Almost Everything You Need to Know About Leading the Good Life Too many decisions. Too many choices. What today’s smart consumer must have is a money-and-time-saving guide for conducting the “business of life”—both the big challenges, such as getting top-notch health care for the family and the best education for the kids, and the pleasurable ones, like plotting the family summer vacation. Nancy Keates and her expert colleagues atThe Wall Street Journalprovide all-new material that gives the lowdown on: The Savvy Traveler: How to cut to the chase and not only avoid the indignity of cramped plane seats and overpriced tickets, but also get the best and safest seats at the same time. The Fine Art of Dining and Drinking: Landing the hottest table in town—at a discount; picking wine without becoming a wine snob; and learning about “barley matters”—the newest, hottest beers. How to Speak Geek: Demystifying tech trends, with smart advice on not only what high-tech gadgets to buy but how to shop for them. Everything You Need to Know About Buying, Selling and Financing a Car: How to get the best and safest vehicle at the best price. Real Estate: Will the bubble burst? Here’s how to be an informed buyer and seller along with the basics of remodeling and designing your home. How to Be an Informed Patient: Choosing a hospital, playing private investigator with your M.D., and learning about the tests you really ought to have (even if you have to pay for them yourself). Getting Real Bang for Your Education Bucks: What you need to know from preschool through college and graduate school. The Great Balancing Act: Managing work and family, and finding out how to avoid the overstretched child and parent syndromes. Financing Your Life: It was easy in the 1990s, but the world has changed dramatically. Here’s how to deal with the new world of saving, investing and borrowing money. Shopping: The New Sex? Throw away your Kama Sutra. The number one thrill in shopping is getting a good deal—here’s how to play the game and get the best stuff at the best price. The Wall Street Journal Guide to the Business of Lifeis both an instruction manual for living life to the fullest and a fun read about what really matters in the day-to-day. It has all the basic insight and information you need to navigate through life along with hilarious side trips such as “The Three-Decorator Experience” and “Cruises: Sailing New Waters.” From the Hardcover edition.

Your Road to Lifelong Financial Independence It’s about time you felt empowered to better manage your money because–in tough economic times more than ever–your financial freedom depends on making smart choices. But it’s hard to know where to begin, especially when you’re just starting out. And of course, it only gets more complicated as you go through life: How do you establish good credit? Do you buy or rent? What kinds of health coverage do you really need? How do you actually stay afloat in an uncertain market? The Wall Street Journal Guide to Starting Your Financial Life gets you off on the right financial foot, from tackling everyday choices like cell-phone plans and pet ownership to big decisions such as smart investment strategies and buying a car or a house. You’ll learn: • How to open your first checking and savings accounts, get your first credit card, and establish good credit • The ins and outs of starting a job, including information about taxes, choosing health insurance options, and saving for retirement • How to budget for big purchases and expenses, such as paying off student loans, buying a car, and affording your housing • Strategies for buying the little things you want and need without going broke • The basics of investing, how to manage an inheritance, and the documents you need to protect your assets This valuable resource puts you in the driver’s seat, so you will be in control of your money and on your way to achieving lifelong financial independence across any economic terrain.

Three years after the economic meltdown began, many of us are still reeling from its devastating effects. Maybe you're among the millions of homeowners who fell behind on their mortgages or you lost your home to foreclosure. Maybe you lost your job and have struggled to find a new one, meanwhile struggling with a drastically reduced income. Or perhaps you're one of the roughly 1.5 million Americans filing each year for bankruptcy. Or maybe you emerged from the meltdown relatively unscathed, but you've been recently divorced or widowed. Now, along with all the other accompanying emotional hardships, you must deal with a household budget that is dramatically changed. Maybe you experienced an unexpected health crisis that drained your savings or retirement account. Or perhaps you've simply grown tired of having so much debt. As tough as these situations are, they aren’t hopeless.. You have options. When the old \ rules for managing your finances no longer apply, you can take control of your situation, wipe the slate clean, and start over. Here, in the accessible, empathetic, and easy-to-understand style the Wall Street Journal Guidebook series is known for, veteran WSJ personal finance reporter Karen Blumenthal walks you through everything you need to know to leave the past behind you and get your financial life back on track. This includes how to: -Build a trusted team of professionals to help you navigate your new financial landscape -Get your credit record - the support beam of your financial scaffolding - back in order -Recalibrate your budget and weigh your big ticket expenses -Determine whether you can afford to stay in your home -Adjust your debts to your new situation -Assess your health coverage and other necessary insurance -Invest for your future retirement and other needs -Craft a sustainable plan for long-term financial health Whether you're recently divorced or widowed, or have declared bankruptcy or lost your home to foreclosure, or simply want to start with a clean slate, you can make a fresh financial start. Covering housing, insurance, health care, investing, debt, taxes, wills, and more, this book shows readers at all life stages and income levels how to adapt and adjust their finances to their new circumstances and get on the path to a better financial life.

Almost Everything You Need to Know About Leading the Good Life Too many decisions. Too many choices. What today’s smart consumer must have is a money-and-time-saving guide for conducting the “business of life”—both the big challenges, such as getting top-notch health care for the family and the best education for the kids, and the pleasurable ones, like plotting the family summer vacation. Nancy Keates and her expert colleagues at The Wall Street Journal provide all-new material that gives the lowdown on: The Savvy Traveler: How to cut to the chase and not only avoid the indignity of cramped plane seats and overpriced tickets, but also get the best and safest seats at the same time. The Fine Art of Dining and Drinking: Landing the hottest table in town—at a discount; picking wine without becoming a wine snob; and learning about “barley matters”—the newest, hottest beers. How to Speak Geek: Demystifying tech trends, with smart advice on not only what high-tech gadgets to buy but how to shop for them. Everything You Need to Know About Buying, Selling and Financing a Car: How to get the best and safest vehicle at the best price. Real Estate: Will the bubble burst? Here’s how to be an informed buyer and seller along with the basics of remodeling and designing your home. How to Be an Informed Patient: Choosing a hospital, playing private investigator with your M.D., and learning about the tests you really ought to have (even if you have to pay for them yourself). Getting Real Bang for Your Education Bucks: What you need to know from preschool through college and graduate school. The Great Balancing Act: Managing work and family, and finding out how to avoid the overstretched child and parent syndromes. Financing Your Life: It was easy in the 1990s, but the world has changed dramatically. Here’s how to deal with the new world of saving, investing and borrowing money. Shopping: The New Sex? Throw away your Kama Sutra. The number one thrill in shopping is getting a good deal—here’s how to play the game and get the best stuff at the best price. The Wall Street Journal Guide to the Business of Life is both an instruction manual for living life to the fullest and a fun read about what really matters in the day-to-day. It has all the basic insight and information you need to navigate through life along with hilarious side trips such as “The Three-Decorator Experience” and “Cruises: Sailing New Waters.”

A guide to starting over financially after losing a spouse, declaring bankruptcy or foreclosing a home provides coverage of topics ranging from debt and housing to insurance and savings. Original.

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.

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.