It's just amazing. Every other theme not too well understood is explained with clarity. Website references are a plus. If you have no idea of most financial concepts, what they mean and how to understand them this is a good starter tool.

Thought the book brought things to light I knew that I was in trouble this book just made me see more clearly how to try to fix things.

This book is pretty informative and gives helps guide you on preparing your finances. It talks about a lot of pitfalls to watch out for, and gives you some straight opinions on employer retirement plans and debt management, as well as some thoughts on good debt vs. bad debt.

The only problem I have with it is the section on cutting costs. It is a little out of place and some of the recommendations on how to save money are a little bizarre and out there. Shaving your head to save money on hair supplies and taking naps at home for vacation instead of going away got a raised eyebrow from me, as did his belief that you have to be a small business or nonprofit to get a Costco membership. He also talks about giving up meat as a possible avenue for cost savings (because it costs a lot).

Like I said, the rest of the book seems to have sound financial guidance. The section on saving money?

Take it with a grain of salt.

If you have a kid going off to college, make sure they read this. It is simply the most valuable book they will ever read. And don't forget to get one for yourself. There's a lot of time-worn wisom in this book that most people are ignorant of.

I would not recommend this book. It is very short sighted. For a more in-depth look into proper financial planning, I would look elsewhere. If you are starting out new in financial planning take a look at this book for the budgeting part. Then look elsewhere for the other parts.

This book was great! I didn't know anything about keeping a budget, investment, savings or any related topic. I couldn't put the book down, but I think that was beucase I was very excited to learn about the topic (but if your looking at this book, you may be to)And like all For Dummies books you don't have to read it cover to cover, there all designed so if you all ready know whats going on and just need to brush some stuff up, or dont know anything but are only interested in certain parts you can flip right to those and not miss a beat. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Its a good book..Iam still reading it..finding it very useful..must for all the dummies out there!!!

If you do then the book is fine. If you don't you'll find that many of the advices given take for a fact that you do live in the US.
I also find the book a little bit too basic. Like a bunch of conservative advices on how not to waste your money. There are also some other interesting advices so, generally, the book is OK.

What a wonderful book. I'm 28. When I was younger I received little financial advice from my parents beyond: you should save. But no advice as to how to do that, especially when circumstances in life require you to take on a certain amount of debt. At that point, what I never knew was, when there are ten pots I'm supposed to be putting money into, which one comes first? What do I do with bad financial karma I created as an idiot in college? And to top it off, what about the pipe dreams of a home ownership and retirement?

Tyson's book answered my questions and more. The book starts by having you take stock of where you're at and how to deal with your present circumstances, moves on to creating goals, and then goes about the task of fulfilling them. Through it all he helps lay the basic groundwork for a fundamental education in financial principles and terminology which should be required course for any high schooler and yet...isn't.

This book will probably become annual reading for me every tax season as I examine what I did and where I'm going. If you're like me and suffer a lot of confusion and doubt as to your own financial situation or how to set and fulfill goals for your money, this is the book you want.

I've had this for a while now and have loaned it to a few people. A very well written book. I hate books where the author thinks you know a ton of stuff going in, even though they are 'beginner' books. This one is written in easy to understand language, yet in a smart way. I'm not sure if there is a newer release, but the one I have is very good. As with most advice, though, you have to use what you can. If more people read this and used some of the advice, there would be a lot less credit problems now a days. The best advice is don't buy with credit--if you don't need it today, save up and buy it. If you can afford the payments, you can afford the savings even more.

This book offers really basic info. I suppose the title should be a dead give away. If you are not in debt, and are trying to figure out better ways to manage your money and make it work harder for you then this is really not the book for you.

This book was definitely not what I expected, I wanted a book to teach me how to manage my finances better, what I actually got was a book which reinforced the concept that some things are far more important than money. Seriously - this book is full of advice which puts money square in its place, that is to say way down the list on what is important in life.

I found it very helpful and I related to the authors sense of values, this book teaches the all important lesson that your worth as a person or how "successful" you are has nothing to do with how much money you make, you physical appearance or quality of clothing. The paragraph entitled `Teaching what kind of values?' on page 394 is worth the price of the book alone.

It has good common sense advice on many things that I wouldn't have expected, for example there is a paragraph called Eliminating Costly Addictions, which advocates giving smoking, drinking and gambling the kick...

"Don't gamble. The house always comes out ahead in the long run. Why do you think so many governments run lotteries? Because governments make money on people who gamble, that's why."

Wealth really is more than how much money you have... money and your career are just means to an ends, working doesn't make anybody happy, spend as much time as you can doing what you love with those you love instead of turning into a workaholic.

