The Wall Street Journal. Complete Personal Finance Guidebook

2010-05-05
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal. Complete Personal Finance Guidebook

Author: Jeff D. Opdyke

Publisher: Currency

ISBN: 9780307498878

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 256

View: 186

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From America’s most authoritative source: the quintessential primer on understanding and managing your money Money courses through just about every corner of our lives and has an impact on the way we live today and how we’ll be able to live in the future. Understanding your money, and getting it to work for you, has never been more important than it is today, as more and more of us are called upon to manage every aspect of our financial lives, from managing day-to-day living expenses to planning a college savings fund and, ultimately, retirement. From The Wall Street Journal, the most trusted name in financial and money matters, this indispensable book takes the mystery out of personal finance. Start with the basics, learn how they work, and you’ll become a better steward of your own money, today and in the future. Consider The Wall Street Journal Complete Personal Finance Guidebook your cheat sheet to the finances of your life. This book will help you: • Understand the nuts and bolts of managing your money: banking, investing, borrowing, insurance, credit cards, taxes, and more • Establish realistic budgets and savings plans • Develop an investment strategy that makes sense for you • Make the right financial decisions about real estate • Plan for retirement intelligently Also available—the companion to this guidebook: The Wall Street Journal Personal Finance Workbook, by Jeff D. Opdyke Get your financial life in order with help from The Wall Street Journal. Look for: • The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook • The Wall Street Journal Complete Identity Theft Guidebook • The Wall Street Journal Complete Real Estate Investing Guidebook

The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook

2010-12-08
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook

Author: Dave Kansas

Publisher: Currency

ISBN: 9780307498861

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 224

View: 722

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Unravel the Mysteries of the Financial Markets—the Language, the Players, and the Strategies for Success Understanding money and investing has never been more important than it is today, as many of us are called upon to manage our own retirement planning, college savings funds, and health-care costs. Up-to-date and expertly written, The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook provides investors with a simple—but not simplistic—grounding in the world of finance. It breaks down the basics of how money and investing work, explaining: • What must-have information you need to invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds • How to see through the inscrutable theories and arcane jargon of financial insiders and advisers • What market players, investing strategies, and money and investing history you should know • Why individual investors should pay attention to the economy Written in a clear, engaging style by Dave Kansas, one of America’s top business journalists and editor of The Wall Street Journal Money & Investing section, this straightforward book is full of helpful charts, graphs, and illustrations and is an essential source for novice and experienced investors alike. Get your financial life in order with help from The Wall Street Journal. Look for: • The Wall Street Journal Complete Personal Finance Guidebook • The Wall Street Journal Personal Finance Workbook • The Wall Street Journal Complete Real Estate Investing Guidebook

The Wall Street Journal. Personal Finance Workbook

2009-02-04
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal. Personal Finance Workbook

Author: Jeff D. Opdyke

Publisher: Currency

ISBN: 9780307498892

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 192

View: 613

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A hands-on, interactive guide to managing your monday and building your financial future Many of the worksheets in this book are available online and can be saved, printed, and recalculated at any time. Go to: WSJ.com/BookTools Understanding your money, and getting it to work for you, is more important today than it ever was, because you alone are responsible for every aspect of your financial life, from managing your day-to-day living expenses to planning a college savings fund and, ultimately, retirement. The sooner you start taking control of your financial life the better, and there’s no greater authority on financial matters than The Wall Street Journal. This workbook takes the mystery out of personal finance and addresses every topic you’ll need to master, from building a solid financial base to growing your financial assets. Worksheets, charts, and step-by-step instructions throughout help you do the math and work through the basics, making it quick and easy to organize your cash and eventually build wealth. Learn how to: • Create a spending plan and budget • Balance a checkbook • Make decisions about what types of— and how much—insurance you need • Manage credit and debt • Finance big expenses like real estate and education • Understand and properly assess your own appetite for risk • Formulate the right asset allocation • Start building an investment portfolio • Make real estate decisions like purchasing vs. renting • Refinance a mortgage • Manage your 401(k) • Deal with taxes • Plan for college expenses Also available—the companion to this workbook: The Wall Street Journal Complete Personal Finance Guidebook, by Jeff D. Opdyke Get your financial life in order with help from The Wall Street Journal. Look for: • The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook • The Wall Street Journal Complete Identity Theft Guidebook • The Wall Street Journal Complete Real Estate Investing Guidebook

