feels overwhelmed by their own financial situation.