For most people, their financial reading begins and ends with Kiplinger's or Money magazines. These and other financial magazines are good sources of information on investment trends, but since they are advertising-driven, and extremely competitive with one another, they occasionally seem to be hyping the reader to do something -- anything.
To get the full story on financial products, techniques. and strategies, consider paying your local bookstore a visit. There is an entire section there dedicated to books about personal finance. Hundreds of new books are published every year, on every imaginable topic -- saving for college, the financial aspect of divorce, ethical investing, etc. Laws change, new products come into being, new markets open up -- even good books quickly become obsolete. But how can you know which ones are best? Here are a few current titles we like:
There are a number of good comprehensive books on overall financial planning. One of the best is Making the Most of Your Money (Simon & Schuster, 1991) by Newsweek columnist Jane Bryant Quinn. It is a consumer-oriented compendium of straightforward advice on budgeting, insurance, retirement, estate planning, and tax issues. If you wanted to buy one book about your money, this would be a good decision.
If you are concerned specifically about what happens after you retire, have a look at How to Avoid a Mid-Life Financial Crisis (Penguin, 1989), by Richard A. Eisenberg, a very readable treatment of the issues people working today have to look forward to, with special attention to IRAs, annuities, mutual funds, stocks and bonds and tax considerations.
There are lots of good books on insurance. Insurance agent Jeff O'Donnell's Insurance Smart (John Wiley, 1991) is one of best, giving readers a behind-the-curtain peak at how the industry works, and how to get the best insurance for the money. Also useful is The Complete Book of Insurance (Probus, 1991), by Ben G. Baldwin. It examines every angle -- when to insure, what to insure, what is "enough," and how to avoid unplanned losses.
If you are concerned about your estate, David W. Belin has written Leaving Money Wisely (Chas. Scribners, 1990). An estate lawyer, Belin takes you step-by-step through the planning process. If you prefer a workbook approach, Norman F. Dacey's How to Avoid Probate (Harper Perennial, 1993), is in its fifth edition. It was one of the first consumer best-sellers 20 years ago, and it is still going strong in the latest update.
Investing is the area where the most controversial books can be found. Our advice would be pass up books with titles that are frightening (Blood in the Streets) or dizzying (Money for Nothing), and find a good, practical readable book by someone with a good track record. No one has a better record than star fund manager Peter Lynch, and the commonsense approach of his One Up on Wall Street (Simon & Schuster, 1989) is very appealing.
Another useful title is The Business One Irwin Guide to Using the Wall Street Journal, by Michael B. Lehman (One, 1990). Now in its third edition, this book unravels all the mysteries of al the charts, tables and indexes in the Wall Street Journal.