While the writing style is acceptable and the author seems knowledgeable, I don’t feel there is enough content compared the the Dummies book.

The big thing I liked about this book is that it spends a chapter section about the present/future value of money and how money compounds in an interest-bearing account. The author shows a basic equation, but also provides some quick lookup tables to save time on calculations. This section does give a sense of how money can grow. Most other personal finance books don’t even discuss the math or give examples, and I think everybody should understand the basic math behind this concept, as it applies to anything that gains interest (your investments, bank accounts, etc.) or charges interest (your credit card, mortgage, etc.)

The other thing that was good were the worksheet examples to allow you to tabulate your expenses and do a net worth analysis (list your assets and liabilities).

But for many other topics in the book, it gives too general description of the topics, and it does not offer too many examples or anecdotes to help reinforce the concepts. The Personal Finance for Dummies book does try to use examples or anecdotes to try to press the importance of the topic to the reader a little better.

I would not bother with this book. It is “ok” and cheap, but the content needs more substance.
Rating: 3 / 5