WALL STREET JOURNAL GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING PERSONAL FINANCE: Revised and Updated [Paperback]

Kenneth M. Morris (Author), Alan M. Siegel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 1997

The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Personal Finance gives you clear, simple explanations of the complexities you face every day in your financial life. This revised and updated edition also includes the information you'll need to make smart decisions about -- and avoid the pitfalls of -- banking, credit, home finance, financial planning, investing and taxes.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Kenneth M. Morris and Virginia B. Morris update this now classic handbook to the fundamental principles that govern personal financial management. The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Personal Finance covers the basics of banking, credit, home finance, financial planning, investing, and taxes in a concise and unambiguous manner. The details--amplified by graphics and peripheral data that consistently make its points easier to understand--range from the pros and cons of different types of banking institutions and the various kinds of checking accounts they offer, to the methods available for handling credit-card billing errors and the steps to employ when deciding how large a mortgage one can afford. Obviously, a book of this nature cannot fully answer all questions that might arise in every area it addresses; this one, however, goes a long way toward providing the relevant information that most readers will need to make knowledgeable decisions on their own. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Kenneth M. Morris is President of Siegel & Gale, a communications firm, and specializes in teaching corporations such as GE, IBM Toyota and others to communicate simply and efficiently. He is the co-author of The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Markets (with Alan M. Siegel), American Dreams, and Literature in Bureaucracy as well as many articles to improve business communication.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; Rev&Updtd edition (April 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684833611
• ISBN-13: 978-0684833613
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 3.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #703,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Personal Finance 101, April 28, 2002

By 

J. J. Kwashnak "voracious reader" (Monroe, LA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wall Street Journal Guide To Understanding Personal Finance (Paperback)

The world of personal finance and investing has exploded, as witnessed by the growth of books on the subject. But for many people, the understanding of the difference between an IRA and the IRS is a bit hazy. That's what this book is for. It is not a deep analysis of how to invest. It is however a quick primer to bring you up to speed for the more detailed books. Issues are covered on a high level, but are meant to introduce the reader to what Personal Finance encompasses - banking, investing, buying a home, paying taxes. It is a springboard for starting to learn more, or to just grab when you're unsure what a convertable bond is compared to a zero coupon bond. Today it is taken too much for granted that people know what they need to in order to even start making financial decisions. This book is a good cheat sheet for those who just want to get a basic understanding.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to turn your dough into bread., February 12, 2003

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: WALL STREET JOURNAL GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING PERSONAL FINANCE: Revised and Updated (Paperback)

An excellent first step to understanding your financial activities. It really does start at the beginning: your local bank and its services, checks, ATMs, savings, monthly statements etc. In the other five chapters (Credit, Home finance, Financial planning, Investing, Taxes) most of the other money matters that you'll encounter are explained.

Finance seems to be a mystery to a lot of folk so the writer's and designer's of this book have done their best to make it as straightforward as possible and rather than have page after page of what could be very dry text each spread has lots of smart graphics, colored panels and jargon-free text that flows between these visual elements. It is all very controlled and as a publication designer I can appreciate the creative input that has gone into these pages. (I liked it so much I included it in my Listmania 'Ten of my favorite well designed books').

If you think you know all about your money this is not the book for you but if you don't then get this book and find out about your finances in these very user friendly pages. The same editorial folk have done another excellent book, 'Guide to Understanding Money and Investing', using the same straightforward language and graphic techniques and although the subject is a lot more complex it is still easy to understand.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a great introduction, but that's all, June 20, 2004

By 

jose_monkey_org "jose_monkey_org" (ann arbor, mi, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wall Street Journal Guide To Understanding Personal Finance (Paperback)

this book is a great introduction to personal finance, including banking, loans, investing, taxes, and retirement planning. it covers all of the basics, provides a nice, clear description of the processes and the structures of documents, and a glossary of important terms.

however, it's just an introduction. the book doesn't spend more than a few pages on any subtopic (ie the structure of a paycheck, the basics of a tax form). for details you'll have to go elsewhere, so keep that in mind.

as such, i'd reccomend this book to someone who is just learning the basics of money and the world of personal finance. it's a big world, you don't need to start with all of the details, so this is a good place to start. but very quickly you'll find you need more information, and you'll outgrow this book.