Some of the stuff is known info for people who have done some reading on the web but it's definitely a good guide for the beginners. I didn't really read other beginner personal finance books so it's hard for me to compare.

It exceeds my expectation very much.
Very comprehensive coverage about financial choices.
Also touch important things other than money, like relationships, educations etc.

This book provides a holistic view of personal finance. Very well-written and thoughtful. Everyone should have access to a copy and review this book at various stages of life.

I got this book right after purchasing my first house, because I knew I needed help with several things: 1) staying on top of my money so I could pay the mortgage on time every month, 2) understanding all my options regarding things like refinancing my home and so on, 3) starting a savings account, and 4) some sort of retirement account sometime in the future. This book has helped me with all of those. The author seems somewhat conservative at certain points, and advises a few things I wouldn't do (or advises against things I don't think are as big of a risk as he does)--but hey, he's a finance guy, of course he's conservative! Overall, this book is very clearly and simply written, and exhaustive in what it covers. I feel like I'm well on my way toward much better financial health as a result of reading it.

Ive given away too many of my copies of this book. Now each of my three children have their own copy. It is making them much more responsible for their finances. And that is a parent's best gift- to ourselves.

No matter how old you are or how much money you make, you can use the advice in this book. This book is not sensationalist in any way; the author does not try to apply one formula to everyone's financial situation. Instead, this book helps you realize on paper what your current financial picture looks like, and then helps you to form and plan sensible goals.

It comprehensively yet succinctly addresses banking, saving, investing, spending, debt management, taxes, real estate, and insurance.

I bought this book in 1999 after my husband and I graduated and got jobs. We still use this book extensively. From getting the right type of insurance coverage to help planning our portfolio, this book has been invaluable.

The book is very practical - my husband and I have strong theoretical training in finance but needed this book to translate that knowledge into action.

This book will pay for itself in no time. Buy it!

I have been clueless and careless about financial responsibilities. I have always had my parents to provide for me. After starting a family of my own, buying a house, and realizing I can't rely on my parent to provide for my retirement, I needed to learn about money. This book has been so informative and so on target. We have met with a financial advisor that has set up things for us before I even bought the book. So while reading, I'm realizing I could have done this on my own with the help of this book. It is very simple to read and understand (I'm not a genius or corporate world savy...just a suburban mom) and I enjoyed reading this and learning all sorts of ways to save and invest and pay off our many debts. I wish they supplied this book during high school before everyone starts racking up their debt.

My wife and I were headed for disaster in college when we picked up our first copy of this book (2nd ed. I think). At the time we were in serious debt and had very different money management strategies (ie, we both spent more than we made in our own unique way). Now, 6 yrs later, my spouse is able to stay at home, we have no debt, 3 kids and we have 1/2 million put away. This book is very insightful and speaks to the core of what it takes to enjoy financial freedom. It also preaches to the fact that it isn't all about 'the money' but also about living and enjoying what you have. The fifth edition continues with updates and timely new topics. I give a copy of this book whenever I am asked about finances and money. Thank you Eric.

Like most of the reviewers here, I was a novice when it came to personal finance--therefore, this purchase made sense. I appreciate all of his advice, and recommend it to anyone stepping out into the "real world" for the first time.

But I do have one complaint--I wish he would've given a little more detail in the section about buying a car--some of the important and obscure factors to consider. I took his advice, and bought a used car, thinking that I should be conservative and that I didn't really NEED a new car and would therefore save money. But I was wrong.

Factoring in the higher interest rate that used cars have versus new ones, and the 3-year warranty I bought with my car that comes automatically with new ones, it would not have been much more expensive to just get a new one. I bought a used Honda Civic with 40000 miles on it, and now a new Toyota Yaris would have cost the same amount. And I cringe everytime I see a commercial that says "0% financing!!!"

I should have done more research.

The other aspects of the book: investing, reducing debt, etc, were all helpful to me.

Great book. Helps you prioritize what is really important in your life and how your spending/savings habits should reflect that. Explains everythging in really simple terms. Is a fun and interesting read. Helps get your financial life on track.

I remember when the Dummies series first came out, and I thought it was a rather insulting title for a book for people to pick up and read. Now, many years later, the series is firmly entrenched in our culture. The books do an extremely good job of laying out the basics in very easy to understand terms on a number of topics. The Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson really does do a great job of explaining the basics of personal finance.

Now, some might say "oh it's common sense. Don't overuse credit cards. Shop around for the best loan." However, most high school and college students have NO idea how to do these things. Just look at the huge number of people in personal debt. Look at the vast numers who declare bankruptcy, who have no idea what a CD is, who are befuddled by the whole real estate market. This book makes it easy for them. If you have debt, this is a book that can help take you step by step through what your options are and how to work your way towards a financially solvent position.

