Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties [Paperback]

Beth Kobliner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0684872617 | ISBN-13: 978-0684872612 | Edition: Revised and expanded

“A highly readable and substantial guide to the grown-up realms of money and business.” —Deborah Stead, The New York Times,

If you've been meaning to get your finances in shape but have no idea where to start, this is your playbook: The all-new edition of the New York Times bestseller Get a Financial Life busts open the system, teaching tricks for becoming master of your own money universe. No matter what's happening in the economy, all the guidance you need is right here. You'll learn how to:

• Pay off your credit cards and student loans and live debt free

• Start saving, even if you're living paycheck to paycheck

• Take advantage of the latest tax rules and save a bundle

• Find smart investments while still supporting socially responsible companies

• Come up with a down payment and buy a home, even in a tough economy

• Afford grad school

• Protect yourself from identity theft

And you'll discover why a 401(k) is your best friend—even if the market is tanking.

From tracking your spending to finding deals on insurance to navigating the new world of homebuying, this easy-to-understand, comprehensive guide provides an up-to-date road map of the world of personal finance. Whether you earn $30,000 or $300,000, are single or married, are drowning in debt or just looking for ways to keep your savings secure in uncertain times, you'll find the answers you need in Get a Financial Life.

“A daring book. . . . A life's worth of smart financial advice.” —Newsweek

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Those in their twenties and thirties have special financial concerns, including paying off college loans, obtaining credit cards, buying a car, and financing a first house or apartment. Kobliner, a contributing writer for Money magazine, provides some assistance here. She "focuses exclusively on what you need to know now when you're just starting to pay attention to money matters?whether you earn $15,000 or $150,000, whether you're single or married, whether you're financially inclined or financially challenged." Those consulting this book will find useful information and advice, from buying insurance to filing an income tax return. Helpful features include a bibliography of information resources and lists of agencies to contact. This source provides a helpful road map for young people striving for financial security. Recommended for public libraries.?Lucy T. Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

As one grows older, it becomes increasingly apparent that the oft-repeated admonishment that it is never too early to start saving money is all too true. But the young are often disinclined to think about growing older, and they usually cannot "afford" to start setting money aside. Kobliner, herself a barely thirtysomething who writes for Money magazine, attempts to reach younger readers by speaking their language and tailoring fairly standard financial counsel to the needs and circumstances of those just starting out on their own. Included in her advice on budgeting, credit, banking, investing, retirement planning, home buying, insurance, and taxes are tips on car loans, credit cards, ATMs, bank accounts, mutual funds, retirement savings plans, apartment renting, and paying back student loans. David Rouse --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: Fireside Press; Revised and expanded edition (June 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684872617
• ISBN-13: 978-0684872612
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #683,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Beth Kobliner is a personal finance commentator and journalist, and the author of the New York Times bestseller Get a Financial Life®: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties. As a member of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability and chair of the Council's Money as You Grow working group, Beth spearheaded the creation of the national initiative Money as You Grow, which offers families an online, interactive tool to teach kids 20 essential, age-appropriate lessons about money. More than 600,000 families have visited the website since it was launched by the White House in May 2012.

Beth has contributed to The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Parade, and Reader's Digest; has been a columnist at Money and Glamour magazines; and has regular columns on The Huffington Post (40 million visitors per month), Mint.com (10 million subscribers), and in Redbook magazine, which reaches 2.2 million readers a month.

As a content advisor for Sesame Workshop's first-ever financial education initiative For Me, for You, for Later, Beth was delighted to offer on-air money advice to Elmo in a program viewed by more than one million families. She has been a commentator on CNN, MSNBC, NBC's Today show, ABC's Good Morning America, and CBS's Early Show, and has been a regular contributor to the national public radio programs The Takeaway and Marketplace, on which she discussed teens and money with her daughter in the "Beth and Becca" segment. Beth appeared several times on Oprah, and was the featured financial correspondent on the PBS program Your Life, Your Money, for which she was also script consultant.

