Customer Reviews

The Wall Street Journal Lifetime Guide to Money: Strategies for Managing Your Finances

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This book is a great book for folks who are trying to figure out how to start in on planning there finances. Topics include almost anything you may need in life including useful things such as : Insurance analysis(Differnt types and cost), Planing retirement(401k, IRA's etc.),How to pick a financual adviser(If you feel you need one),General sections covering Stocks, bonds etc., Terms,Taxes, Information about purchasing homes & Loans, and Alot more subjects,

The book is broken down into sections depending on you'r age. This has advantages, and some disadvantages - If you end up reading the book from cover to cover (like I did) you will find alot of repeating information. On the other hand, If you are looking for specific information for your age group things are easier to find. Although the book does metion the ROTH IRA, it does not go into detail about the pros and cons, I'm sure this information was not out when the book was written.

The book did not blow me away with alot of tech terms but introduced them and explained each as it was introduced. There are some nice work sheets in the back that I recomend you photo-copy and use the photo-copy, since you will probably be updating them.

If you read this book you will find yourself going back to it time and again. This is one of those books that may change your life. It will give you an idea of where you are and what you should do to try to aquire a secure future.

While this film is clearly not for people that have a background in investing, it is an excellent reference for people that are just looking into their financial situations. It is packed with information that is presented in a very basic manner so that anyone can understand it.

The book is divided into different sections ranging from investing and insurance, to estate planning. In each of these sections, the contents are further divided into different phases of people's lives (20-30's, 40-50's, 60'+). This is helpful in allowing one to reflect on their own strategies as well as where they may be headed.

Again, the real strength of this book is how rudimentary it is. It would be a terrible disappointment to anyone that has even a minimal understanding of finance. Thus, if you are seriously considering this book, know that it will be a good refresher if you are rusty, or jumping off point if you have no knowledge.

I was particularly impressed with the discussion on estate planning. I have an advanced background in finance and investing, but nevertheless was able to gleam a pearl or two.

This book makes a great reference as well. I chose to read it cover to cover, but it would have been equally as helpful as a reference book. People with children may even consider purchasing it as a project to go over with their kids. Best of luck.

The book hit upon all common aspects of personal finance with a chapter devoted to each, and did so in stages that correspond to a person's life: 20s-30s, 40s-50s, 60s and beyond. After giving an overview in that format, each aspect was discussed in detail with ideas, things to look at in your own finances, and common pitfalls. Yes, reading it cover to cover, many things were repeated; however, I'm using it now as a reference, looking up only the chapter or subheading I need, and I've found that I don't have to flip back and forth to various pages in other chapters. Each chapter can stand alone, as can each subheading. I moderate a family finance forum, and refer to the book a lot in this way.

One thing I absolutely love about the book are the various checklists, worksheets and tip boxes. I've put some of the calculators on spreadsheets for my own use, and have shared them with other folks who are interested in personal finance.

Despite being associated with the Wall Street Journal, the group of persons involved in putting together this guide have not a clue how to prepare a comprehensive, understandable, and readable personal finance guide. It is horribly repetitive, and gets way too hung up on obvious, simple concepts (how many times do I need them to remind me to minimize credit card debt, and to avoid spending too much and saving too little?). It is very poorly organized, and the editor should be taken out and strangled for the way he allows so much of the book to be taken over by meandering, verbose paragraphs trying to describe the simplest concepts. It is almost as if they assume everything you have done in your life so far with your finances has been totally brainless, and they need to beat you over the head with it. It is like being lectured by an uncle who doesn't know how to shut up and has had too much to drink.

And to make matters worse, why must they use light green ink throughout the book; this makes it all but impossible to read, except under high-power halogen lamps. It causes extreme eye fatigue, and makes an already unreadable book infuriating. I can't help but wonder what the true connection to the Wall Street Journal must be for such a badly written, poorly edited book such as this, especially when they find the need to resort to a cutesy tactic such as green print throughout (oh, I get it! Money is green, therefore the book is in green print - Ha Ha Ha!)

Don't read this book like a book. Use it as a reference guide for the particular area that you need to learn about and the stage of life that you are in. That is the way to get the best out of this book. I found it very helpful and refer to it for study and ideas.

Dry, boring and poorly organized. Reads like a book that was compiled from a bunch of newspaper columns written by journalists who hedge themselves and don't really know the subject area.

Skip this one.

The purpose of this book is to educate the reader on ways to invest their money and ways to save. It talks about making your own portfolio, staying organized, and saving your money while you are young. It says to make your saving direct deposit and to save money for a safety net. For young adults 20 to 30 years old, the book says the best chance of accumulating wealth is with stocks. The first chapter also explains that most young people don't save and they spend more than they bring home, which digs them into debt. The best way to plan for the future is by saving as much money possible. "T. Rowe Price Associates figures that if you invest $100 a month starting at age 30, you will have over $177,000 by the time you retire at age 65." (pg.57) The book tries to make you think in percentages by saying things such as "your $35,000 portfolio suddenly shrinks by $1400, but put in perspective it just dipped 4%." (pg.62)

The problem with the book is that it was published in 1996 and some of the information is outdated. For example the book says that "Even better than an IRA are 401(k) retirement-savings plans offered by many large corporations. But invest at least 60% of the money in IRAs, 401(k) plans, or other retirement accounts in a broad mix of common stocks." This isn't true at all because America's economy is failing and all of our money is going to the national debt. I also doubt some of the positive statements about stocks because America is nothing like it used to be in 1996. And since this book was written by the Wall Street Journal, I feel like it has an exaggerated view of stocks and not enough about the negative effects. The Lifetime Guide to Money basically says that Americans need to save their money.