The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Your Money, 4th Edition,9781592572984

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Your Money, 4th Edition

by ; ;
Edition: 4th
ISBN13: 9781592572984
ISBN10: 1592572987
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2005-03-01
Publisher(s): DK Publishing, Inc.
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Summary

Expert financial columnist Robert K. Heady and financial writer Christy Heady take readers step-by-step through getting their finances under control. With new, updated content for today's post-boom, cautious climate, this author team gives readers the knowledge they need to succeed. While the economy has had its ups and downs, personal finance hasn't changed. Managing debt, expenses, investments, and risk are all part of creating a personal and successful financial plan. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Your Money, Fourth Edition includes all new and updated content focusing on the latest developments in investing, the economy, and the markets.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck
1(68)
Financial Planning Made Simple
3(8)
Time Is Money
4(2)
Procrastination Does Not Pay Off
6(1)
Ignore the Statistics and Stick to Your Plan
6(1)
Me, Retire? Never!
7(1)
Setting Goals to Help Get You There
7(4)
Managing the Debt Monster
11(16)
Determining If You Are in Debt Trouble
12(1)
Measuring Your Financial Health
13(1)
Developing a Budget
13(2)
What Do You Spend Money On?
14(1)
How Do You Trim the Fat?
15(1)
Adding Up the Pluses and Minuses
15(4)
Understanding Why Sticking to the Minimum Can Hurt
19(1)
Controlling Your Debt Once and for All
20(1)
Using Your Savings
21(1)
Getting Outside Help
22(1)
Battling Debt's Biggest Culprit
23(1)
Becoming a Debt-Buster
23(1)
Filing for B-A-N-K-R-U-P-T-C-Y
23(4)
Everyday Money Language You Should Know
27(14)
Watch the Rates: They're the Big Clue!
28(3)
Know Where to Go for All the Good Stuff
31(4)
Newsworthy Newsletters
31(1)
Fast Internet Calculators That Do Your Figuring for You
32(1)
The Boob Tube
33(1)
Reading All the Fine Print
34(1)
Learn How to Understand the Mumbo Jumbo
35(1)
Determine What Kind of Investor You Are
36(3)
Uncle Sam Offers the Best Safety Net
36(1)
How Long Can You Be Without the Money?
37(2)
Ask the Right Questions---Get the Right Answers!
39(2)
Secrets to Simple Investment Strategies
41(18)
Creating Your Investment Profile
42(2)
The Pros and Cons of Investing Your Money
44(2)
Investing in Stocks: A Crash Course
46(4)
And Now, the Basics
46(2)
Enter the Tax Man
48(2)
Making Money in the Bond Market
50(3)
Understanding Bond Jargon
50(2)
Knowing the Different Bond Types
52(1)
Getting Started with Mutual Funds
53(6)
How to Pick a True No-Load Fund
54(1)
Mutual Fund Selection Secrets
55(1)
Where to Go for More Info
56(1)
One Last Word About Loads
57(2)
The Road to Becoming a Millionaire
59(10)
Invest in Yourself
60(1)
The Millionaire Personality
61(1)
Make Your Money Work For You
61(2)
Create a Cash Withdrawal Discipline
63(1)
Build a Portfolio of Mutual Funds
63(1)
Don't Just Buy---Diversify
64(1)
Curb Your Tax Exposure With Tax-Deferred Investing
65(1)
Expand Your Knowledge---and Dollars---Outside the United States
66(1)
Get Professional Advice, Just Don't Pay an Arm and a Leg for It
67(2)
Part 2: The ABCs of Really Smart Banking
69(80)
What Bankers Won't Tell You
71(14)
How Banks Profit
72(3)
Fees and Charges: The Biggest New Money Makers
73(1)
Big Bank Mergers: Everybody Wins but You
73(1)
ATMs: An Inexpensive Way to Do Your Banking
74(1)
How Banks Work the Rates
75(5)
The Truth About High Credit Card Rates
77(3)
How to Avoid Being Ripped Off
80(2)
Step 1: Beware of the Danger Zones
80(1)
Step 2: Absolutely, Positively Shop Other Outfits
81(1)
Step 3: Match Your Behavior Against the Fees
81(1)
Worse Than Banks: Check-Cashing Stores
82(1)
The Bigger They Are, the Worse It Gets
82(1)
Bouncing a Check Costs a Bundle
83(1)
How You Can Negotiate
83(2)
Interest Rates 101
85(12)
Understanding How Banks Are Cashing In on Your Ignorance
86(1)
Learning the Rate Basics and the Lingo
86(4)
``Rate'' vs. ``Yield,'' and That Thing Called ``APR'': Knowing the Difference
87(1)
Fixed vs. Variable Rates
88(1)
Compounding = Interest on Top of Interest
89(1)
Knowing How Banks Create (and Play With) Their Numbers
90(1)
Time Is Money
90(1)
Banks Use a Crystal Ball
90(1)
Supply and Demand Affect Your Rates, Too
90(1)
Understanding How Banks Brew Up Their Rates
91(6)
What Banks Watch to Set Their Rates
91(3)
Don't Kid Yourself-What Happens in Tokyo Now Affects You in Peoria
94(1)
Chiseling Gets Down to Pennies
94(1)
``Indexed'' Accounts Protect the Bank More Than They Protect You
94(1)
Key Math Questions You Should Ask
95(2)
How to Get the Best Deal on a Checking Account
97(20)
Checking Account Basics
98(3)
Why Banking Costs So Much
99(1)
Mistakes You Should Avoid from Day One
99(1)
Different Types of Checking Accounts
100(1)
Debit Cards
101(1)
Dropping Interest Rates: How Low Can They Go?
