Personal Financial Planning

Personal Financial Planning, 2nd Edition, is a textbook by Lewis J. Altfest that presents core financial principles through an original conceptual framework. Designed to make planning concepts comprehensible to students, the text also serves as a platform for further research and innovation in the discipline.

The text covers foundational subjects such as the time value of money, household finance, cash flow planning, debt, and financial statement analysis. Subsequent sections examine financial and non-financial investments, retirement planning, insurance, and estate considerations.

To connect individual topics into a unified practice, the textbook pairs a Total Portfolio Management approach with an ongoing integrated case study, illustrating how households evaluate options and formulate cohesive plans.