Rating: Summary: Outstanding Review: This book should be used as a textbook in financial planning classes. Excellent and in-depth explanation of the basic concepts of the planning with a good sense of humor.
Rating: Summary: Off the wall and biased Review: The author seems to enjoy saying contrary things - like don't buy muni bonds for the tax benefit - which just don't make sense. The investment section of the book are superficial and confusing which made sense when I saw that the author solicits money to manage.This book is also not organized is a WAY TOO long.
Rating: Summary: The Truth About Money Review: Money is often a scary and complex matter, but one weekend with this book made me a much more informed manager of my money. The book is set up so that you can easily find the areas which are of immediate interest.
Rating: Summary: Excellent book, could not put it down. Review: As a young investor I continually seek items of interest on a financial level. Mr. Ric Edelman authored a book that I will use as a reference frequently. For the beginner, the information is presented in a very easy to understand format, the humor was a tremendous bonus - Thank you Ric.
Rating: Summary: Best personal finance book I've read to date Review: This book covers virtually every aspect of money that you will encounter in your life. I learned an amazing amount in such an incredibly short period. The book is easy to read and simplifies many of the more complex money issues. The book is actually enjoyable to read as well. I don't necessarily agree with everything that Ric writes, but having read his book, I'll atleast think things through entirely before I choose another path. I also think that one of his goals in this book is to help the reader more effectively seek out sound financial advice rather than just supply pat answers to all of life's money questions. Now atleast I'll have a better idea of what questions to ask. So many books focus on just investment strategies or how-to-get-out-of-debt, but this book discusses it all. Read it and you'll be glad you did.
Rating: Summary: Packed with information - easy reading Review: Edelman does a great job of simplifying the universe of money matters. Although he doesn't go into great detail on any one subject, he gives you a basic understanding of how everything works. The book is written in a light, candid style that makes ita pleasure to read.
Rating: Summary: This is the best of the newer books available! Review: Ric Eddelman is a delight to read. He mixes humor with powerful material. This is the best of the newer crop of financial books (post 1995) available. I recommend this to anyone and everyone who is interested in improving their financial situation. I also recommend More Wealth Without Risk by the late great Charles Givens and The Millionaire Next Door by Dr's Stanley and Danko, a excellent work. Most of the other books, I feel are too generalized and leave the reader puzzled as to what to do next. These books are powerful and pragmatic.
Rating: Summary: The BEST financial advice you'll find in book form! Review: Easy to understand, interesting to read with advice that works. The only financal book that is actually fun to read, just try putting it down. I have paid for this book hundreds of times over. Get It!
Rating: Summary: Excellent Money Management Guide Review: Ric's writing is fun to read, making a subject such as finance and money management an enjoyable experience. Ric is also spot on. His ideas challenge conventional "wisdom" on handling investing and financing. A reviewer was critical of Ric's suggestion to forego the tax exempt investments. However, a check with many associates and my own personal methods confirm Ric's assertion. You're better off in the higher returning taxable fund. By nature, you just won't invest the "savings" back into the tax exempt fund when April 15 rolls around. And you will pay your taxes from regular sources rather than liquidate a fund to pay them. Wham! Wake up call. This is one of the four best financial books of our time and a must read before making another major financial decision. The other three are: "The Millionaire Next Door" by Ph.D.'s Stanley and Danko, "Buffettology" by Mary Buffett, and "More Wealth Without Risk" by Charles Givens. Edelman gives Givens a run for the money. While the two books have many similar ideas, there are enough differences between them to offer the reader a choice on which method of handling an event may be more applicable to their particular situation.
Rating: Summary: Don't Bother Review: USA Today Says "Conversational, clever, and comprehensive." At a length of almost 600 pages including text, charts, and graphs, The Truth About Money is certainly comprehensive. With clever comic strips and quotes interspersed throughout its pages, the style of this book is one of the best I've seen. Problems with the book's substance, however, are what reduce it to "junk" status. Conversation quickly becomes blabber and advice becomes misguided opinion. For example, Edelman suggests that investors choose a 7% taxable bond fund over a 5.5% tax-exempt fund even though the after-tax yield of the former is less. His reasoning is that the investor would pay the taxes on April 15th from other sources, either through a reduced refund or a larger check to the IRS, thus leaving the fund untouched to grow. The ending value, then, of the taxable fund would be greater than the ending value of the tax-exempt fund. Better advice would have been to invest in the tax-exempt fund and put the tax savings that are generated back into the fund. This could also be done on April 15th in the same manner as mentioned above. The tax-exempt fund would then beat the taxable fund by a large margin. This book contains moments of brilliance followed by moments of stupidity. Most of the brilliant parts can be found in other books such as "A Random Walk Down Wall Street". The stupidity can be found in many books.
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