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A Review of “Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People”
By JLP | January 3, 2006
Where do I start? I want to say I expected more from Jane Bryant Quinn’s Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People
Why do I say that? Because this book is very basic in nature. She does a good job going over the basics of spending and saving, dealing with debt, buying insurance, buying a home, paying for college, and investing. The chapter on investing was perhaps a bit too basic with its “Investing 101″ section (TheHappyCapitalist and I are in agreement on this). However, for the person who has very limited knowledge and experience with financial issues, this book may be for them.
I found the chapter on buying a home to be useful with its discussion of the different types of mortgages available. Over the last few years, selecting a mortgage has become a real chore because there are so many options. I agree with Jane that most people would do well to stick with a fixed-rate mortgage.
One thing I did notice is that she is very much anti-advisor. I’m sure that will tick a lot of people off. I can’t say that I agree with the whole commission-based sales platform but I do recognize that there are some trustworthy advisors who work from that platform (see TheHappyCapitalist and RarelyRight). The whole commission vs. fee-only debate is great material for another post.
So, if you have limited financial skills and are in the market for a book about personal finance basics, Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People
Other reviews of Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People
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TheHappyCapitalist
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Chief Family Officer
MyMoneyBlog
