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The easy way to avoid early pitfalls on the road to financial success
A little money and a little time is all that's needed to lay a strong financial foundation for today and the future. And starting sooner rather than later is the smartest thing you can do when it comes to protecting your financial future.
If you're in college or enjoying your twenties, Personal Finance in Your 20s For Dummies cuts to the chase, providing you with the targeted financial advice you need to establish a firm financial footing as you work your way through school and the post-graduation years.Advice on paying off student loans, managing debt, and creating a solid pathway to financial successInvesting strategies for young investorsOther titles by Tyson: Personal Finance For Dummies, Investing For Dummies, and Mutual Funds For Dummies
If you're looking for sound, reliable advice on how to make smart financial choices in the real world, Personal Finance in Your 20s For Dummies has you covered.
Product Details
- Paperback: 264 pages
- Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1 edition (January 25, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 047076905X
- ISBN-13: 978-0470769058
- Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
Customer Reviews
Outstanding "no fluff" financial advice for young adults
?March 13, 2011
By Lucy Cat "Mandy"
Author Eric Tyson has a knack for making Personal Finance clear and coherent for any reader. With ?Personal Finance in Your 20s? he speaks specifically to young adults?some of the most financially undereducated people in America.Who should read this book?
1- Students who have just graduated high school and are transitioning to a limited-income college life (whether on their own income, their parents, student loans or grants).
2- Students who have just graduated college, have landed their first ?real job? and want to know how to be smart with their money and start investing.
3- Young adults and late teens who want to gain control of their financial lives and play it smart from the start.
4- Really? just anyone! Its never too late or early to gain a solid understanding of personal finance.
For such a small book, the author packs in an immense amount of relevant and useful information?with just the right level of detail. And, at 233 pages (this book is smaller than typical dummies books? roughly the dimensions of a standard trade paperback), its not too lengthy to discourage reluctant readers. So, what does this book cover?
1- Learn what ?net worth? means and distinguish between assets and liabilities
2- Deciding how to save, how much to save and what your savings are *really* worth
3- Understanding what your credit score is, how it changes and what is is used for. Also covered are: how to obtain your actual, free credit score (not how to get scammed) and how to appeal and correct errors and injustices related to your credit score.
4- Choosing a bank, a checking and savings account and understanding alternatives such as money market and brokerage accounts.
5- How to develop a budget, a savings mindset and prioritizing your savings goals. In partcular, the author tackles ?how to save when youre strapped? (this should help fixed-income college students in particular).
6- Managing your cash flow: reducing housing costs, your tax liability, your food spending, your clothing and technology shopping sprees, etc? (Stop spending $200 a month on Starbucks? that?s $2400 a year or basically 1 semester of in-state college tuition!)
7- Understanding your loans, consumer credit cards and the extreme pitfalls associated with the improper use of either. (This is also a must read for college students.)
8- Housing choices and how they affect your financial future. The author talks about renting versus buying a house, figuring out how much house you can afford and how to shop for mortgages. (This is handy reading for college grads especially.)
9- Starting, managing and investing in your own business
10- How to ?do your taxes? or rather, how to understand income taxes, your tax liability and reducing your taxable income.
11- Basic investing 101: stocks, bonds, real estate, small business ventures, selecting a broker, understanding investment risks, how to evaluate hired consultants.
12- Retirement accounts (I truly hope young people in their early 20?s take this one seriously!): understanding employer contributions, individual retirement accounts, and education savings accounts.
13- How to shop for, budget and understanding health insurance coverage and premiums. This is updated to include the 2010 changes to health-care laws (which may or may not be relevant over the next year or two?)
14- Understanding other forms of insurance such as life insurance, homeowner?s, car and disability insurance.
15- Using the media (internet) to gather reputable and reliable advice for making your financial decisions. (This can be harder than it sounds, especially for kids who spend 90% of their online lives on Facebook!)
16- Planning, saving and selecting a car to buy? new or used.
As you can see, the range of topics is rather vast. Each item gets sufficient detail to inform the reader but, you?ll need additional sources if you wish to dig deeper into most of the bigger topics (investing in particular). Even still, this is a very valuable little tome which packs a tremendous amount of information for young adults. The author *never* patronizes his readers or adopts an all-knowing, condescending tone. Rather, he approaches each subject with an enthusiastic ?no fluff? approach. I highly recommend this one. But, it should read ?Personal Finance in Your 20?s for Smarties? (Dummies are the people *not* reading this book!)
