cover image Worth It%E2%80%A6 Not Worth It?: Simple & Profitable Answers to Life's Tough Financial Questions

Worth It%E2%80%A6 Not Worth It?: Simple & Profitable Answers to Life's Tough Financial Questions

Jack Otter. Grand Central/Business Plus, $19.99 (256p) ISBN 978-1-4555-0844-0

Armed with a sense of humor, a lot of energy, and beaucoup financial know-how, Otter offers readers a quick and easy guide to finance%E2%80%94from initial savings to retirement plans. "The vast majority of financial decisions you face in life are very simple," Otter writes, and for the most part, the "cheaper answer is the right one." If he stopped there, readers might cry, "Not worth it!," but Otter, executive editor at CBS MoneyWatch.com, goes on to provide plenty of practical info. In engaging layman's terms, he covers topics that range from the quotidian (Is going organic worth the high price?) to the long-term (The cheaper the mutual fund, the better.) But the key to this book's success is Otter's consistent deferral to the individual%E2%80%94though he guides readers through key considerations, the final decision is always the reader's to make. Structured more like a coffee-table book than an exhaustive reference tome, Otter's book nevertheless contains a wealth of understandable finance basics. Photos & illus. (May)