I picked up this book as an intro for our homeschool curriculum and was not disappointed. Like many of the “for dummies” books, it is written in an engaging and non-dry narrative.

It contains a good examination of personal predispositions to money and financial habits, as well as covering Investments, banking terms, money vs metals vs digital currency. I found that it has good advice on cutting cost day to day, and includes some historical looks at laws that have set rates and practices. It also explains financial services, investment meanings and uses, while also being transparent of the motivations for the planners and managers, and motivations behind finance ads and apps.

⚠️Parental Warnings ⚠️
None

This is going to help me a LOT as a freelancer to determine my annual needs. It also teaches a bushel about investing, retirement accounts, debt, mortgages, and other day to day in an outs to help its reader save money, time, hassel, and INSTEAD build a life worth dreaming about - all in a charming stylistic text. Loved it. Highly recommended :)

Un libro muy completo con un lenguaje ameno y gracioso. Desafortunadamente muy orientado a Estados Unidos y a las cosas que allí pasan. Cómo alguien que no vive en EEUU muchas cosas no me fueron de utilidad. Aún así, sirve bastante para tener ideas de qué cosas investigar en mi propio país.

Good summary and a good starting point for basic information.

Average information and suggestions.

Tailored for Americans

WE'RE going to put this one on hold.

Realizing it doesn't make a ton of sense to read in depth about investing, when I'm literally not going to be making any money for the next four years??? I'll forget it all anyway.

Making a solemn promise to return. to RETURN. At this point I've got at least the basics... or something.

Extreme breadth, little depth

I've never read a "For Dummies" book, so I grabbed this along with a few other personal finance books, just to tidy up my bookkeeping, etc. I found it rather obnoxious. It WAS written in a readable, conversational style, but that's not what I want from an instructional book. I want to be able to read and skim quickly, gleaning what I want from it. There was way too much breezy silliness to wade through.

That said, it did have some good information and tips in it, so it wasn't a total waste.

This contained some good informative stuff. I didn’t quite finish it because I experienced it as an audiobook - and just couldn’t digest all the little details - let alone incorporate them in to life based on the audio alone. I had to throw in the towel at about the 80% mark.

This may be a good resource to go through as a paperback with a pencil & notebook however.

My only other issues with it were: (1) that it was pretty dated as a financial resource. It’s been 15 years since this was published. And since the author gives detailed information about web pages and other current information at the time, it’s long due for an update. And (2) that it was VERY abridged. I suppose that this makes sense for an audiobook - especially a financial audiobook. But with a run time of only about 3 hours, it seemed like too substantial of an abridgment for me.

I could never stop telling myself how amazing “for dummies” series are. If you have don’t have the basics in Business/finance etc, these books are the best to start with.

I got this book on the recommendation of a financial adviser at work. He said he made all his new hires read this book before starting. I hope anyone starting a finance job would already understand everything in this book because a large part of it even I was already familiar with.

The first two parts are the real "for dummies" parts. The topics include determining your financial net worth, establishing goals, dealing with debt, and setting a budget. I actually took a long break from the book after finishing these parts as they were so basic I felt I was wasting my time reading the book. I already track my finances on a weekly basis and have analyzed my spending and budget several times.

The third part is the most worthwhile for someone like me. The author explains different types of investments: bonds, stocks, mutual funds, 401(k)s, IRAs, real estate, etc. While I didn't actually learn anything groundbreaking it certainly made me more confident in my understanding of these topics. By the end of the section, though, I had learned that I can do pretty much all the investing I need by simply contributing to my 401(k). The author even mentions many times to maximize such tax-free options before anything else.

I skipped the fourth part about insurance. I have no interest in shopping around for my own insurance so I simply examine and select one of the plans offered by my employer. If I was a small business owner, a contractor, or otherwise self-employed I'm sure this section would be much more important and useful.

I also skipped the fifth part about further resources such as financial advisers, software, and books. My investment strategy after the third part is so simple I have no need for any of these.

Overall the book was worth the price I paid for it on Amazon. It was the first "for dummies" book I ever read so I was not aware how truly basic the information can be. I did not learn much new stuff but I am more confident in the stuff I know now.