• How To Avoid A Medical Financial Disaster
    03/01/2005 - 09:00

    The inability to pay mounting medical bills was the main cause for filing nearly half of all personal bankruptcies in 2004, according to a study recently released by Harvard University’s medical and law schools. So what can you do to avoid a financial disaster due to medical expenses?
    Don’t assume you’re not vulnerable.

  • Do You Know What Your CPI Is?
    03/01/2005 - 09:00

    The federal government announced in mid-January that consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose 3.3 percent in 2004—the highest increase since 2000. But do you know what your personal inflation rate was for 2004? Or why it’s important to gauge how much it rose? Or what you can do about it?

    Your personal CPI and the national CPI are not likely the same. They may not even be close. As the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes, the national CPI “seldom mirrors a particular consumer’s experience.”

  • Why You Need an Estate Plan
    03/01/2005 - 09:00

    Without One, Your Heirs Will Feel the Impact...

    Many people, young and old, don't have a will, let alone a broader estate plan. Yet an estate plan is important, even for families who are not wealthy.

  • Will Your Future Social Security Payments Be Smaller Than Expected?
    03/01/2005 - 09:00

    Your future Social Security payments might be smaller than expected—more than $300 a month smaller in some cases—and you might not even realize it.

  • What Is The Real Reason You Should Invest?
    03/01/2005 - 09:00

    Most people think they know the answer to the question of why should they invest. Yet many all too often invest for the wrong reasons—and that can lead to financial difficulties.

    Most investors assume that the goal of investing is to simply earn the highest return possible without losing money. If they’re investing in common stocks, they assume they should earn at least 10 to 11 percent every year because that’s roughly the long-term average for stocks. But often they’re not satisfied unless they exceed that by earning 20 or 30 percent or, heck, doubling the return on their investment.

Market Snapshot

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^DJI
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^GSPC
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19.98
TYX-X.W
0.00
0.00