101(5)
Those Frightening Fees
103(1)
The Clearing Game
104(1)
The Balancing Act
105(1)
Identifying What Kind of Checking Creature You Are
106(1)
Understanding Fees: You'd Better Shop Around
107(2)
Basic Shopping Tips
108(1)
Before Signing on the Dotted Line
108(1)
When Free Checking Really Costs Money
109(5)
Using Your Checking Account Wisely
110(1)
Using ATMs
111(1)
Reducing Your ATM Charges
111(1)
Identifying Cost-Cutting Tips
112(1)
Understanding the Ugliest Fee of Them All
113(1)
Knowing When to Use Stop Payments
114(1)
A Savings Tip That Might Not Save You Anything
114(1)
Protecting Yourself Against Forgery
115(2)
Investing Safety with Uncle Sam
117(16)
Two Choices: Your Money's Safe or It Isn't
118(1)
He Who Laughs Last
118(1)
You Shouldn't Overdo the Safety Angle
119(1)
Uncle Sam Is As Solid As the Rock of Gibraltar
120(3)
Getting a ``Discount'' or a ``Coupon''
121(1)
Opening a ``Treasury Direct'' Account
121(1)
Going, Going
121(1)
But I Don't Have $10 Grand!
122(1)
Treasury Money Funds Are an Option
123(1)
Any Savings Bonds Today?
124(1)
How the Rate Formula Works
124(1)
Where to Buy Bonds
125(1)
How to Generate Tax Savings---If the Money Is for Junior's College
125(1)
``I'' Is for ``Inflation''
125(1)
FDIC Protects Your Bank Deposits up to $100 Grand
126(1)
How to Beat the $100,000 Insurance Limit
127(2)
How Much Money Can You Afford to Lose?
129(1)
How Long Can You Be Without the Money?
130(1)
So Really How Safe Are Banks?
130(3)
Savings and CD Accounts: Beating the Averages
133(10)
Understanding Savings Account Basics
134(2)
Certain Types of Accounts Pay More
135(1)
Tiered MMAs Pay More for Larger Deposits
135(1)
Beware of Fees, Right and Left
135(1)
Shopping for Savings Accounts
136(4)
Key Questions to Ask Your Banker
137(1)
Higher-Paying Out-of-State Banks Are Just As Safe (or Safer) As the Bank Down the Block
137(1)
How to Set Up Your MMA
138(1)
More Savings Shopping Secrets to Know
139(1)
Knowing Where the Money Is---In a 1 Percent Rut
140(3)
Why Credit Unions May Be the Best Place to Park Your Money
143(6)
How Credit Unions Work
144(1)
How to Join a Credit Union---It's Easy!