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook

2007-07-10
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook

Author: Terri Cullen

Publisher: Currency

ISBN: 9780307394484

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 224

View: 702

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It could happen when you make a routine withdrawal from an ATM, respond to an e-mail asking for information about an online account, or leave a new box of checks unattended in your mailbox. Identity theft is one of the easiest crimes to commit in America—and one of the hardest to prosecute. As thieves become increasingly clever, Americans have more reasons than ever to fear this elusive, ubiquitous crime. Now there’s a book to help you beat it. In two easy-to-understand sections, Terri Cullen, The Wall Street Journal’s expert on identity theft, first walks you through the most common types of identity theft and how to arm yourself against them, and then leads victims step-by-step through the process of reclaiming a stolen identity. The average victim loses more than $6,000 and spends approximately 600 hours negotiating the complex bureaucracies and paperwork—this book will help save time and effort by laying out the process. And by following the advice in the first half, you may never need the second! You’ll learn: • how to avoid the most common scams, from “phishing” to “dumpster diving” • why children under eighteen are the fastest-growing target, and how you can protect your family • why your credit report is the single most important document for protecting your identity • how to use the sample letters, forms, and other useful tools inside for recovering from identity theft In today’s marketplace, your two most valuable assets are your credit and your identity. No one should be without this vital guide to protecting them.

The Wall Street Journal Complete Estate-Planning Guidebook

2011-09-06
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal Complete Estate-Planning Guidebook

Author: Rachel Emma Silverman

Publisher: Currency

ISBN: 9780307461285

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 210

View: 954

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Let’s face it: you can't avoid death or taxes. But you can create an estate plan that will make both a whole lot easier for your loved ones and put you in control of how your assets will get passed to your heirs. Here, Wall Street Journal personal-finance reporter Rachel Emma Silverman walks you step-by-step through the process. Chock-full of clear and solid advice on how to get the most out of the main estate planning tools - including wills, trusts, life insurance, guardianship papers, and powers-of-attorney documents - the Wall Street Journal Complete Estate-Planning Guidebook will help make your estate-planning process as simple, smooth, and unintimidating as possible. This book will help you: · Clarify your estate-planning goals, such as dividing up property for heirs, reducing taxes or leaving money for charity · Understand the key estate-planning documents you’ll need, including wills, beneficiary-designation forms, powers-of-attorney and health-care advance directives · Decode the technical jargon that estate planners often use, so you feel comfortable discussing QTIPs and QPRTs when you sit down with your lawyer. · Reduce possible estate, gift or generation-skipping taxes and legal and probate fees – decreasing what goes to the tax man and increasing what goes to your heirs · Learn strategies to divide money and personal property among your heirs, and reduce the possibility of family fights · Discuss sensitive estate-planning issues with your family · Maintain your estate-plan over time, including how to store and when to update your documents With completely up-to-date information on how to navigate the new 2011 estate tax legislation, and thoughtful advice on how to handle your estate in complicated situations – like if you’re single, in a same-sex relationship, or wish to provide for children with special needs - this is the estae-planning guide for today’s messy and complicated world. One of the biggest estate planning mistakes people make, says Silverman, is waiting too long to start. Which is why the Wall Street Journal Complete Estate-Planning Guidebook isn’t just for those planning for retirement or their golden years. It’s for anyone, of any age, who wants the peace of mind of knowing that your wishes will be respected and your hard-earned money will get passed on as you would like.

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Small Business Guidebook

2009-12-29
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal. Complete Small Business Guidebook

Author: Colleen DeBaise

Publisher: Currency

ISBN: 9780307462589

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 272

View: 371

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Because starting a small business is not only a huge financial risk but also a complete lifestyle change, anyone who wants to be his or her own boss needs to approach entrepreneurship thoughtfully and with careful planning. That’s why there is no better resource than The Wall Street Journal Complete Small Business Guidebook, a practical guide for turning your entrepreneurial dreams into a successful company, from America’s most trusted source of financial advice. It answers would-be business owners’ biggest question—how do I fund my venture?—then explains the mechanics of building, running and growing a profitable business. You’ll learn: • How to write a winning business plan • Secrets to finding extra money during the lean years and beyond • Ways to keep your stress in check while maintaining a work/life balance • How to manage your time, including taking vacations and dealing with sick days • Strategies for keeping your business running smoothly—from investing in technology to hiring the right people • Marketing and management basics • When angel investors or venture capital might be an appropriate way to grow • How to execute your exit strategy Running the show may not always be easy, but the rewards can be tremendous. You may be on the job 24/7, but you have the freedom to call the shots, to hire whomever you want, to work when you want and to take your business as far as you want to go.

