Customer Reviews

50 Simple Steps You Can Take To Improve Your Personal Finances: How to Spend Less, Save More, and Make the Most of What You Have

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

 

 

Most money matters are fundamentally simple (dont overspend, buy low - sell high etc. ) and so this book re-states the obvious and simple things in simple words. People looking for a formula for financial success will be grossly disappointed with this book (manifested by some opinions here). Its a book that has some good to follow common sense tips.

There is not a single tip in this book that hasn't been stated in another book or can't be found on a plethora of web sites. But it collects them and states them in simple words - like a book of quotations. Also - it is not and does not claim to be the "only personal finance book you'll ever need" - I hate those ...

A good book to read on a flight or a slow afternoon.

I think its a bit overpriced at [the money] (hence the 1 * deduction), buying it used [for less money] and it will be worth it.

In the process of reading this book I found that my prevalent fears of anything economic and financial were greatly dissolved. The "50 simple things" truly live to their namesake; chapters averaging 3-4 pages are concise, yet full of information without droning on and losing my interest. I found that my favorite part about the whole book was that as a teenager, I could use this book as a basis for my financial questions in my next 40-50 years alive. It starts out with simple advice like organization and saving pocket change, moves on to future issues like wedding costs and car leasing, and then even goes as far as talking about retirement funds. I'm greatly considering purchasing this book to keep with me as I progress financially in my years to come. Being a complete idiot when it comes to financial terminology, I found this book helped explain a lot of new items (i.e. Roth IRA), and expand well in an attention-keeping number of pages. So, while this book may not satisfy the economic genius or corporate mogul, it lives true to it's title by simply delivering truly helpful tips to the novice in financial handling (like me).

As a Certified Financial Planner(tm) practitioner, I am often asked for recommendations for books to read on various financial topics. I read on average about 10 to 15 books to find one that I think is good enough to recommend to clients or friends. This book is one of those.

This is not an advanced book of investment strategies, exactly as the title implies. But it is truly excellent for someone who is young and really doesn't know the difference between a stock or a bond, or a Roth IRA and a 401(k) plan. It also has a plethora of very practical examples of everyday things to do that can improve your financial situation.

The author really nails all the key points that people need to know to be money smart. For example, buy and don't lease cars, set the highest possible deductible on your car insurance, buy the cheapest possible term insurance and don't let a salesperson sweet talk you into permanent insurance, and many others.

This book is well written and interesting, and very well organized. Each topic is separate and discrete, so you can use it as a reference guide for the specific topic that is of interest to you at the time.

I was a bit surprised at the few very negative reviews on this book. My opinion is those people are quite advanced in their financial knowledge, so this book was too basic for them. But for 90% of the people I meet under age 35, this book will be excellent-- readable and interesting and a good book for future reference.

Jan Dahlin Geiger, Certified Financial Planner(tm), author of "Get Your Assets in Gear! Smart Money Strategies," available on Amazon. Get Your Assets in Gear! Smart Money Strategies

I have both purchased this book for someone and recommended some people to bypass it.

If you are just coming into the work force and aren't sure the right things to do to start you out on the right foot, I would recommend this book. I would also recommend this book if you are unsure of what good habits to get into, or are looking for a larger picture overview of personal finance.

If you are already down with the basics, or have a good idea of what you are doing and are looking for some more advanced help, skip this book and go to something more detailed.

I believe this book is meant to be an overview which cannot help but glance over some major points for the greater flow of the book. If you are looking for a cross-section of personal finance, you will never be satisfied with too many details and if you are looking for advanced help, you shouldn't purchase a high-level book. Do your research and know what you are looking for and this book can be exactly what you are looking for.

I particularly think this is a good gift for those just making their way on their own.

I have read this book and feel it is a very good book to start building a solid financial foundation. This is not a book for the advanced, but for people like myself in their twenties (I'm 28) trying to figure out how they can be smarter with their finances. As I read through the book, I wrote down the "things" on a list and checked them off as I completed them. One of the interesting "things" was to check my property tax statement to ensure I wasn't be taxed for more property than I owned.
Again, this book isn't for the advanced financial planner; but I found it very helpful.

Like a 101 course in college, this book does live up to its title. For someone who is just beginning to take the steps toward financial planning, these simple things will help. Most seem like common sense, but often the obvious is overlooked. Glink gives the reader good examples and down to earth advice. She actually talks to the reader, not down to or over his head. Glink explains how simple habits can cost you money, and how paying a little extra will cost you a lot less. Depending on your personal level of financial understanding, this book can either be a tool to help with the basics or can serve as a refresher course.

Ms. Glink has figured out how to make money for herself every year. All she does is repackage the same information but in a book with a different cover.

The advice in her books are very, very basic to the point of being virtually useless. I wish that 50 things was all you or I needed to do with or about our finances. It's more like 500 0r 2000 things that are needed. This superficial book will not solve your money woes or even get you on track to do it. So why waste your money on 50 things that have written about over and over again in other (better) books and in magazines?

I was so completely disorganized with money - had some in savings, a few 401Ks from different jobs, stocks and real estate and a huge tax bill every year. Normally I get intimidated by financial books but this one worked for me. It totally explained what the best moves were as far as getting organized and taking control of my finances. I used to be freaked out about numbers and financial choices but she explained it all to me in a very simple way. Now I've set a budget for myself, I'm saving more money each month and I'm close to buying a second house. I definitely feel much more in control of my finances and my future. A lot easier than CNBC and infinitely more entertaining.

With all the reports in the news about high rates of bankruptcy, high credit card debt, and lack of understanding in the general population about how to manage their finances, certainly everybody would love simple steps that help them make their finances better.

The first three steps all seem to involve *spending* money. She wants you to set up a home office area with office supplies and filing cabinets. She wants you to buy a computer, and Quicken. Next, you tally up your finances, calculate your net worth and plan out your goals. So far, none of these things seem to natively improve your financial situation. Yes, they're good planning steps.

OK we get on to #7 - a tip! "Spend less than you earn." Yes, that qualifies as a good tip. She actually provides 10 sub-tips here, things like "don't go out to movies" and "eat at home" (twice).

And on it goes. Don't smoke. Buy with cash, not credit. Use the web for directory assistance, not the phone company. Check your credit report. Consolidate your insurance bills.

The glossary in the back of the book is actually quite helpful, with a number of terms that come up in financial discussions. However, using her own tips, I could easily get that information from dictionary.com :)

Obviously this book *told* you they were "simple steps", not complicated ones. Still, I think that the book could have covered a wider range of information, and provided tips that were much more thorough. She could have created tip 1 as "set up a useful home office environment" that included the filing cabinets, computers, software, etc and warned you that it'd be over $500 to get this step done. There could be tip 2 about "get a handle on where you are now" and explaining in detail how to do that. Too many of the tips are redundant.

I also think, if this book is aimed at the very-beginning-market of people just out of college who are hoping to get their lives in order, that they could have done a better job of making this step by step. Provide checklists. Give simple examples. They do that in one or two places, but it could have been very helpful to do that with each tip.

There are many other books I'd recommend before this one, for people who are in this situation and need this kind of knowledge.

This easy-to-read book gives very basic information on personal finance. It is a great start if you really don't know anything about managing your personal finances. If you have an average knowledge of the topic, you probably will not learn a lot. However, I did find it useful to reiterate things I already knew.