145(1)
How Credit Unions Beat the Banks' Rates
146(1)
Credit Unions Also Offer $100,000 Insurance Protection
146(3)
A Friendship, Not a Confrontation
147(1)
Many Credit Unions Are Also Online
147(2)
Part 3: Maximizing Your Dollar--Whether You Borrow or Save It
149(102)
How to Boost Your Credit Rating
151(20)
Big Brother Is Watching You
152(1)
Getting Your Credit Score
153(5)
What Goes into Your Score
153(2)
How to Get Your Credit Score and Credit Report
155(1)
Another Way to Do It
155(2)
How to Read Your Credit Report
157(1)
How ``Predictable'' Are You? The Big Three Think They Know
158(1)
Making the Biggest Mistake of All: Not Starting Early
158(5)
Beware of Getting Scammed
159(1)
Look Out for Those ``Debt Reduction'' Offers
160(2)
Don't Worry, The Bad Stuff Comes Off Eventually
162(1)
Learning the Three Cs Are Just an Old-Fashioned Pipe Dream
163(1)
Determining If You're Good, Bad, or Gray
163(3)
The ``Sub-Prime'' Revolution: Low Scores Get Loans
164(1)
It's Thumbs Down in Most Cases
165(1)
Guarding Against Mix-Ups
166(2)
How to Handle Disputes
166(2)
Protecting Yourself from Fraud
168(1)
Helping Hands
168(1)
Maintaining Good Credit
169(1)
Knowing Other Ways to Strengthen Your Credit
169(2)
The Right Credit Card for You
171(16)
Credit Cards: Personal Debt Enemy #1
172(2)
Can't Live with `Em, Can't Live Without `Em
173(1)
Why Cards Keep You in Perpetual Debt
173(1)
Credit Cards: Just Try Not Having One
174(1)
Credit Cards: Different Types
175(8)
Fixed-Rate Cards
176(1)
Variable-Rate Cards
177(1)
Gold, Platinum, and Titanium Cards
178(1)
Secured Cards for Those with Bad (or No) Credit
179(2)
Frequent-Flyer Miles
181(1)
How Debit Cards Work
181(2)
Ouch: Those Fees Hurt!
183(2)
The Biggest Secret of All: Watch Your Habits!
185(2)
To Lease or Not to Lease
187(16)
Knowing the Biggest Rip-Offs
188(3)
Negotiate the Rate, Not Just the Price
190(1)
How About Those ``Manufacturer Rebate'' Deals?
190(1)
Determining If You Should Buy or Lease
191(4)
Know How a Lease Works
192(1)
Look at the Bottom Line
192(2)
Don't Touch That Pen Until You Read This
194(1)
Used Cars: Buying Right and Selling Right
195(3)
How to Get Top Price When You Trade In or Sell a Used Car
196(1)
Repeat: Stifle Those Emotions When You Shop!
197(1)
Getting the Best Financing
198(5)
Should You Avoid Dealer Financing?
198(1)
Credit Unions Offer the Cheapest Rates
198(1)
Get a Simple Interest Loan
199(1)
Other Financing Secrets You Should Know
200(3)
Mortgage Shopping: Let's Make a Deal
203(26)
Learning the ABCs of How Mortgages Work
204(9)
Mortgage-ese You Should Know
204(2)
$64,000 Question: Should You Get a Fixed-Rate or an ARM?
206(1)
ARMs' Initial Payments Are Lower but Could Shoot Up Later
207(1)
Every ARM Wears a ``Cap''
208(1)
Some Mortgages Are Cheaper in the Early Years
209(1)
Maybe You Need a 5/25 or a 7/23
209(1)
Cheap Government-Agency Financing
210(1)
How to Know When Fixed or ARM Rates Are Best
211(1)
Rates Can Go Up and Down and Up
211(2)
Calculating What It's Gonna Cost
213(3)
Identify Which You Should Watch Most---Rates or Points
213(1)
Understand That ``APR'' Tells You the Real Cost
214(1)
Learn the Up-Front Fees and Closing Costs
215(1)
Finding the Cheapest Mortgage the Quick, Easy Way
216(2)
Online Mortgages---The Big New Game in Town
217(1)
Those Ugly Closing Costs
218(1)
Determining Who Lends the Money
218(3)
How to Play the Mortgage ``Lock-In'' Game
220(1)
Paying Through the Nose in the Early Years
221(1)
Paying Faster May Not Pay
222(1)
Identifying the Right Time to Refinance---You Could Save Thousands of $$$$$
223(1)
Putting the Tax Savings in Your Pocket
224(1)
The Point Is, Points Add Up!
225(1)
With Reverse Mortgages, the House Is Paying You!
