A solid, basic introduction to personal finance issues for recent entrants to the working world. Beth Kobliner addresses major topics, such as buying a car or a house, and retirement savings. I bookmarked a lot for later reference!

In general had some very good advice. I'm fortunate enough that my parents taught me most of it before reading the book!

But I did really enjoy the sections on investing, home buying, and on taxes. Those were the most useful to me.

Praise the lord for this book. If you're like me and you grew up in America, you'll know that few people receive a formal education in even the basics of financial literacy (thank capitalism--the more money confuses you, the more likely you are to spend it on financial services that you don't need, or to not put it in money-growing institutions at all). This book is your answer! I read the 2009 version, which has some outdated information, but the large majority of it is still solid, practical advice, written in a way anyone can understand. I highly recommend everyone read it.

I enjoyed the chapters about saving and investing, but got a little bored during the insurance and tax sections (shocker!). This is a really comprehensive guide for someone just starting off in their 20's, but I didn't feel I had as much to gain from it as a 30-year old.

As a complete personal finance know-nothing, this was a great introduction. I learned a lot. Maybe a little too much, if I'm being completely honest... Much of the information started to blur towards the end, and I began to have trouble retaining some of the less relevant (to my life) chapters. That being said, the book is written in an accessible manner and is broken up in a way that will make the inevitable referencing over the years much more manageable. Would recommend. 

Note: I want to make it clear that this is an introduction. Despite the amount of information that I am still trying to digest, this is not an exhaustive one-stop shop; that would require a much bigger and more unappealing book. Thankfully, Kobliner makes it easy for readers to further learn about each topic with helpful links and book recommendations.

This is a fantastic first read for somebody on the verge of leaving college or grad school, with no idea of how real world finances work. It starts from the assumption that you know nothing, but without sounding condescending at all. Kobliner explains topics in a great deal of depth for a first read, and the book is information-packed for such a short read, yet it never seemed dry. Perhaps most importantly, as I have looked to other sources to learn more, the advice in this book was echoed by multiple other sources, which gives me further confidence in its recommendations. I will certainly be going back to this book many times in the next few years.

It took me forever to finish this book even though it is written in an easy way for a reader to understand the concepts, the main part that took me so long to read it is because most of what’s included in the book can’t be applied to my personal situation.
This book is focused on a 20-30 year old American, so if you don’t live in America most of this concepts might not resonate with you.
I found the chapter about budget, home ownership and insurance the most universal and are worth givin it a read.

I've been reading a lot about personal finance recently and I really like this book. It covers all of the basics and this guide is really easy to understand and give you practical and good advise. I would highly recommend to people who are new to learning about personal finance, I'm probably going to pick this book up again to reread some sections (like investing and taxes). ~Ashley

Kobliner explains finances in laypeople’s terms, and just when the jargon and numbers are starting to make my eyes glaze over, she throws in an example of the principles affecting someone’s real life.

I will say, though, that I found this book understandable mostly because I just finished the CFP education and passed the exam. For the average person, this could be a little dry or hard to understand. But she defines terms, and I think it’s a worthwhile use of time for ANYONE to read this and ask for help from a friend to unpack concepts whenever something is unclear. The principles, if understood, could reap benefits for decades!

This was exactly what I was looking for. With graduation looming and the idea that I will be a full fledged adult soon (maybe?), I was so anxious about my non existent financial literacy. But this book was a really great introduction. I do feel like I have a general overview and can now dig deeper into loan repayment, investments, and taxes (which are the things that will be the most relevant for me right now and still have questions on). It really is a shame that there isn’t more formal education on this and that oftentimes parents don’t prepare us enough. Excited to open my high-yield savings account though!!

I found this book to be a helpful resource on a variety of topics, for myself specifically: filing taxes, looking at debt, the basics of banking, comparing retirement options, all different types of insurance planning, and investing pointers.

Some of the things I read had differed from some other books i’ve read prior (especially as my edition was from almost 10 years) so some of the advice was taken with a grain of salt.

Good, solid advice on the major financial issues that young people have to deal with. Following Kobliner's guidance will anyone a solid financial foundation.