Introduction to Money Management
The following three books are good all-around introductions to personal finance for college graduates. In addition to these books, every college graduate should subscribe to Consumer Reports, the best source of expert reviews and ratings of consumer products and services.
Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance In Your Twenties and Thirties by Beth Kobliner ($16.00, 352 pages, 2009). An introduction to basic money management and financial literacy for college graduates. Topics include budgeting, credit cards, ATMs, getting out of debt, renting an apartment, buying a car, buying a house, insurance, investing, taxes and saving for retirement. The book also includes good summaries of fundamental money management principles and advice.
The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke
by Suze Orman ($16.00, 400 pages, 2007). Focused on consumers in their 20s and 30s, this book helps you take control of your finances by setting priorities and implementing an action plan for achieving your goals. The books discusses credit cards and FICO scores and debt consolidation, as well as career advice, saving money, merging newlywed finances and solutions to common problems.
The Wall Street Journal. Guide to Starting Your Financial Life
by Karen Blumenthal ($14.95, 316 pages, 2009). Written by the author of the Wall Street Journal's Family Money column, this book takes you on a road trip through personal finance fundamentals, from bank accounts to credit cards to investing to insurance to taxes to big ticket purchases, always with good directions and sage advice.
There are also relevant books in the "Dummies" and "Complete Idiot" series, including Personal Finance For Dummies
by Eric Tyson ($21.99, 480 pages, 2009) and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in Your 20s & 30s
by Sarah Young Fisher and Susan Shelly ($18.95, 384 pages, 2009).
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