226(3)
How You Can Win--Or Lose--with Home Equity Borrowing
229(12)
Home Equity in a Nutshell: Your Nest Egg Is on the Line
230(1)
Why Banks Love Home Equity Loans
231(5)
How a Home Equity Loan Works
232(1)
Type A and Type B
232(1)
How One Family Blew It
233(1)
How Another Family Got Hit by a Balloon
234(1)
The Interest Adds Up
234(1)
Fixed vs. Variable Rates, and the ``Introductory'' Teaser Rate Come-On
235(1)
Pros and Cons of Home Equity Loans
236(3)
They Make It S-o-o-o-o Easy
237(1)
Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum but Mostly Scads of Fees
238(1)
Home Equity Scam Operators
239(2)
Protect Your Credit--and Your Privacy--Before It's Too Late!
241(10)
Identity Theft Is Rampant
242(1)
Your Money and Your Life
242(1)
Everything Is up for Grabs or for Sale---You Name It
243(1)
Isn't Somebody Doing Something to Protect You?
243(1)
Your Social Security Number---The Heartbeat of Your Privacy
244(1)
How to Say ``No'' Politely
245(1)
Identity Theft Is Everywhere
246(1)
What to Do If You've Already Been Victimized
247(4)
Suppose the ID Thief Creates a Credit Problem
247(3)
Ask the FTC for Help
250(1)
Part 4: Taking Care of You and Your Financial Future
251(72)
Getting More from Your Paycheck
253(10)
The Pink Slip Arrives
254(2)
How to Get More Out of Your Paycheck
256(1)
A Great Employee Benefit
257(2)
The Fabulous 401(k)
259(4)
Dip into Your 401(k)? Sure, but Watch Your Fingers
260(1)
Take Advantage of Other Company Plans
260(3)
How Much Do You Really Know About Your 401(k)?
263(10)
401(k) Is the Way to Play
264(1)
The Inside Goods
265(1)
Read the Fine Print
265(4)
If You Leave Your Job
266(2)
A Sure-Fire Investing Program
268(1)
A Brief Word About a 401(k) vs. an IRA
268(1)
Aim for Growth
269(2)
Rules, Rules, Rules
270(1)
Plans for the Self-Employed
270(1)
Avoid These Mistakes
271(2)
Getting the Right Insurance Coverage for Your Needs
273(22)
Making Sense of Insurance Mumbo-Jumbo
274(1)
Insuring Home Sweet Home
275(4)
Types of Coverage
276(2)
How to Save Money on Homeowner's Insurance
278(1)
Understanding Car Coverage
279(3)
Types of Coverage
279(1)
Additional Features
280(1)
How to Save Some Moolah
281(1)
Knowing the Do's and Don'ts of Buying Life Insurance
282(7)
Term Insurance 101
284(3)
Cash Value Insurance
287(2)
Insuring Your Paycheck
289(3)
Identifying Some Insurance Products You Don't Need
292(3)
Tackling Your Taxes
295(14)
The Latest Tax Hoopla Defined
296(1)
The Latest, Latest Changes (and Stay Tuned for More)
296(1)
The Most Common Tax Mistakes
297(6)
Investments and Taxes
301(1)
Two of the Biggest Tax Blunders Ever
302(1)
How to Find a Tax Pro
303(6)
Get the Lowdown on CPAs
304(1)
Try an Enrolled Agent
305(1)
Learn the Truth About Tax Attorneys
305(1)
Know When to Use a Certified Financial Planner: A Jack-of-All-Trades
306(1)
Using H&R Block and the Like
307(1)
Going It Alone
307(2)
Retiring R-I-C-H!
309(14)
Why It Pays to Sock Money Away
310(1)
Why We Avoid Thinking About Tomorrow
310(3)
Understand the Power of Saving
311(1)
Stop Making Excuses
312(1)
Turn These Must-Do's into Can-Do's!
312(1)
Retirement Accounts Explained in Simple English
313(3)
So Who Is This Roth Guy Anyway?
314(1)
They're for Your Benefit
315(1)
Pension and IRA Changes
316(1)
Another Way to Save for Retirement
316(2)
What to Do Now That You're Retired
318(2)
The Early Bird Gets
320(1)
Secret #1: No Matter How Old You Are, Get an Idea of What Your Retirement Benefits Are Now
320(1)
Secret #2: Verify Your Social Security Record Every Three Years
320(1)
Secret #3: Delay Retirement and You'll Increase Your Social Security Benefits
321(1)
Count on You!
321(1)
A Final Word
322(1)
Appendix A Glossary 323(10)
Index 333

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