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook

2008-06-03
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal. Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook

Author: David Crook

Publisher: Currency

ISBN: 9780307453150

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 256

View: 310

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The conservative, thoughtful, thrifty investor’s guide to building a real-estate empire. Profitable real-estate investing opportunities exist everywhere as long as you know what to look for and understand how to make prudent deals that transform property into profits. David Crook, of The Wall Street Journal, shows how to make safe and sane investments that ensure a good night’s sleep as your real-estate portfolio grows, your properties appreciate and your income increases. The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook offers the most authoritative information on: • Why real-estate investing is a great wealth-building alternative to stocks and bonds and why it’s crucial that you avoid get-rich schemes • How to get the financing and make the contacts to get started • How to start small and local, be hands-on and go step-by-step with a vacation home to rent out, a pure rental property or a small apartment building • How to find and value great properties, do the numbers and ensure you have that beautiful thing called cash flow • How the government blesses real-estate investors with tax breaks and loopholes, and how you can be one of the anointed • How to deal with the nuts-and-bolts of being a landlord and have a strife-free relationship with your tenants

The Wall Street Journal. Financial Guidebook for New Parents

2009-06-02
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal. Financial Guidebook for New Parents

Author: Stacey L. Bradford

Publisher: Currency

ISBN: 9780307459985

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 208

View: 805

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A practical approach to affording your kids from cradle to college. Bringing home your bouncing baby boy or girl should be an exciting time of celebration–not cause for worry about how you’re going to pay for feeding, clothing, and caring for your new bundle of expenses. The average family will spend between $11,000 and $16,000 during a new baby’s first year, and more than $200,000 before a kid’s eighteenth birthday. Unfortunately, a second child only doubles your costs, with little economy of scale for each additional baby. Before you start using these statistics as birth control, take a deep breath and know that you can have a family and make a comfortable future for your children while saving for your own important goals. The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for New Parents shows you the way, with information on how to: • Safeguard your child’s well-being with wills, trusts, and life insurance • Best weigh your child-care options and decide whether to go back to work • Save on taxes with child-friendly tax credits and deductions plus tax-advantaged benefits at work • Manage your family’s health-care costs • Save for long-term costs by setting up a college fund • Spend smart and save money at every stage of your child’s development • Continue to contribute to your own retirement savings From maternity (and paternity) leave to flexible spending accounts to 529 college plans, The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for New Parents provides all the information you need to meet your child’s expenses while also protecting your family’s financial security.

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner's Guidebook

2008-12-30
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner's Guidebook

Author: David Crook

Publisher: Crown Business

ISBN: 9780307450234

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 270

View: 271

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Your Map for a Brave New Real-Estate World The days of real-estate mania—when you really couldn’t go wrong with buying a home, then selling it in a few years for a lot more than you paid for it—are over. Inflated prices and the “subprime” mortgage crisis have finally burst the bubble. Now, more than ever, it’s important for current and prospective home buyers to understand just what they’re getting into when they take that plunge—and to think smarter when it comes to making the most of their biggest asset. The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner’s Guidebook shows readers how to become savvy home buyers—and eventually owners—not only in this new, uncertain era but in any market: • Understand the benefits and pitfalls of owning versus renting • Make sense of the housing market—ask the important questions, factor in the unforeseen costs, and explode the big myths of home ownership • Take advantage of current opportunities if you’re a first-time home buyer • Overcome the challenges if you’re looking to trade up or cash out on your home for retirement • Make the best profit on your home in any market • Understand why your home—your number one asset—really isn’t such a great investment From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Retirement Guidebook

2007-06-12
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal. Complete Retirement Guidebook

Author: Glenn Ruffenach

Publisher: Currency

ISBN: 9780307394491

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 304

View: 294

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As you think about retirement, you’ve got facts to face, planning to do, decisions to make and numbers to crunch. With the experts at The Wall Street Journal to guide you, you’ll learn how to tailor a financial plan for the lifestyle you want. • Answers your biggest question—How big does my nest egg need to be?—by linking it to your particular hopes for how you want to spend your days in retirement • Shows how to translate your dreams and interests into daily activities, whether traveling, opening a business, volunteering or going back to school • Provides a timeline for decisions to make and steps to take ten years, five years and one year before you retire • Offers tips on investing wisely and working with the right financial adviser • Tells you how to maximize your benefits from Social Security and Medicare • Guides you through the intricacies of 401(k)s, IRAs, annuities and other financial tools and resources Today, the average person can expect to spend two decades in retirement—why leave it to chance? For all of its changes and challenges, a well-planned retirement could very well be the best part of your life.

The Wall Street Journal Guide to the New Rules of Personal Finance

2010-12-28
 |  Business & Economics
The Wall Street Journal Guide to the New Rules of Personal Finance

Author: Dave Kansas

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780062063304

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 208

View: 401

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Everything you thought you knew about saving, managing risk, and securing your financial future has changed. The world is very different in the wake of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Retirement accounts have been eviscerated, risk appetites diminished, and questions raised about age-old personal finance strategies such as "buy and hold" and the efficacy of relying heavily on stock mutual funds. In The Wall Street Journal Guide to the New Rules of Personal Finance, Dave Kansas offers guidelines for understanding the new regulations for finance firms, the rising importance of international investing, and the very different environment that now exists for home buyers. With valuable chapters on debt reduction, diversification, retirement planning, real estate, commodities, and other vital topics, this essential volume is designed to help the individual determine which tenets of an investing strategy remain sound and which deserve re-examination. It is the ultimate guide to profitably investing your money in a world that has fundamentally changed.