With more than one million copies of previous editions in print, Personal Finance For Dummies is the #1 bestselling ...For Dummies consumer title ever.

Expert advice now completely updated

Do you have trouble identifying and managing your financial priorities? Are you confused by today's investment options? Relax! This friendly guide, now updated with new advice on Internet resources, gives you just the information you need to take control of your finances, cut your tax bill, and achieve your financial goals.

Too many personal finance consultants offer financial advice that ignores the big picture and instead focuses on investing. You need much more than that to plan your future. You need a broader understanding of personal finance that includes all areas of your financial life in order to become financially sound.

Personal Finance for Dummies, 5th Edition is full of detailed, action-oriented financial advice that will show you how to lower expenses and tame debts as well as invest wisely to achieve your financial goals! Now in its 5th edition, this up-to-date guide covers all the latest trends to ensure your financial stability. Just some of the updates and revisions include:

• Reviews of the new and revised tax laws and how to take advantage of them
• The latest scoop on Medicare and Social Security and what it means for you
• Updated investment advice on mutual funds and other managed investments
• Enhanced smart spending tips
• Coverage of new bankruptcy laws and how to eliminate consumer debt
• Smart ways to use credit and improve credit scores
• Expanded coverage on educational savings options

This hands-on, straightforward guide features ways to survive life changes such as starting your first job, getting married, having children, and retiring, as well as helpful tactics for preventing identity theft and fraud. With Personal Finance for Dummies, 5th Edition, you’ll be able to achieve financial strength and start concentrating on the more important things in life!

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EXCERPT, PDF format, 166KB.

"By far, the best book I have read on financial planning." Althea Thompson, PBS Nightly Business Report "Detailed, action-oriented advice… A standout personal finance primer." Kristin Davis, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Praise for Personal Finance For Dummies® "Among my favorite financial guides." — The Wall Street Journal "Tyson doesn't tell you what to do or consider doing without explaining the hows and whys — and the booby traps to avoid—in plain English." — Chicago Tribune "Smart advice…. Rewards your candor with advice and comfort." — Newsweek

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CONTENTS
Introduction.
Part I: Assessing Your Fitness and Setting Goals. 
Chapter 1: Improving Your Financial Literacy.
Chapter 2: Measuring Your Financial Health.
Chapter 3: Determining Where Your Money Goes.
Chapter 4: Establishing and Achieving Goals.
Part II: Saving More, Spending Less.
Chapter 5: Dealing with Debt.
Chapter 6: Reducing Your Spending.
Chapter 7: Taming Taxes.
Part III: Building Wealth with Wise Investing.
Chapter 8: Important Investment Concepts.
Chapter 9: Understanding Your Investment Choices.
Chapter 10: Investing in Mutual Funds.
Chapter 11: Investing in Retirement Accounts.
Chapter 12: Investing in Taxable Accounts.
Chapter 13: Investing for Educational Expenses.
Chapter 14: Investing in Real Estate: Your Home and Beyond.
Part IV: Insurance: Protecting What You’ve Got.
Chapter 15: Insurance: Getting What You Need at the Best Price.
Chapter 16: Insurance on You: Life, Disability, and Health.
Chapter 17: Covering Your Assets.
Part V: Where to Go for More Help.
Chapter 18: Working with Financial Planners.
Chapter 19: Computer Money Management.
Chapter 20: On Air and in Print.
Part VI: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 21: Survival Guide for Ten Life Changes.
Chapter 22: Ten Tactics to Thwart Identity Theft and Fraud
Glossary.
Index.

CHAPTER 1
Improving Your Financial Literacy

In This Chapter

• Looking at what your parents and others taught you about money
• Studying money management in schools
• Hitting the books (and other sources): Questioning reliability
• Overcoming real and imagined financial hurdles

Unfortunately, most Americans don’t know how to manage their personal finances because they were never taught how to do so. Their parents may have avoided discussing money in front of the kids, and nearly all our high schools and colleges lack even one course that teaches this vital, lifelongneeded skill.

Some people are fortunate enough to learn the financial keys to success at home, from knowledgeable friends, and from good books like this one. Others either never learn the keys to success, or they learn them the hard way — by making lots of costly mistakes. People who lack knowledge make more mistakes, ...