Family Finance: The Essential Guide for Parents (Paperback)

by Ann Douglas (Author), Elizabeth Lewin (Author) "Prenatal classes don't cover the topic and financial planning books generally choose to ignore it: just how dramatically your financial priorities can change once you..." (more)
Key Phrases: shopping secondhand, probate fees, Show Me the Money, Social Security, Uncle Sam (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Because most books on personal finance give only a passing nod to families by including general information on budgeting, saving for college, and estate planning, Douglas and Lewin have targeted their advice specifically to parents with young children. Douglas has written more than a dozen books on various aspects of parenting, and Lewin is the author of the Financial Fitness Program series of personal finance guides. They augment their own expertise with tips gleaned from a panel of 75 parents, who provided firsthand accounts of the challenges they faced as new or growing families. Douglas and Lewin cover the costs of raising children, debt, credit, homeownership, educational expenses, wills, estate planning, taxes, insurance, and retirement. They include such practical considerations as deciding how big a car one needs, how to shop for secondhand goods, and how to decorate a nursery inexpensively. They discuss, as well, the question of whether both parents should work or whether one should stay at home, and they offer guidance on teaching children about managing money. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Packed with both nitty gritty financial how-to as well as anecdotal insights from real parents encountering these money issues every day, Family Finance offers a unique perspective to the challenges of running household finances. Covering both short-term issues (paying off debt, living on one income) and long-term goals (insurance, college education, retirement), the book offers a wealth of practical solutions in good-humored style from parents who have been down the path already.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 079314356X
• ISBN-13: 978-0793143566
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,239,960 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to raise money-smart, finance-wise children, November 12, 2001

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

In Family Finance, Ann Douglas and Elizabeth Lewin have capably collaborated to offer n essential, practical, "reader friendly" instructional manual on all aspects of managing personal finances. Readers will learn how to keep their spending under control, how to start a fund to secure their family's future; how to plan for a child's educational expenses; how to maximize retirement investments; even how to raise money-smart, finance-wise children. The authors draw upon their own extensive experience and expertise in addition to the input and experiences of fifty parents to show even the most novice financial manager how to take control of their money, their credit, their future plans and their present lives.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Response to Unreliable Information, January 14, 2003

By	Elizabeth Lewin (Westport, CT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Family Finance was published in 2001. The provisions of The Tax Relief Act of 2001 did not become effective until 2002. Starting in 2002, qualified tuition programs were made federal tax-free through 2010. The book has a lot of excellent advice that is not affected by changes in tax law. The book is meant to be a guide.

It is important to note when books were published. There are still many excellent financial books sold that predate changes in tax law. Internet users should also be aware of articles they read on many web sites. Many have been written years ago and never updated. Beware of those that have no date at all.

Elizabeth Lewin, Co-author of Family Finance

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Book of Common Sense without Substance, July 17, 2002

By A Customer

Save money by sewing your own clothes! Put yourself on a budget! I was shocked at how little info this nearly 300-page book offered (and the number of exclamation points used). I forced myself to read the entire book, thinking that I would learn something -- unfortunately not. This book would only be suitable for someone truly lacking a shred of common sense, and even then I suspect the reader would finish the book without a real sense of where to start when it comes to financial planning for a family (let alone for an individual).