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Garman, E. Thomas and Jing J. Xiao, Eds., The Mathematics of Personal Finance: Using Calculators and Computers, Houston TX: Dame Productions, Inc., 1997, 2102 + xxii pp., (price not provided). Rarely does one review a book that could validly proffer this guarantee: "Do exactly what we say and this book will pay for itself." The Mathematics of Personal Finance is such a book. It would only take one time for a reader to follow the book's advice about making a personal finance decision, such as choosing the better of two mortgage offers, or improving a retirement savings plan, or computing whether buying or leasing a car is the cheaper deal, and the price of the book would be defrayed easily.
The editors state their intentions at the outset: The Mathematics of Personal Finance is a book designed primarily to serve college students who have just taken an introductory course in personal finance. It also will help people preparing for professional certification examinations in personal financial planning, insurance, credit counseling, and financial counseling learn to master concepts and formulas that are required on such exams. This book is uniquely focused on personal finance, rather than business, economics, or corporate finance" (xiii). To this I would add that the book will prove useful to anyone else wishing to master his or her personal finances. Judging from the current state of...