Jane Bryant Quinn

Biography

Jane Bryant Quinn is a nationally known commentator on personal finance, with books and columns read and trusted by millions. In her long career, she has established herself as America`s most reliable voice for people trying to manage their money well. In her public policy writings, she addresses matters of top concern to everyone, including investor protection, health insurance, Social Security and the sufficiency of retirement plans.

Her career includes one the country`s most successful newspaper columns, published twice-weekly and syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group to more than 250 newspapers. It was still growing when she retired it, after 27 years. She wrote a biweekly column for Newsweek magazine for 30 years. She has also written a biweekly columns for Bloomberg.com and long-running monthly columns for Woman`s Day and Good Housekeeping.

Quinn worked extensively in television. She hosted her own program on the Public Broadcasting System, a personal-finance series called Take Charge! She co-hosted an investment series, Beyond Wall Street, which also ran on PBS. She worked ten years for CBS News, first on the CBS Morning News, appearing twice weekly, then on The Evening News with Dan Rather. She has also been a regular on ABC`s The Home Show as well as a guest on Good Morning America, Nightline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer and many other programs.

She contributed to the top-selling software program, Quicken Financial Planner, a personalized guide to saving and investing for college and retirement.

Quinn`s best-selling book, Making the Most of Your Money, is a comprehensive guide to personal finance, named by Consumers Union as the best personal finance book on the market. The first edition, published in 1991, has been in print and popular ever since. The third edition, Making the Most of Your Money NOW, was published in December, 2009. In 2006, she wrote Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People, her personal list of the best, low-cost strategies for saving more money, finding good insurance, planning for college tuition, investing for retirement and other personal financial topics.

She is a frequent speaker for business, civic and educational groups, discussing the current economy and what it means for managing money.

Quinn has many awards to her credit, including the Emmy Award and the Janus Award for outstanding coverage of news on television. She received the Gerald Loeb award for distinguished lifetime achievement in business and financial journalism. She`s a two-time winner of the John Hancock Award for Excellence in Business and Financial Journalism and a three-time winner of the National Press Club`s Consumer Journalism award. In 1997, she was named one of the "100 Most Influential Business Journalists" by The Journalist and Financial Reporter newsletter.

Quinn graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College in Vermont. After college, she worked as a reporter, then as co-editor, of The Insider`s Newsletter, a consumer letter published by Cowles Communications. She co-founded The Business Week Letter, a biweekly newsletter on personal finance from McGraw-Hill.

She currently serves on the board of Bloomberg LP, the financial services company. She has also served on the board of the Harvard School of Public Health, the Jerome Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and her alma mater, Middlebury College. She`s a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Publications

Making the Most of Your Money

This classic book of solid and practical financial advice has been completely refocused to address new tax laws, new ways of paying for higher education, new forms of health insurance, and the completely new investment climate.

As a financial planning tool, the original Making the Most of Your Money predicted a change in America's priorities -- away from an obsession with spending and toward a desire to save and invest. The book also foresaw an environment dominated by falling inflation and interest rates. That call was right on the money.

The new edition sees yet another shift in financial energies -- a fresh round of serious borrowing, as the boomers start sending kids to college; a desire to save for retirement fast; and an obsession with keeping safe the profits that have already been made. Investing is getting more complex, as more financial products and services come to market and as traditional guideposts change. More than ever, investors need a clear path through the undergrowth.

Titles

The Economy and Your Money
Financial columnist and best-selling author Jane Bryant Quinn provides a knowledgeable, well researched review of the current business outlook, including significant pending legislation and investment trends, and details what it all means to managing your personal investments. Quinn carefully tailors each presentation to the business interests of each specific audience.

How to Retire Rich
We all want to end our careers with enough money to live well. But how do you start planning now to ensure that you can reach that goal? Jane Bryant Quinn covers the best ways to save and invest for retirement, discussing important details like how much you really need to save, how to save it, the most reliable investments, and the role of home equity, mutual funds and bonds. Quinn also explores common investment traps to avoid, as well as how to protect yourself for the future, incorporating savings, insurance and long-term care. Audiences will walk away empowered to start saving for their retirement dreams.

Making the Most of Your Money
In all the complications of financial planning, how do you set up a simple, effective plan that will work best for you and your family? Jane Bryant Quinn`s gives audiences her best ideas on managing family money, providing practical tips on how to save more, borrow more efficiently, buy the right health and life insurance, set up the best college fund, and choose good investments for your 401(k) and IRA. Quinn passes along the wisdom of understanding that simple, low-cost strategies are always the best ones, because you understand them and they work! In fact, they`re the strategies she uses herself.

Managing Your Retirement Money
You may have started saving for retirement, but have you planned for how to spend that money once you are retired? What exactly will you do when your paycheck stops? Are you planning to keep working, or start a new job, and what happens if you do -- or don`t? Jane Bryant Quinn gives audiences practical advice on properly allocating investments, understanding how much you can afford to withdraw, handling IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions, and mobilizing home equity. Quinn also reviews how to avoid common big investment traps, sending audiences away with hands-on financial strategies to use now -- and in the future.

Why Women Are (and Can Be!) Great Investors
The propaganda about women as timid investors isn`t true. Women with the same amount of investing experience as men invest just as assertively. So for everyone, gaining that knowledge and experience is the key to investment success. Jane Bryant Quinn provides women with straightforward advice on how to learn, how to practice, and how to make good investment choices, while avoiding common traps. Quinn also discusses the important -- but often rarely discussed -- lessons on how couples should invest, including meshing dual 401(k)s, planning for the risk of divorce, and organizing savings and investments for the woman`s longer lifespan. Quinn`s presentation will empower and enlighten all women investors -- from the new stockowner to the experienced portfolio holder.