This text offers a student-friendly "how to" introduction to managing personal finances.Personal Financeteaches students how to save and invest, manage student loans, decrease credit card debt, find reliable financial online and much more. Throughout the text, students receive advice from personal finance experts, and encounter a variety of real-life scenarios featuring people facing a wide range of financial challenges. The Eighth Edition also includes an easy-to-use guide to recent changes in tax laws, updated graphics and a more sophisticated color scheme, and coverage of the latest trends and topics in the realm of personal finance. New!"Golden Rules of Personal Finance" boxes appear on the second page of every chapter. Each list provides concise advice on making good personal finance decisions early in life to avoid financial hardships later. New!"Advice from an Expert" boxes are co-authored by some of the nation's most renowned personal finance authorities. Each has shared some of the specialized and unique knowledge gained through years of practice in the field. Topics include: Money Mantras for a Richer Life, How Inflation Affects Borrowing, and Buy Your Retirement on the Layaway Plan. New!Group discussion issues appear as end-of-chapter activities, offering students an opportunity to share some of their personal finance experiences with others in the classroom. New!Chapter 19 has been rewritten to cover the basics of estate planning and focuses on actions newly-employed college graduates should take to secure their assets. New!All figures and tables have been updated, redrawn for more precise visual impact and comprehension, and appear in the most appropriate places within the narrative. Additions include: How Your Income Is Really Taxed, What It Costs to Borrow Money, and Balancing Risk and Return on Mutual Funds. Updated!The Eighth Edition continues to provide both the instructor and student with the most up-to-date coverage of topics and trends in personal finance issues. In addition, over 50 new terms have been added to the text. Updated!Chapter 4 has been completely updated to reflect the over thirty recent tax law changes affecting individual taxpayers, and includes tips that can help to reduce almost anyone's income tax liability.