Personal Finance for Dummies (For Dummies)

The new Personal Finance For Dummies, Fifth Edition updates the bestselling guide from financial counselor Eric Tyson to give everyone the power to control their finances and brighten their future. This better-than-ever guide to personal finance gives readers the tools they need to take an honest look at their current financial health and set realistic goals for the future. It offers techniques for tracking expenditures, reducing spending, and getting out from under the burden of high-interest debt. It explains the basics of investing, as well as risks, returns, investment options, and popular investment strategies. This edition includes new information on bankruptcy law, minimizing banking charges, evaluating credit card rewards and personal technology purchases, saving for college and special events, surviving layoffs, and considering early retirement offers. People don’ t need an MBA or a CPA to take control of their personal finances, all it takes is Personal Finance For Dummies.

" Detailed, action-oriented advice . . . A standout personal finance primer." – Kristin Davis, Kiplinger’ s Personal Finance

" . . . provides trememdous 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

Eric Tyson, MBA, is a nationally recognized personal finance counselorand the author of numerous For Dummies titles, including Home Buying For Dummies (0-471-76847-2), Investing For Dummies (0-7645-9912-7), and Mutual Funds For Dummies (0-7645-7191-5), among others.

Personal Finance for Dummies, 5^th Edition is full of detailed, action-oriented financial advice that will show you how to lower expenses and tame debts as well as invest wisely to achieve your financial goals! Now in its 5^th edition, this up-to-date guide covers all the latest trends to ensure your financial stability. Just some of the updates and revisions include:

• Reviews of the new and revised tax laws and how to take advantage of them
• The latest scoop on Medicare and Social Security and what it means for you
• Updated investment advice on mutual funds and other managed investments
• Enhanced smart spending tips
• Coverage of new bankruptcy laws and how to eliminate consumer debt
• Smart ways to use credit and improve credit scores
• Expanded coverage on educational savings options

This hands-on, straightforward guide features ways to survive life changes such as starting your first job, getting married, having children, and retiring, as well as helpful tactics for preventing identity theft and fraud. With Personal Finance for Dummies, 5^th Edition, you’ll be able to achieve financial strength and start concentrating on the more important things in life!

After toiling away for a number of years as a management consultant to Fortune 500 financial-service firms, Eric finally figured out how to pursue his dream. He took his inside knowledge of the banking, investment, and insurance industries and committed himself to making personal financial management accessible to all.

Today, Eric is an internationally acclaimed and bestselling personal finance book author, syndicated columnist, and speaker. He has worked with and taught people from all financial situations, so he knows the financial concerns and questions of real folks just like you. Despite being handicapped by an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in Economics and Biology from Yale University, Eric remains a master of “keeping it simple.” An accomplished personal finance writer, his “Investor’s Guide” syndicated column, distributed by King Features, is read by millions nationally, and he was an award-winning columnist for the San Francisco Examiner. He is the author of five national bestselling financial books in the For Dummies series on personal finance, investing, mutual funds, home buying (coauthor), and taxes (coauthor). The prior edition of this book was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Award for best book of the year in the Business category.

His latest book, Mind Over Money: Your Path to Wealth and Happiness (CDS/Perseus), examines the problematic financial habits people engage in and provides proven strategies for overcoming them.

Eric’s work has been featured and quoted in hundreds of local and national publications, including Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, Parenting, Money, Family Money, and Bottom Line/Personal; on NBC’s Today Show, ABC, CNBC, PBS Nightly Business Report, CNN, and FOX-TV; and on CBS national radio, NPR’s Sound Money, Bloomberg Business Radio, and Business Radio Network.

Part I: Assessing Your Fitness and Setting Goals.

Chapter 1: Improving Your Financial Literacy.

Chapter 2: Measuring Your Financial Health.

Chapter 3: Determining Where Your Money Goes.

Chapter 4: Establishing and Achieving Goals.

Part II: Saving More, Spending Less.

Chapter 5: Dealing with Debt.

Chapter 6: Reducing Your Spending.

Chapter 7: Taming Taxes.

Part III: Building Wealth with Wise Investing.

Chapter 8: Important Investment Concepts.

Chapter 9: Understanding Your Investment Choices.

Chapter 10: Investing in Mutual Funds.

Chapter 11: Investing in Retirement Accounts.

Chapter 12: Investing in Taxable Accounts.

Chapter 13: Investing for Educational Expenses.

Chapter 14: Investing in Real Estate: Your Home and Beyond.

Part IV: Insurance: Protecting What You’ve Got.

Chapter 15: Insurance: Getting What You Need at the Best Price.

Chapter 16: Insurance on You: Life, Disability, and Health.

Chapter 17: Covering Your Assets.

Part V: Where to Go for More Help.

Chapter 18: Working with Financial Planners.

Chapter 19: Computer Money Management.

Chapter 20: On Air and in Print.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 21: Survival Guide for Ten Life Changes.

Chapter 22: Ten Tactics to Thwart Identity Theft and Fraud

Glossary.

Index.