68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Ideas!!! A++++, January 12, 2006
This outstanding book motivated me to overcome nine years of inertia regarding financial planning. My husband and I have been vaguely worried about not saving enough for retirement or college, but we kept procrastinating research into the myriad of competing plans and investments and strategies.
Fortunately, Jane Bryant Quinn has done the research and makes clear, solid recommendations about how to manage family finances. She covers all of the financial bases (including insurance and wills), so that you can be confident you haven't left anything out.
She helps you establish clear financial goals, and explains which type of investments work best for various goals. Once you create your financial plan and set up automatic deposits into your investment/retirement accounts, she recommends you leave them alone and make adjustments as needed once a year! No time and energy wasted on buy/sell decisions after each stock market wiggle.
Now granted, this investing program is unlikely to provide the spectacular returns that some lucky people have made in real estate or by timing the market. But Quinn argues that people who earn huge returns on their investments are really few and far between. Furthermore, she points out that those investors take on a lot of risk in order to get those kinds of returns.
Her book is more than "common sense" however, - in fact, some of her ideas fly in the face of popular belief. For example, I was convinced any financial plan would have to begin with a strict budget that would ruthlessly prune lattes etc... out of our lives. Quite the contrary - Quinn says that the "latte factor" is not a significant factor in a family's financial health - it's the big ticket items that show up on credit card statements.
Rather than attempt to budget and plan in ADVANCE where non-essential money goes, Quinn recommends you automate deposits to your savings/retirement accounts because you, in turn, will automatically, subconsciously, and painlessly start reining in your expenses to match the size of your checking account. It's an interesting theory, and one I want to start ASAP, as my efforts to budget every expenditure and invest anything left at the end of the month have not been very successful. She does say, however, that if you are habitually living beyond your means, racking up major credit card bills, etc..., you'll need to get that under control before you can really implement/benefit from most of the strategies in this book.
All in all, an excellent book full of sound, straight forward ideas that anyone can implement - no matter how busy.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best personal finance guide for the average person!, November 11, 2006
Over the past five years I've read at least three dozen books on personal finance--everything from Marshall Loeb's classic tome to Ben Stein's contrarian books--and Quinn's latest is easily the best read I've encountered for the *average* person.
Quinn effectively covers budgeting, insurance, wills, investing/retirement, and buying a home. She writes clearly, concisely, and avoids financial jargon. All of the financial advice is sound, there is nothing unorthodox here.
Her defining trademark however, is her emphasis on 'Set it and Forget it' solutions that insure your well laid plans are automatically executed without too much intervention on your part. Quinn is one of the few financial experts that actually understands that most people can't spend hundreds of hours managing their money. If you ask folks to do that then it is just a matter of time until life, family, or work interfere and cause damaging mismanagement.
Most people are either misinformed about financial management or simply too lazy to do the things which they ought. Quinn's book nicely tackles both sorts with straightforward information and low-effort solutions.
HIGHLY Recommended without reservation.
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48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Financial Book, January 9, 2006
I've been searching for a personal finance book like this for years! I bought this book because it's Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary's Book Club selection for January. I was skeptical at first because I've read so many personal finance books that just confuse and bewilder me. This one, however, is perfect. You don't need to work in a brokerage firm to figure out how to invest your money. The strategies and advice are simple just like the author promises.
I now feel like I can form a solid financial plan and stick with it. I've already made changes to my work's 401(k) plan based on her recommendations. I opened an online banking account, checked my credit report, and am opening up an account with Vanguard to start a "Cushion Fund" through a Roth IRA or money market fund.
If you're like me and you've been procrastinating on how to start a retirement plan because the array of choices is too overwhelming, this book is ideal. It's a quick read but every chapter has worthwhile information. And I cannot stress enough how simple and straighfoward the advice is. The author includes websites, phone numbers, specific funds etc. She's done all the work.
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