Yes, the information here isn't million-dollar investment material. That's not what the book says it offers. It gives you a starting-from-the-ground layout of how to get started on your debt reduction, how to start choosing wise ways to save money, how to figure out the savings accounts you need, and hopefully as you go along you'll actually have some free spending money to invest. I remember when I got started out of college, that I was literally living hand to mouth. Each paycheck barely covered the bills I had. Savings? Hah - I needed the security deposit back from one apartment before I could afford to put that money down for my next apartment! I didn't even have a single month's rent saved up.

Now, there is a particular issue that seemed to stand out for me. Oddly, that was that Eric seems to be hammering the idea of vegetarianism. I'm all for people eating the way they want to eat, and I didn't mind that at one point he says something like "avoiding all meat can help you save money, because meat is expensive." Sure, and don't watch movies in a theater either - just watch them at home when they come around to network TV. He doesn't mention that movie tip. But he does go on to repeat the "avoid meat" tip NUMEROUS times throughout the book. After a while it didn't seem a casual point any more. I don't mind - but I don't want my book on finances to be pressing agendas. What's next - numerous examples about "don't vote for the XXXX party because ..." ?

I also have to comment that a book is only as good as the person who reads and follows it. I have a humorous story here. A relative of mine was about to head out to a time share talk - and it so happened that the night before, we met up for dinner and I brought along the book to share. Right in the book it says, very clearly, that a time share is the WORST possible real estate investment you could possibly make. It was in a section all its own and the book described how completely awful the time share investments are. The huge profit the company makes is why they can afford to "give" you free vacations and such when you sign up for one. They make a TON of money by luring you into a time share sale. And yet, the very next day, my relative had bought a time share. So unless you actually follow the information the book gives, it's not going to help you much. You need to read it - think about it - and USE the information.

Highly, highly recommended. I think this book should be read and owned by every graduate of high school and college out there. With all the education we give our kids, we never teach them about the critical financial skills that they will need to keep afloat in life. Heck, many adults I know need a copy too. It could save a marriage - or a career.

This book is excellent.It covers all you need to know and why in an easy to understand and often humerous way.After reading this I went to a financial planner and it was as if they were reading an outline from this book to me.There are hundreds of books that promise you this and that; but this is the truth as if delivered from Mount Sinai.I only wish I read this book as a younger man.I now give it as a graduation gift.

Well balanced book! Especially shedding a light on personal financial goals and relating it to plans

Another great Dummies book. This book is full of useful information, and you certainly can't beat the price. Excellent overview and great tips.

Bought it because I loved Eric Tyson's Dummies Guide to Investing. But his Personal Finance book really provided no useful information (at least for me.) The points he makes regarding credit cards, budgeting, etc. are valid - but they're mostly common sense...and not worth the purchase of the book. Do yourself a favor, and buy his other book, Investing for Dummies. Now, that bang is worth the buck.

I read this while preparing to get married. I've never worried very much about money, but I felt the pressure to learn fast, and this book was actually a great springboard. I got the basics down for a lot of financial terms and investment models that get thrown around without much explanation, and I feel much better equipped to manage my money in the future.

I think the only idiom/term that got tossed in this book with no explanation was "pork-belly." Sorry, I've heard the term before, but I honestly still don't know what it means!

I read this while preparing to get married. I've never worried very much about money, but I felt the pressure to learn fast, and this book was actually a great springboard. I got the basics down for a lot of financial terms and investment models that get thrown around without much explanation, and I feel much better equipped to manage my money in the future.

I think the only idiom/term that got tossed in this book with no explanation was "pork-belly." Sorry, I've heard the term before, but I honestly still don't know what it means!

This book deserves its reputation. Very useful information. A very fine, general guide to your financial future. Just follow Mr. Tyson and you are well on your way to a secure and disciplined financial future. His mutual fund picks alone made me enough money (within a day of buying) to pay for this book!

My spouse and I have been making our way through this book systematically. We have found the organization extremely helpful. You won't need to read cover to cover, just the chapters which apply to you. The level of detail is sometimes not as deep as I would have hoped, but the book covers a wide breadth of information and consistently points you in the right direction when your particular cirumstance merits further research. Moreover, you can use this book as a workbook to: 1. get a snapshot of your current financial health, 2. create financial goals, and 3. make a plan of action. The book has given us some accountability. We have weekly "PF4D" meetings where we discuss our 'assigned' readings and discuss what we need to do as individuals (me: reduce spending, him: increase rate of savings) and what we need to do as a couple (get life insurance and increase 401k contributions.) The next week we report on our progress. The language is broadly accessible. The suggestions are sound. Whether you are 20 or 60 this book will have information helpful for you. I actually have an MBA, so I already had a good idea of the state of my personal finances and knew what I should be doing. I just needed a book and a system to help me actually do something about it, and this book has worked for me and my spouse. Though I did learn quite a bit new in the section on how to choose a personal financial advisor, should I need one. (So there are some not so obvious things for you other smarty-pants out there.)

