I believe that Kiplinger’s is clearly the best overall. It covers a broad spectrum of issues and does a very good job. They are objective too.

I do not plan to renew Money or Smart Money unless I get a really sweet deal. They are worth something, but not too much. There are way too many high end items in Smart Money that are simply not relevant to the average person.

Consumer Reports is very good as a buying guide and we wouldn’t think of making a major purchase without checking their reviews. We also picked the paint brand for the exterior of our house from their ratings and we have been very satisfied. Consumer Reports may relate to financial matters, but I really don’t consider it a PF magazine like the other 3.

The other thing with Consumers is that they seem to do a good job of just telling the facts. I get a feeling that I can believe the information they are presenting….

I also think The Economist is a good choice, simply because it has a lot of “big picture” information that is really interesting, and people who are just learning economics can sometimes understand an overall picture before the details are meaningful. So, I think it is a lot more accessible.

I have looked and looked for a periodical that would be suitable for people who are just starting out or who are poor and need more information on debt reduction than on investing (primarily for my parents and for myself) but I have yet to find such a thing. An option you might look into would be children’s magazines. Whenever I find a subject difficult, I go to the children’s section and often find more accessible content there. If there is something out there for children/teens, then you might find it would circulate, even in an adult section — particularly if it is tastefully done (preferably not in hot pink or neon orange!)

Good luck with your search, and I hope you report back what you decide.

P.S. J.D., I too think a Get Rich Slowly magazine would be fantastic. Let me know if you need an editor! *wink*

Actually, I just remembered a magazine I really like best for overall world events and putting finance in a global perspective — The Economist.
—
I guess I haven’t read The Economist as I should. I’m more of an ROI guy; if I spend my time reading a magazine, book or watch a show I want a return for my time.
Macroeconomic theories & what’s going on in Pakistan doesn’t really affect 95% of my business.
What I’m looking for is great insides like learning about Mint.com & how it competes with Quicken & why as an entrepreneur I need to switch to it.
I need marketing tips & smart money tips, not mild geo-political lessons.

Darrell
http://www.AlwaysMakingMoney.com

Alternately, if you’re looking for a hard-core finance magazine, I quite enjoy Barrons. It’s not personal finance, but it does give you a very good sense of the market and what’s going on in that world.

Finally, I second Shelly on The Economist.

They give me the best mega-trends by showing the interconnections of world news around finance. So it functions as Newsweek/Time meets Kiplinger’s/WSJ.

In part based on the trends reported by The Economist, my husband and I rearranged our portfolio last fall to reduce stock exposure lower than what is suggested for our age profile.

While they’re more rah-rah free market capitalism than I am usually, I find they almost always give me enough information that I can disagree with their conclusions even while being educated by their article.

I can’t think of any American publication that routinely allows me to do that; they almost always have too much of a bias in what information they give in the first place.

I realize that Entrepreneur isn’t really a financial magazine but, they do a great job with articles dealing with running a business & all business is money.

I’ve read others & I’m considering Success; any comments?

Thanks,

Darrell
http://www.AlwaysMakingMoney.com

I find Money to be generic and repetitive and kicked that one to the curb years ago.

I had a subscription to Smart Money and thought that was too investment centric. I see money magazine’s investment articles focused more toward 401k or retirement in general, more funds oriented. Smart money was too focused on individual stocks for my taste. I’m sure I would feel differently if I had discretionary cash with which to invest.

Consumer Reports is an awesome magazine, but I simply don’t buy enough stuff to make a subscription worth while….

I would be particularly interested in magazines or materials that were geared towards those just starting out as adults. As a state school, our students are choosing a more affordable education to begin with and many work part or full time jobs and have outside school responsibilities. What that means is that they are not likely to be thinking about investments at this stage. Any recommendations for magazines or PF books geared for that stage of life would be appreciated.

This post really points to a real opportunity in publishing. I like the idea of a GRS magazine!

Of the others, I like Kiplinger’s for myself, but there are plenty of people I know who would find it to be too much. Meaning that I agree with the distinction between smart and financially literate.

For the library, I would create some displays that include some easily accessible finance books. These should change around a bit to keep things fresh. As part of this, have some librarian recommendations for retirees, some recommendations for getting out of debt, some recommendations for saving money, etc.

If there’s a budget for reprints, having some targeted articles by Michelle Singletary, Jane Bryant Quinn, and Suze Orman would be good to keep as handouts, and perhaps these would be less intimidating than magazines or books. (Hmmm….I just realized that the main common sense finance gurus I point people towards are all women.)

This blog has a nice tone and is very encouraging, everybody please pay attention to the open minds here, and the respect. and get out there and get informed…..

I have found they are alot more interesting and readable than I had thought. I found Money to be easy to read with relavant articles. I have to agree that it would be nice to have articles about people that make less than 100,000.

Perhaps education about personal finance magazines would be helpful. If people are asking questions about or checking out finance books maybe you could direct them to the magazines you already have. Highlight articles that would be relevant to your patrons. In otheer words do some promotion and advertisement.

I get more from sites like GRS and the discussions. So…thanks for saving me $20!

db: We have sixty-five subscriptions, and they’re all circulating. Our magazine guy is AMAZING. (Our periodicals budget is something like $500, to give you an idea – and a large chunk of that is eaten up by the expensive must-haves like Entertainment Weekly. He works magic with freebie offers!) We also have some patrons who, rather than subscribing to a mag just for themselves, donate the subscription to us and then check new issues out, which is really nice. I know some libraries restrict all periodicals – and we do restrict newspapers – but it’s become more and more common to let magazines go out. Suggest it to your local folks; they may already be considering it.

Re the magazines — I’m not a fan of any of them but of the ones discussed, Kiplinger’s would be the first pick. I’m not familiar with BottomLine or AAIC Journal.