Business-plan

If you are planning to open a 529, you need to get this book. I found it well worth the price, and after using it was comfortable with opening a 529, and which one to use. He also has a great website at savingforcollege.com

Saving for their children's higher education is a daunting task for most American families. State-sponsored savings programs referred to as "529 plans" provide Federal (and often State) tax advantages to many savers, but parents need to evaluate all the options. Furthermore, a burgeoning array of 529 plans makes the decision of how to save for college more confusing than ever. Enter author Joseph Hurley, who presents all the key issues in deciding whether and how to choose a 529 account in a straightforward, reasonably easy-to-read style. He lets you know what questions to ask, and then provides the answers when possible.

The first section of the book provides an explanation of 529 plans, including their history and benefits; an overview of how they work and what to look for in a 529 plan; comparison with other means of saving for higher education; and income tax, financial aid, and estate planning issues. The second section of the book provides a description of each state's plans, using a common format that answers the most basic of his "what to look for in a 529 plan" checklist. Contacts to get further information from each state are also included.

Much of this information is available on the author's excellent "saving for college" web site. This book will be most helpful to you if you want to learn a lot about 529 plans without scrolling through screen after screen of information (i.e., if you'd rather curl up with a book than stare at a screen). For looking up specific bits of information, the web site may be all you need.

A very comprehensive look at saving vehicles for college
education for your children or grandkids. Well written
and a very balanced discussion of the adv/disadv of each
type of investment consideration to include the 529s for
various States but also Roth IRAs, Saving Bonds, etc.

The author's web site is also of much value.

During the "dark ages" leeches were used as a means of relieving the patient of what little blood remained after an injury or illness. We are now so much more advanced than that--today we use HMO's to bleed the patient of adequate care.

What better system than one in which those bearing the cost--the poor insurance company--can control costs at the source and prevent fraud or adequate care by simply dictating to doctors and care providers what level of service they can provide and to reject those they consider costly or unnecessary. What better system can be conceived excpet one in which the best patient is the one which is never sick or uses the system.

"Bleeding the Patient" provides th reader with in-depth information from doctors who have the best interests of their patients, not HMOs or their insurance bean counters at heart. The authors skillfully combine the use of charts with narrative to provide the reader with a 360-degree view of the medical profession and how it has been perverted for the benefit of the insurance company and not the patient.

The authors explore the Canadian single-payer system and how it compares to the American system of monetary expolitation and lack of patient care. My only criticism of this well-researched and important work is that it is short on narrative and too long on charts and statistics.

This book is a must-read, particularly for those who are concerned with the rising cost of public health care in the U.S. We pay more and get less for our expenditures than any other industrialized nation. Our emergency rooms are overloaded, our citizenry is more vulnerable to bioterror, and our national purse is being emptied by insurance conglomerates -it's time we did something about this. geocities.com/singlepayerweb

The system we rely on to protect our health is seriously diseased. The structure of ownership and management creates perverse incentives that hurt patients and demoralize doctors and nurses who struggle to provide high quality care.
We need to change this system. To do that, we need to inform as many people as possible about its failures and develop alternatives to corporate "for profit" managed care.

Bleeding the Patient can help us do that. It is clear, concise, full of facts and figures. It's more of a user-friendly reference book than a narrative, but that's OK. The choice of topics and level of information is excellent. It ranges from issues of prenatal care to so-called "capitation" agreements to details regarding the hugely inefficient medical insurance bureaucracy. My only complaint is that it's sometimes difficult to figure out the references, which are abbreviated.

Everyone who cares about the well being of our society--as well as their personal health--should buy several copies of this book, and hand one personally to every doctor, nurse and health practictioner that they meet. Don't leave it in the waiting room! Corporate health care managers do their best to keep this kind of information out of their "clients'" hands.

For business owners, senior execs and their advisors, Jean's book is straight forward reading with valuable charts and graphs. It includes tips and tricks from seasoned advisors and ample references.

This book has a narrow audience and most people would have no interest. But if you, like I, own a small business: buy this book!!! The subject (keeping the money you have earned) is quite complex, with many different plans and programs. This book makes you aware of your options and shows you the steps you need to take to put each plan in action. Perhaps the best benefit of all is a review of the costs and complexity of each plan type. A plan that can shield you from taxes, but costs a fortune to put in place and maintain, has obvious limitations. But the salesperson trying to sell you that type of plan may not give you all the detail on the long term costs. If you own a business and ever plan to retire, buy this book.

"Mumbo jumbo best left to the professionals" is how I always felt when confronted with decisions on these topics. Atty Sifleet has made this an easy read and so understandable. Even a one-person company techie like me can figure it out. Congratulations Jean!