I disagree with the author of this book on the fundamental conflict of interest issue. Mr. Tyson claims repeatedly throughout this book that insurance salesmen cannot be trusted for their advice because their commission is based on the size of the policy premium they sell you. Salesmen are really compensated in multiple ways. For starters, they do earn a large commission on the initial sale of insurance (or investment products). However, the commission typically continues to pay out over the following 10 years. If you as a buyer decide you were misled, can't afford to pay the premiums, or just decide you don't want the insurance, the salesmen looses a significant portion of this commission. Also, most salesmen that refer to themselves as `financial ________' make a living by servicing a client base. This client base grows through referrals. If a salesmen is pressuring clients into buying junk they don't need, it's going to be awfully difficult to develop relationships that lead to high quality referrals. Referring your `financial ______' is equivalent to tipping your waiter, and it is a significant part of their compensation. Any salesmen who doesn't quickly realize this will be out of the business rather quickly. The deferred commission and referral process are two safeguards designed to protect the consumer.

But while were on the topic of conflict of interest, where does Mr. Tyson's interest lie (pun intended). Well, he is an author of a book. Books generate revenue through sales, and books that sell well are typically entertaining to read. How can we make a book about the value of safe investments, insuring against your own death, and other otherwise boring topics exciting? Well we can always try to scare the reader! I expected this book to say things like "what will happen when its time to retire and you have no money?!?!' or `who will take care of your family when you get eaten by piranhas?!?!'. But instead, Tyson tried to make us scared of financial professionals. A genius move by an author of a book likely to be read by die-hard do-it-yourselfers. Now it's us against them! It's obvious he's trying to use the good ole' fear=entertainment shtick when the pages are littered with `BEWARE' shark-fins and `WARNING' time bombs. Not only can this conflict of interest be to the readers financial detriment, but Tyson even has the panache to finish off about one paragraph per chapter with an endorsement for another book he authored/co-authored.

And one other thing I just remembered. Tyson seems to believe that even if you were to find a reputable financial advisor, who makes his salary off of commission, you should not do business with him. Two points of interest:
1. Many financial advisors can offer you different ways of paying them. If you choose the fee for service method, you should be in a situation where your account will require frequent attention. Otherwise, the commission basis will often be cheaper.
2. To the best of my knowledge, there is no evidence that the cost ratio of insurance policies sold through highly commissioned salesmen is intrinsically greater. The only study I have found on the subject was published in 1979, and it came to the conclusion that "No evidence suggests that insurers without agents operate more efficiently than do those with agents." This can be found in the Journal of Risk and Insurance, Vol. 46, No. 1 page 61-74.

Most of the tips are obvious.
I would get a different book if I had the chance.

My only regret is that I did not read a book of this caliber in my early twenties. If only it had been required reading in on of my college business classes, I would have found myself in far better shape financially today. This book is chalk full of common sense. For even more details, see the author's other book on mutual fund investing... a real eye opener.

Currently I am a broke 22 year old college grad. This book is helping me work my way through my loan debt and still have money left over to live. I love the way it's set up and it's easy to follow. I would recommend it for Dummies or any other person like me who had no clue were to start but is intelligent enough to seek help.

This seller is a credit to Amazon. Item was delivered with lightning quick shipping in great condition.

Eric Tyson always makes the hard things seem so easy
thats what I love about his (Dummies) series
I many times start researching a subject knowing the dummies books
will spring board me in the right direction like this book has
then if I need to move on from there so be it.
Many times ,like this one Personal Finance covered this subject very
nicely.Well Done

I have an MBA (at least a diploma) and I my personal finances are a mess. Sad but true. This book made me realize that simple rules apply to every money management. From households to giant companies.

I purchased this book for my business library and was not disappointed. It covers many topics in personal finance. Although topical in nature, it is an excellent book if you want to get a grasp of personal finance in a hurry.

Sadly I bought this book too late, if I had it 5 years back I would be in a better financial position. To be honest I got depressed while reading it and I had to stop reading. On the other hand if your finances are OK this book will help you maintain you finances healthy.

I highly recommend this book, Eric Tyson is a financial guru! I have read all of his boooks and put the information to use, I can honestly say I am content with my future outlook for retirement and investing in general.