General Sites and
Blogs on Personal Finances
- www.money.com - (It will resolve to www.money.cnn.com, but the former is easier to remember!) This is the internet home of the magazines Money, Fortune, Business 2.0, and Fortune Small Business. Click on "Jobs and Economy" to find the top 50 jobs. They not only represent the jobs that pay well, but the ones that people like the most and the ones that have the most openings. Under "Personal Finance," start with "Money 101" to link to their resources on taking control of your finances - everything from priorities to saving, to stocks and mutual funds. Under "Real Estate," find advice on buying a house.
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http://www.mymoney.gov/default.shtml - "the U.S.
government's website dedicated to teaching all Americans the
basics about financial education. Whether you are planning to
buy a home, balancing your checkbook, or investing in your 401k,
the resources on MyMoney.gov can help you do it better." Also
provides some teacher resources for grades 1-8.
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http://getrichslowly.org/blog/about - One of the most
linked-to blogs about personal finance, by a guy who worked his
way out of debt and recommends the tried and true principles
(e.g., spend less than you make, small amounts matter, etc.).
Great to see tons of people interacting on these vital topics!
- www.clarkhoward.com - Consumer advocate, author and popular radio host Clark Howard educates us in how to 'save more, spend less and avoid rip-offs" on everything from credit cards to travel to cars to real estate.
- http://www.jasonzweig.com - Jason Zweig is senior reporter at Money Magazine, one of my favorite writers on personal finance. Click on any of his 21 topics in his "Articles and Advice" section to find links to scads of first-rate articles on managing your money.
- www.feedthepig.com and http://www.360financialliteracy.org , both sponsored by The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, offers many articles on such topics as budgeting, saving, investing, planning for retirement and home ownership. Includes helpful tools such as calculators.
Making Money
- www.money.com - Under "Personal Finance," start with "Money 101" to link to their resources on taking control of your finances - everything from priorities to saving, to stocks and mutual funds. Under "Real Estate," find advice on buying a house.
Saving Money
General Saving Advice
http://www.saveforhouse.com - offers free advice on saving money. Tips on frugality, getting additional income, investing and keeping a positive attitude. I love it because it's so personal and practical, written by a young man trying to save up enough to make a down payment on his first home. Example: he cut way back on eating out to save $4,000 per year!
Insurance
http://www.naic.org/index_consumer.htm Check the soundness of your life insurance company
Companies That Rate Insurance Companies
Getting Quotes to Find the Best Prices on Medical Insurance
http://moneycentral.msn.com/insure/healthlp.asp
Getting Quotes to Find the Best Price on Life Insurance
Cars
- http://www.edmunds.com - Get the most car for your money. Especially helpful is the "Cost to Own" calculator, which helps us figure such costs as gas mileage, insurance and repairs.
- http://www.junkycarclub.com - These folks put service over consumerism by driving junky cars and giving their car payments to groups like Compassion International
Ways to Save
Buying a Home
www.money.com - Under "Real Estate," find advice on buying a house.
www.mortgageloan.com/calculator - Some good mortgage calculators (over 100!).
Building and Maintaining Good Credit
To discover your credit score and read many helpful articles from protecting your credit to identity theft, check out the three major credit bureaus (as of 2007):
- Equifax Information Service Center
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
(800) 685-1111
- Experian Consumer Assistance
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013
(800) 682-7654
- Trans Union Corp Consumer Disclosure Center
P.O. Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064
(800) 916-8800
Finding the Lowest Cost Credit Cards
Avoiding Scams
http://www.fraud.org - National Fraud Information Center. Protect yourself from internet fraud, elder fraud, telemarketing fraud, and scams against businesses. Report attempted frauds here and be warned of the latest scams.
Saving While Shopping
http://www.couponmom.com - "...provides free Grocery Coupon Deals lists for Target, Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and 36 grocery stores in 50 states, updated weekly!"
http://www.wishabi.ca/ - Helps Canadians compare and find the
best deals.
Investing Money
- www.money.com - Under "Personal Finance," start with "Money 101" to link to their resources on taking control of your finances - everything from priorities to saving, to stocks and mutual funds. Under "Real Estate," find advice on buying a house.
- www.morningstar.com - "Chicago-based Morningstar is the leading provider of mutual fund, stock, and variable-annuity investment information. An independent company, Morningstar does not own, operate, or hold any interest in mutual funds, stocks, or insurance products. You can count on Morningstar for unbiased data, research, analysis, and candid editorial commentary."
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http://valuestockguide.com/tools-for-teaching-the-stock-market-game/
- Game and lessons to teach teens about investing in stocks.
- https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/planningeducation Great introductory articles to investing in mutual funds.
- http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/bogle_home.html John C. Bogle, one of the most respected minds in mutual funds, shares his recent speeches concerning investing and mutual funds.
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement/world/need.html Great set of interviews with great minds on retirement. Includes how much you'll need to retire, how much you need to be saving now toward retirement and common mistakes people make with their 401(k).
- http://diehards.org/welcome.htm Whether you're a new or seasoned investor, if you like learning from a forum, either by asking questions or just reading through the questions and answers, you'll love this site. It's called The Bogleheads' Investment Forum "The Moderated Vanguard Diehards Investment Forum." John Bogle started Vanguard, one of the largest and most respected mutual fund companies. The forum is not run by Bogle or Vanguard, but by those who hold Bogles's approach to investing. You'll find some cool studies and articles and discussions. For me, for example, the forum helped me to clear up some of the fog concerning index funds versus managed funds. You'll find a good group of conservative, seasoned investors, although, like any forum, moderators probably can't correct or tweak every conversation. Start with "Your First Step" (top of their links on the left side) to get up to speed.
Enjoying Money
Resources for Churches
General Data and Statistics
- http://www.federalreserve.gov/consumers.htm - Consumer information from the Federal Reserve Board.
- http://www.federalreserve.gov/rnd.htm - Economic research and data from the Federal Reserve Board
- http://bea.gov - The Bureau of Economic Analysis offers statistics on personal income and outlays.
- www.bls.gov The Bureau of Labor Statistics offers a lot of valuable statistics, plus a section linking to other statistic sites. I especially like the "Career Information for Kids" section, which informs students about what various jobs entail. Read "Kids" as "all the way through high school."
- http://www.fedstats.gov - Fed Stats - "The gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies."
