Customer Reviews

Ernst & Young's Personal Financial Planning Guide (Ernst and Young's Personal Financial Planning Guide)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This 3rd edition is a useful tool for people who are either starting to understand personal financial planning or those who have years of practical experience but want the latest information available. Complex concepts are explained clearly and concisely. There are no major gaps in the information provided. The book is well organized. Part II which uses a life-event approach to financial planning will be most helpful for people beginning to understand personal financial planning or facing a major life-event.

I enjoyed reading the book and found it filled with exactly the information I was seeking to improve my own personal financial planning. The format was very understandable and will allow me to continue using the book as a reference.

As a tax professional and tax educator, I recognized many years ago that tax & financial illiteracy is a major problem amongst taxpayers. For example, consider: 1. how many wage-earners do not even understand all the deductions posted on their pay statements -- or that net pay is not the same as taxable income; or 2. how many people do not understand that the basic tax equation is "tax liability = tax base x tax rate" -- and that tax rate alone is not enough information to calculate one's tax liability; or 3. how many people think capital gains taxes paid are a "bad thing" -- when in fact, they are frequently a "subsidy" provided to wealthier taxpayers at the expense of wage-earners; or 4. how many people are eligible for some form of deferred compensation [401(k)plan, 403(b) plan etc] but they either do not participate or do not participate fully; etc, etc, etc.

In an effort to promote "Basic Tax Literacy," I highly recommend the EY-PFP Guide as a highly accessible & understandable guide for teens and above. This book makes a wonderful gift for all life events -- coming of age ceremonies, graduations, marriage, birth of child, divorce, mid-life crisis, pre-retirement, retirement. It could even serve as a textbook for certain courses and seminars.

I use this book basically because I am a financial planner. Some of the advice I gave out are similar to those in this book. My clients appreciate the advice, ideas and insight a lot.

This book gives you impartial, insightful and authoritative advice on almost all major topics in financial planning. It gives you not only the ideas and solutions but also the reasoning and analysis behind them. Not many authors can do that.

I recommend this book to all financial planners and lay people who really care about their finances, future and well-being.

This is the book I would recommend to someone who wants an overview of the various topics that we (certified financial planners) deal with everyday. It does a good job of covering issues like savings, retirement and estate planning -- and everything in between. This is a good place to start if you want to take control of your financial life.

I've owned several reference books over the years on financial planning and/or taxes, and the ones I always reach for first are the E&Y guides, and this book is no exception. This is a no-nonsense, no fluff guide (unlike the several Suze Orman books I bought and then gave away) that is clear and complete. Highly recommended.

Now in its 5th Edition this is still a great reference book for anyone wanting to either start on a financial plan or complete their annual review.

Updated with current information it is always a useful reference tool. Many Financial Services Professionals keep a copy handy for a quick check.

Parents would be well advised to share their copy with their children. It will give them good advice on how to start looking after their financial future.

This is a great tool for most of us to have.

Absolutely one of the best financial planning reference tools around! If your personally planning to restructure your financial life or hire a professional to do it for you, then this book is a must have. It provides a wealth of information as well as an extensive array of guidelines and tips for every area of your life . I especially like that it brings to light concerns of areas you may not be immediately affected by (aging parents) but should be planning for now. Having hired a professional, this book has proved Indispensable in that we have been able to knowingly select and plan individual or particular methods of approach towards our financial futures and better implement them through a professional planner!!!

When I started teaching financial planning to US Air Force officers planning on reentering the general economy it was a little known subject and you had to scout up your material from pamphlets, magazines and newspapers with help from stockbrokers.
"Ernst & Young's Personal Financial Planning Guide" published by John Wiley & Sons, which is the same publishing house that publishes the JK Lasser's tax manual puts the information all in one volume.
Of intense interest to us is the chapter on starting your own business, which as authors we are doing in our senior years. The material is geared to the younger generation who are just starting out, but the advice is sound and easy to understand without an extensive background in accounting and economics.
Financial planning is rough at this period in our history, because of the skyrocketing prices of necessary goods and services not used in the consumer price index, hence they are excluded from inflation percentage calculations. Gasoline, medicines and health care are three I can name, off hand, that affect the general population, but fall outside the index. This phenomena is not addressed in the planning guide, but then Congress has not touched it since the Johnson adminstration either. It is not something that winning the lottery will answer for an individual, but it is like trying to hold a large balloon half-full of water in one-hand and keep it round.
"Personal Financial Planning Guide' is the best we have found for a realistic look at all aspects of financial planning. The table of contents and index are outstanding for locating information.
Nash Black, author of "Taxes, Stumbling Blocks & Pitfalls for Authors 2007."

This book provides a great look into the world of financial planning. It covers almost every topic from insurance to 401k, and and explains it in an easy to understand format. It is quite simply the best overview of personal financial planning you can buy.

Great financial planning book. If I could give it 6 stars I would. No gimmicks or flavor of the month information. Its set up in a concise, life events style with easy to understand examples.

Financial decisions are some times complicated. Your financial planning references shouldn't be.