She is a regular lecturer on financial literacy, consumer finance, and related public policy issues at universities including Brown, Harvard, Yale, Howard, MIT, SUNY Westchester Community College, and New Jersey Institute of Technology, at which she recently spoke with Cory Booker about financial literacy and young people. Beth has also spoken at corporations and conferences including the White House Urban Economic Forum, National Journal LIVE, Campus Progress National Youth Conference, the American Savings Education Council, MTV, PepsiCo, and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Beth has worked extensively with the Federal Trade Commission's "Project Credit Smarts" campus outreach campaign and other organizations to promote credit card awareness. She was a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' National Commission on Retirement Policy, and has testified before a U.S. Senate policy committee on young people's attitudes toward Social Security. She is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, the New York Financial Writers' Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Beth is a graduate of Brown University.

Visit Beth at bethkobliner.com, follow her on Twitter (@BethKobliner) and like her on Facebook (facebook.com/getafinanciallife).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to managing your finances July 8, 2001

By Anoop Ghanwani

Format:Paperback

I bought an earlier version of this book way back in 1996. I had just gotten my first job and I was looking for information on how to manage money and to find out how much I could "afford" when buying a car and/or other expensive stuff. This book helped with all of that. It helped me understand the basics of personal finance, loans, insurance, 401(k), etc. There's lots of good advice in there, so I'd certainly recommend buying this book. The information is this book is beautifully organized and very easy to digest.

Unfortunately, I haven't learnt a whole lot about personal finance since reading this book. I've read numerous books on personal finance after this one. All of them tend to say more or less the same things as this book, but they haven't said it as well.

Bottomline, if you understand the basics of personal finance (such as the principles of compounding, the importance of investing early in a 401(k), why it's bad to have credit card debt, etc.), you can probably afford to skip this book. Otherwise, it's a must have.

78 of 86 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Up-To-Date Edition Of The Popular Personal Finance Work August 9, 2000

By Irvin Goodman HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This updated version of Beth Kobliner's work (5/2000) can help the folks in their 20's and 30's get a handle on their finances. Even with a college education, most students fail to come away with sufficient knowledge on how to manage their dough. This book is an easy read, not filled with useless info. There is special emphasis on paying off college loans, getting credit cards, buying a car, and financing a first house or apartment. Things that you really need to know. The main chapters include: Figuring out Where You Are and Where You Want to Go, Finding the Best Loans and Getting Yourself Out of Hock, How to Get the Most from Your Bank for the Least Amount of Money, All You Really Need to Know About Investing, Living the Good Life in 2030 !!, Getting an Apartment or House of Your Own, What Insurance You Need and Don't, Finding the Right Policies and Forgoing Coverage You Don't Need, Making Your Life Less Taxing. There is info on using the Web to help you save, spend and invest wisely, how to refinance your high-rate debt and avoid hidden fees and traps, taking advantage of the latest tax breaks- including deductions for student loans, and planning your long range savings program. In addition, there are details on car leases, credit reports, mutual funds, and more. A wealth of information available for less than 12 bucks. Highly recommended. A great gift.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy-to-use reference guide January 6, 2002

By Toomanybooks

Format:Paperback

I bought the original edition of this book after seeing Ms. Kobliner on a morning news program. I was rather uninformed about my finances at that point. I had several thousands of dollars of credit card debt, was about to finish grad school and get married, and didn't have a job waiting. Worried about merging my bad financial life with my future husband's relatively well-organized one, I bought this book.

Together, my husband and I read it and developed a road map for what we thought we needed to accomplish. It gave us the basics to get our financial life on track, including paying off all the credit card debt (we carry none at all), getting a mortgage, buying a new car, and starting retirement plans. Now that we arethinking about insurance, starting a family, planning for college funds, etc., this was the first place I thought to turn for well-seasoned advice.

This book covers a lot of topics in an accessible format, but I acknowledge that for someone who is already aware of their finances and has some knowledge, it may be repetitive. But I always find myself wanting to go back to it when I have questions--so today I'm buying the updated edition, and letting a financially challeneged friend keep the other one.