Also recommended:
The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens
Wish I?d had this much earlier
?April 27, 2011
By Timothy J. Ellison "Timothy J. Ellison"
Though it?s targeted at 20-somethings, I wish I?d had Eric Tyson?s ?Personal Finance in Your 20s? back when I got my first job during highschool. All young adults need a sound education in the basics of finance (especially as more and more of us become dependent on credit cards to complete online transactions) and this book is a great way to start. Bank accounts, credit cards, insurance, investing, retirement: Tyson covers it all in a quick, informative, and easy to read format.With any of the Dummies books there?s a worry that you?re going to be talked down to and given page after page of miserably drawn cartoons, which will certainly not go over well with an independent young adult. Tyson, however, has a respectful tone that informs rather than coddles the reader. The several reminders to take care of your health seem a bit silly to me (?You mean I can?t enjoy my wealth if I?m dead, Eric??), but it?s the most mommy-ish part of the book and is relatively negligible.
Overall I recommend this for any young person just entering the workforce or still struggling to make ends meet after several years at the grind. I definitely recommend it for any grads going away to college; parents, sneak a copy among his 200 Xbox games or her 200 pairs of shoes where they?re sure to find it.
Finance for Smarties just in time as they begin their lives!
?June 15, 2011
By L. J. Schrader
My daughter recently graduated from college and has her first ?real? job, including something new to her; a 401k plan. She has come to us looking for good advice on how to understand that plan, how to choose the best insurance plan offered by her employer, the best route for paying back student loans, covering her expenses, living on her own, and finally investment strategies if she has anything left to work with. As her parents, we have given her the benefit of our knowledge on these matters (as well as mistakes we have learned from) but I wondered if there was more than an ?expert? could provide to her. Thus, we checked out this book.As the back of the book states ?When it comes to protecting your financial future, starting sooner rather than later is the smartest thing you can do?. This seems like a daunting task, until you recognize that all the stepping stones to get starting doing so are in this relatively small book. It?s extremely reader-friendly and simply points out the things all young people should consider for financial well being.
This guide includes things that the average high-schooler and college age student really should know before heading out on their own, including:
Choosing the right type of bank accounts, creating a budget, paying bills, reducing (or better yet, avoiding) debt, making good decisions on housing, choosing the right types of insurance, and spending (and saving) wisely.
While these topics are not all fully discussed at length, the author does give just enough information to get the process going without being overwhelming. Anything that is not covered in the book in great detail can be expanded upon, but the basics are certainly explored. Generally good advice is given, with a healthy reminder that each situtation is unique and the reader must keep that in mind.
Bottom line: My daughter and I both found the book interesting, easy to absorb and practical. A definite good start to a young person?s healthy financial future.
Another great dummies book!
?June 9, 2011
By L A.
I have been a fan of the ?dummies? books for a long time, one of the first ones I purchased was ?MS DOS for Dummies?. This book is a great introduction of personal finance without being boring or hard to comprehend. It covers all of the basics including budgeting, banking, saving for retirement, loans, etc. All areas are covered in good detail but not so much to bore the reader. Most readers will want to seek out additional, more detailed information for some of the areas covered including investing and retirement planning. That shouldn?t be too hard considering the vast information available through a simple internet search.This book is highly recommended and not just for the young but also for those of us that need to learn or re-learn about some money related topics.
Where were you when I was young?
?May 23, 2011
By Working Mom "Working Mom"
Got this for my 20 YO daughter, but read it first. There, in one volume, was all the stuff that I had to learn the hard way AND explainations for some things that I haven?t had time to learn on my own.This book covers all the basics: bills, budgets, banking, credit, cash flow, insurance, etc? Then it covers more advanced topics like 401Ks, stocks, investments, retirement, etc. This book could have been very boring, but it?s not. The book is well-written in a conversational tone and is more more interesting than a text book or financial magazine articles.
Great book for teens or young adults!
exceptional dummies book!
?May 22, 2011
By K. Baker
I know the bare minimum about finances and I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck and need the most help with savings. It is a great and easy to understand reference book that anyone moving out on their own, in college, or done college needs to read.The Retirement and savings section really helped me. I wish I had this book sooner, because it devotes a few sections to home & car buying (which I have already done and can?t really change). The only 20 somethings that don?t need this book already have a car, house, a retirement fund, investments and savings?but I don?t think there are too many who do.
A very helpful guide
?December 11, 2011
By Andrewglen
The book really gave me great perspective into understanding how to manage and control finances. I took the advice mentioned in this book about staying clear of debt and paying them down and I have saved a lot of money.
Help for the unenlightened
?November 22, 2011
By Stacy Alesi "I am the BookBitch"
I got this book for my almost 20 year old daughter. She is currently working for a credit repair company so she knows firsthand the dangers that lurk in building credit, and the ease in which a good credit record can be destroyed. We both looked at the book and thought it fairly simple, but as she pointed out, most young people don?t have her experience. We both agreed that we knew people in their 20?s that could definitely benefit from the advice proffered in this book. Actually, we think it would make a great graduation gift for high school students who are mature enough to take money seriously and definitely for college students.
Very Helpful Reading
?September 27, 2011
By FlagMar
I recently purchased this book for my grandson, who?s 21. At this point in a young adult they can get too much help growing up smart. I read through it and found a lot of good information. Now hoping he will too!
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