Customer Reviews

Making the Most of Your Money Now: The Classic Bestseller Completely Revised for the New Economy

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jane Bryant Quinn has provided an updated expanded resource that anyone can use to assist them in personal financial planning. With the largess of the book, I concentrate on chapters that directly effect me or have an interest in. An example is her excellent chapter called "Your Safety Net" where she breaks down the differences in types of life insurance policies from variations of term, credit insurance and different types of cash value insurance that include Traditional Whole Life, Universal Life, Variable Universal Life and many complications to policies. In addition, she offers straightforward advice on the value of these policies and the risks involved. In the chapter, she even provides a free on line resource for further discussion on types of policies and she provides the on line address of an insurance evaluation service that costs $75. Additional chapters cover bonds, stocks, retirement planning, your home, funding college and retirement planning. Quinn's strength is her ability to break down relatively complicated financial issues and discuss the benefits and the pitfalls while offering guidance based on individual situations. This is a big book, over 1100 pages, but that is because of the in-depth discussion and resources that Quinn provides. Another benefit, Quinn's in-depth experience as a financial analyst, her ability to communicate and her sincere concern to provide information and guidance for regular folk.

Having read dozens of investment and financial planning books over the past ten years, I can say that Jane's tome is as level-headed and comprehensive as anything out there. She puts last year's financial meltdown in its proper context, (a big deal, but not the end of the world, and certainly not a reason to abandon equities). She shows you the usefulness of asset allocation, what you can anticipate from various allocations, and takes you through the steps of setting up a plan you can rely on. She tells you about home purchases and car purchases and planning for your children's college expenses.

In short, Jane Bryant Quinn pretty much guides you through the whole twisting rat's maze that we know as "Managing Your Money" and makes the journey (relatively) pain free. There are other good books on the handling of personal cash flow out there, but J.B.Q's is among the best of them. Go buy your copy today. It'll be $36 well spent.

I had bought the second version of this book over a decade ago. It was the only book I had found that explained financial matters in an uncomplicated yet thorough manner. At the time, I was new to my career and was looking for something basic to teach me what to do with my money. When I began reading her book, I found myself delving in all the chapters. It became much more than a book telling me where to put my money. It became a guide to ones ENTIRE financial life - from birth to death and beyond. This new release is no different. Don't be intimidated by the hugeness of this book - she gives valuable information in an easy to comprehend style. For me, the advice in this book, allowed me to feel confident in my choices, and confident to question those that didn't seem like they were serving my best interests.

I just finished reading Making the Most of Your Money Now and I have to say that this is probably one of the most thoroughly researched, informative and complete books I have EVER read on personal finance.

This book is huge (the size of a dictionary) and covers off everything you could possibly ever need to know about personal finance - be it debt (this one is covered in great detail), major purchases, investment, retirement (of particular interest to me) and everything else that you can possibly lump into personal finance.

The author is never preachy, but manages to get her points across - its important to stay out of debt and to think of your future NOW!

I liked the down to earth manner in which the author explains the facts to us - using everyday words and staying away from a bunch of boring and scary graphs and analytics that, for the average person, means nothing concrete.

This book is to be used a a bedside guide to all your finance questions.

This is -- hands down -- the best financial book on the market. It's witty and insightful, but more important, easy to understand, reliable, and full of solid, common-sense advice. It's my financial bible. I would be lost without it in the jungle of the financial markets, and am especially grateful that this new edition is out now, considering the damage that the sub-prime mortgage fiasco has done to the financial well-being of most Americans.

I give this to people as a gift. I also like Dave Ramsey. Since most schools no longer require a personal finance course, I find this to be a very useful present for younger people as they are nearing the end of high school.

Jane Bryant Quinn is one of the best for no nonesense financial planning.

Everything you want or need to know about finances. Today you will be taken advantage of or make unecessary mistakes concerning family and personal finances if you don't educate yourself.

A fat book, but that's OK; you only need to read the parts you're interested in at the moment. It has to be big to cover the material in enough depth to be useful. The writing style is just breezy enough to be enjoyable without sacrificing substance or the details you really need. Visually the pages are nicely broken up by many headers, so you can see the topic discussed and quickly home in on the relevant paragraphs. She has a feel for what confuses us and a knack for getting down to the nitty-gritty. She shows us that financial stuff is not really above our heads. Understanding the world of money is essential for taking control over our lives. She does not hesitate to offer opinions that might be controversial. She says, for example, that hiring and depending on a financial advisor is probably not the way to go since you'll just end up having to monitor THEM!

Indeed, as others have noted, there are quite a few negative reviews for an earlier edition of this book which suggest that the author is a "mere journalist" and not really an authority on money. This made me think twice about whether to trust this book. However, I when saw that a number of those negative reviews were rated many times as "helpful" even though they were only a sentence or two long and/or pretty much incoherent, it seemed suspicious. So I tend to discount them. As to her being a journalist, journalists have been responsible for a lot of clarification on topics that no one else touches in our society. Quinn has written for years for various media on money issues so she must know quite a bit.

Jane Bryant Quinn is the fairy godmother of the uninformed investor. She advises in part if you don't follow the investment markets, put your long-range investment in Vanguard funds (or Fidelity or T. Rowe Price) and let it ride. She runs you through how to distribute and balance your investments depending on your needs, goals and stage of life. For short-range funds, she currently recommends several on-line banks that are paying something on savings deposits. She runs you through every area of investment. If you are more of an intermediate, she has a lot to teach you as well. If you are an expert, you will want something more specialized. The book is literate but not literature; it is very accessible, well-organized and is a fast read despite the sheer size of the book and the detail provided.

Want to learn about investing... Invest in this book! Outstanding, articulate,
simple, common sense advice. Jane Bryant Quinn offers a fun, humorous,
knowledgeable style of writing. It will be a reference for you regarding all
aspects of your financial life. Jane out reasons and out performs my
Financial Advisor whomst we pay $1200 - $1500 a year!!! She will make
you conversational in dealing with the expert talking heads...