Navigating the Financial Blogosphere: How to Benefit from Free Information on the Internet [Hardcover]

Russell Bailyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2007

Praise for Navigating the Financial Blogosphere

"Navigating the Financial Blogosphere is the most enjoyable personal finance book I've ever read. I read it cover to cover within an afternoon, and I didn't want to put it down. It's fresh, practical, and broad in its topic coverage and should be on the top of every person's reading list. Russell Bailyn is a super-talented rising star."
-Matthew D. Hutcheson, Independent Pension Fiduciary, expert Congressional witness on retirement plan economics

"Financial information on the Internet has exploded in volume; the challenge is to find what's useful and reliable. Russell Bailyn's book does an excellent job of presenting important personal finance topics in a clear and digestible form, and pointing readers to a wealth of high-quality sources on the Internet. Navigating the Financial Blogosphere is browsable, fun, and very useful."
-David Jackson, founder and CEO, SeekingAlpha.com

"Russell Bailyn not only explains financial decision making, but like a good research librarian, he tells you where to go on the Web for more information. You'll want to be close to your computer as you read this book."
-Joseph Hurley, founder and CEO, Savingforcollege.com LLC

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

While many of us trust the advice of so-called "experts" when it comes to our financial well-being, the fact is that many of these professionals either aren't objective enough or simply have an opinion that they want to push on us. This is ironic in that finance is a very subjective discipline, and many financial issues can be resolved by combining a few simple rules with a solid understanding of your own personal preferences.

Wealth manager Russell Bailyn knows how difficult it can be to overcome these obstacles, but he also believes that through well-rounded discussions of important financial topics, you can enhance your understanding of this field and improve your performance within it. That's why, in 2005, he started Russell Bailyn's Financial Planning Blog (www.russellbailyn.com/weblog) as a forum for discussing commonly asked financial questions. Within months, this blog became a widely syndicated resource for both ordinary investors and industry professionals.

Now, with Navigating the Financial Blogosphere, Bailyn will show you how to take advantage of the many informational outlets available online and provide you with the tools you'll need to get the most out of them. Divided into four comprehensive parts—First Perspectives on Money, Building Wealth Requires Planning, Living in a Financial World, and Thinking Long-Term about Money Management—this one-of-a-kind guide may change the way you live your financial life.

Starting at the beginning of a typical personal financial journey, this book answers basic questions such as how to choose a bank and how to read a credit score. It then moves on to address the essential savings and investment issues that many of us will face during our working years—from figuring out IRAs and 401(k)s to picking stocks and mutual funds. Navigating the Financial Blogosphere concludes with an accessible analysis of long-term financial topics, such as retirement and Social Security, and a straightforward explanation of how to manage your portfolio through asset allocation and rebalancing strategies.

Composed of concise, yet comprehensive chapters that build in complexity as the book progresses, Navigating the Financial Blogosphere will help you connect with some of the best financial information possible and show you how to use it to boost your chances at success in today's ever-changing financial world.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Navigating the Financial Blogosphere

"Navigating the Financial Blogosphere is the most enjoyable personal finance book I've ever read. I read it cover to cover within an afternoon, and I didn't want to put it down. It's fresh, practical, and broad in its topic coverage and should be on the top of every person's reading list. Russell Bailyn is a super-talented rising star."
—Matthew D. Hutcheson, Independent Pension Fiduciary, expert Congressional witness on retirement plan economics

"Financial information on the Internet has exploded in volume; the challenge is to find what's useful and reliable. Russell Bailyn's book does an excellent job of presenting important personal finance topics in a clear and digestible form, and pointing readers to a wealth of high-quality sources on the Internet. Navigating the Financial Blogosphere is browsable, fun, and very useful."
—David Jackson, founder and CEO, SeekingAlpha.com

"Russell Bailyn not only explains financial decision making, but like a good research librarian, he tells you where to go on the Web for more information. You'll want to be close to your computer as you read this book."
—Joseph Hurley, founder and CEO, Savingforcollege.com LLC

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470118105
• ISBN-13: 978-0470118108
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,026,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A personal finance blog disguised as a book, but well worth the read!, October 10, 2007

By 

ExecutorCoach.com "estate administration" (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Navigating the Financial Blogosphere: How to Benefit from Free Information on the Internet (Hardcover)

This was a nice little book written by a young professional who works as a wealth manager. It's a personal finance or young person's financial planning book. I liked the way the book presented the material in clear and digestible snippets. I read a book not too long ago that was similar in format. See Blogging and Podcasting (ISBN: 1419584359). In both books the authors promote themselves through blogging. And instead of writing their books as a separate and distinct activity as compared to their blogs, they lift a lot of their content from their blogs and spruce it up a little before calling it a book.

This book has 27 chapters divided up into the following four sections:

1. First perspectives on money (chapters 1-5)
2. Building wealth requires planing (chapters 6-13)
3. Living in a financial world (chapters 14-21)
4. Think long-term about money management (chapters 22-27)

The chapters are short which is why I equate them to spruced-up blog entries. And the number of chapters is large, another reason this book has the feel of a blog rather than something that was put together originally as a book.

The book is well-written and easy to read and follow. It cites much of its content to Web sites and links that can be found online. If you want to learn about some of the things the Internet has to offer regarding personal finance and financial planning, then I highly recommend this book. If you are just wanting to familiarize yourself with personal finance and financial planning, then this would be a nice book to read, too. However, it's not a treatise on the subject. 5 stars!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great financial guide for personal finance, November 6, 2007

By 

Brad H (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Navigating the Financial Blogosphere: How to Benefit from Free Information on the Internet (Hardcover)

This book answered many of the financial questions that I was too ashamed to ask. Even though I went to business school, much of the financial world and the language that accompanies it was foreign to me. Rather than having to venture into this overwhelming territory unassisted, I read this book and was able to start making smart decisions about my finances and my life. I would strongly recommend this book for anyone looking to learn about money or improve their financial standing. Most importantly, the book was interesting and inspiring.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Resource!, October 9, 2007

By 

Nora E. Sverdlov (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Navigating the Financial Blogosphere: How to Benefit from Free Information on the Internet (Hardcover)

This book is an increadible resource for someone who is looking to increase their financial "common sense". After reading this book, I immediately contacted my financial advisor and consulted with him about some of Russell Bailyn's interesting perspectives (and I'm already seeing results!). Navigating the Financial Blogosphere is easy to read and easy to follow. It provides some great, practical tips which will help you increase your networth starting today! I highly, highly recommend it!