Straight-up, jargon-free advice on personal finance for those made nauseous by the phrase "personal finance."
What the hell's a stock? A bond? A mutual fund? And why do I need to know? Is it better to start investing, or pay off that lingering credit card balance? Should I borrow money to buy a bungalow? A Jaguar? A jalopy? How? What's so great about compound interest anyway? Is the price of this book tax-deductible?
The Green Magazine Guide to Personal Finance answers these questions and provides savvy, sensible money advice for anyone who doesn't want to wade through lots of b.s. Ken Kurson, editor of the critically acclaimed Green magazine, demystifies all types of personal financial matters--investing, retirement planning, credit card debt, student loans, first-time home buying, insurance, taxes--as well as providing valuable information on learning to live within your means, dealing with deadbeat roommates or spendthrift boyfriends, and putting on a cheap wedding. Ken Kurson's engaging yet always pragmatic money-speak is enlivened with real-life examples, pie charts, comics, and dead-on humor. His advice doesn't always sound like Dad's, but it's every bit as solid. The Green Magazine Guide is the only book that speaks to all those who are cynical, intimidated, or simply flummoxed about money matters.
Kurson does an amazing job of writing a book on financing that's actually an enjoyable read. It's filled with funny and enlightening stories, pop culture references, and clear, useful examples. -- Wired, Gareth Branwyn
From the Publisher
Praise for The Green Magazine Guide to Personal Finance:
"This book is terrific: complete, accurate, crystal clear, and fun to read. It's the one book on personal finance that I can recommend without hesitation. I expect to give a lot of copies away to grateful friends." --Steven E. Landsburg, author of The Armchair Economist
"The sooner you begin heeding the advice in this book, the better off you'll be." --John Koten, editor in chief, Worth magazine
"Wow. Ken Kurson is really serious about his no b.s. pledge. He's written a serious money book without jargon or condescension but with lots of smarts and humor." --Susan Lee, senior editor and columnist, Forbes magazine
Kurson has been a contributing editor since 1997 for Esquire magazine, where his monthly section, "Green," covers the world of money and investing. Kurson's cover story for the October 1998 issue ("What did you do after the crash, Daddy") had the good fortune to appear on the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell some 500 points. His "Vegas = Investing" column in Esquire's April 1998 issue drew rave attention and was greeted with radio appearances nationwide (San Francisco, Boston, et. al.), including the nationally syndicated "Sportsline" program. Publication of Kurson's cover story on the dangers of market overconfidence in Oct. 1998 coincided with a swift market plummet, resulting in a flurry of media appearances and coverage, from MSNBC to Good Morning America.
Kurson penned the cover story for the Forbes 400 issue Fall 2000, getting ahead of the Internet schadenfreude trend in "Don't Weep for the Rich."
Prior to Esquire, Kurson was a staff writer at Worth magazine, where he wrote the popular Advocate column (enjoying prominent placement on the back page), which addressed problems readers have with various investments. In February 1997, Kurson was named to TJFR's prestigious "30 Under 30" list of business journalists for the second year in a row.
Kurson is also a prolific freelance writer, penning everything from features for the New York Times to a recurring column about comic books in Spin to a money column aimed at young hip-hop fans in The Source. He writes frequently about politics, including editorials in Newsday and the Chicago Sun-Times and the New York Post. Kurson has written for Rolling Stone, Slate, Salon, Yahoo Internet Life, Civilization, Online Investor, the New York Times, the New York Times magazine, American Lawyer and Elle.
Kurson was the founder of greenmagazine.com and Green Magazine, a personal finance site and magazine. Free from the jargon and get-rich-quickism of much of the mainstream financial press, Green was lauded far and wide, from USA Today to Cosmopolitan, from Wired to CNBC and MSNBC. The Chicago Tribune dubbed it "Long on humor and refreshingly free of Wall Street jargon" and both the Industry Standard and the New York Times ran substantial profiles of Kurson in 2000. This month (Jan 2001), Yahoo Internet Life magazine named Green to its list of "100 best websites for 2001," featured on its cover.
Doubleday published Kurson's first book, The Green Magazine Guide to Personal Finance, in April 1998 by as its lead Spring paperback title. It enjoyed glowing reviews/mention in Worth, Wired, Playboy, Publishers Weekly, Detroit News, Salon.com and elsewhere. It was on Amazon.com's business bestseller list for more than a year after publication.
Kurson has appeared hundreds of times on television and radio, including a four-year run as a paid weekly contributor on CNNfn. Dozens of appearances each on NPR, CNN, FOX, FOXNews, CNBC, MSNBC, ABC, KVI-Seattle, WXYT-Detroit, WJJD-Chicago, Bloomberg radio and TV, and CNNfn. From 1999 through 2001, Kurson appeared every Wednesday afternoon live from the Nasdaq in Times Square on YahooFinance Television. In Sept. 1998, he became a regular contributor to NPR's "Marketplace," for whom he wrote and performed commentary each month. He has appeared regularly on Fox's top-rated "Good Day New York" morning program, CNNfn's "Roundtable" and MSNBC as a guest commentator.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent intro to understanding personal finance terms., October 3, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Green Magazine Guide to Personal Finance: A No B.S. Money Book for Your Twenties and Thirties (Paperback)
If you really want to get started taking charge of your own financial situation, this book is a must-have. I've highlighted sections of mine and can go back and refer to it because everything is in plain English- but the author doesn't talk down to you. I'm going to give this to all of my younger family and friends as a college graduation present. The analysis of different types of investments, insurance plans, terminology, and etc. is excellent and now I have enough confidence in my own knowledge to move to the next step of actual money management.
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This review is from: The Green Magazine Guide to Personal Finance: A No B.S. Money Book for Your Twenties and Thirties (Paperback)
I received this book as a gift from my girlfriend, who keeps trying to persuade me to save money for retirement, invest in a 401k, blah, blah, blah. I can't help it - I have a mental block about money, it just intimidates me. Well, it did until I got this book. It's written in normal english and it explains everything, not just the concepts, but WHY my life will improve if I understand this stuff. My only regret is not having the book about five years ago. Have already read it twice, and am already dispensing advice to my friends now, and even a little to my girlfriend. Really good job by the author.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA totally fun money book for people scared of money, October 23, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Green Magazine Guide to Personal Finance: A No B.S. Money Book for Your Twenties and Thirties (Paperback)
Practically my whole life, I've felt the need to know more about personal finance, but I was too afraid of all the jargon the guys in suits on TV would spew every time I tried to learn. This book's different. Somehow, the author writes like people really talk and think, and I learned more valuable stuff about what to do with the few bucks I have spilling over every month in the first couple chapters than I did trying to follow all the TV shows. A definite keeper for young people who don't like to be B.Sed.
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First Sentence:
Every personal finance book begins with the same instructions: add up everything you've got and subtract everything you owe. Read the first pageKey Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ken Kurson, Social Security, New York, American Express, Wall Street, Consumer Reports, Merrill Lynch, Sallie Mae, Advertised Price, Earned Income Credit, Fannie Mae, Jack White, National Association of Securities Dealers, American Stock Exchange, London Interbank Offered Rate, Los Angeles
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