| Acknowledgments | xiii |
| Introduction | xv |
| PART 1 GETTING READY TO REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR FINANCES | |
| CHAPTER 1 Taking the Plunge: Understanding Money Management | 3 |
| The Old-Fashioned Way | 3 |
| The Internet | 4 |
| Personal Finance Software | 12 |
| The Steps of Financial Planning | 12 |
| Gathering Information | 13 |
| Setting Goals | 15 |
| Understanding Where You Are Today | 16 |
| Meeting Your Goals | 16 |
| Planning for the Future | 17 |
| Online Tools | 18 |
| A Cautionary Note | 19 |
| Chapter 2 Web Security—Is It Safe? | 23 |
| Security vs. Privacy | 23 |
| Privacy | 24 |
| Security | 28 |
| Know Your Sources | 34 |
| Chat Rooms | 34 |
| Bulletin Boards | 35 |
| What You Should Ask | 36 |
| PART 2 THE BEST TOOLS TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY | |
| CHAPTER 3 Getting Started | 41 |
| Knowing Where You Are | 41 |
| Calculating Net Worth | 42 |
| Determining Your Cash Flow | 45 |
| Getting Where You Want to Go | 47 |
| What’s Your Money Style? | 48 |
| Why Bother Budgeting? | 51 |
| Emergency Funds | 64 |
| CHAPTER 4 Online Banking and Bill Paying | 67 |
| Discover Online Banking | 68 |
| Differences Among Online Banks | 69 |
| Advantages of Online Banking | 71 |
| Drawbacks of Online Banking | 71 |
| Costs | 73 |
| How to Get Started | 74 |
| Online Bill-Paying Services | 80 |
| Better Bill Presentment | 81 |
| Costs | 82 |
| How to Get Started | 82 |
| Questions to Ask Your Online Bill Payer | 88 |
| CHAPTER 5 Online Borrowing | 91 |
| Good Debt, Bad Debt | 91 |
| Your Credit History | 92 |
| Getting the Best Deals | 93 |
| Mortgages | 93 |
| Car Loans | 103 |
| Credit Cards | 109 |
| If Your Credit’s Not So Hot | 114 |
| Strategies to Reduce Debt | 114 |
| Credit Counseling and Debt Consolidation | 116 |
| Rebuilding Your Credit | 116 |
| CHAPTER 6 Investing for the Future | 119 |
| Before You Get Started | 120 |
| Investment Types | 120 |
| You, the Investor | 125 |
| Researching Investments | 130 |
| The Securities and Exchange Commission | 130 |
| Yahoo! | 132 |
| Multex Investor | 132 |
| Morningstar.com | 133 |
| The Vanguard Group | 134 |
| MSN MoneyCentral | 134 |
| Finding Safety | 135 |
| Tracking Performance | 136 |
| SmartMoney.com | 136 |
| CNBC.com | 137 |
| Company Sleuth | 137 |
| Savingsbonds.gov | 138 |
| Morningstar.com | 139 |
| Buying Online | 140 |
| Online Brokers | 140 |
| Mutual Funds | 142 |
| Buying Bonds | 143 |
| Finding Lost Investments | 144 |
| CHAPTER 7 Retirement Planning | 149 |
| How Much Do You Need? | 150 |
| Lifestyle Choices | 150 |
| Inflation and Taxes | 152 |
| Making Projections | 153 |
| Where the Money Comes From | 155 |
| Your Pension | 155 |
| Social Security | 156 |
| Tax-Advantaged Investments | 157 |
| Personal Savings | 169 |
| Running the Numbers | 170 |
| How Much Will You Have? | 170 |
| Getting More in the Pot | 174 |
| CHAPTER 8 College Planning | 177 |
| What Will It Cost? | 178 |
| Your Savings | 179 |
| UGMA and UTMA | 180 |
| Education IRA | 180 |
| Prepaid Tuition Plans | 182 |
| Section 529 Plans | 183 |
| Other Investments | 184 |
| Other Funding | 187 |
| How to Get It | 188 |
| Loans | 189 |
| Scholarships and Grants | 191 |
| Gifts | 194 |
| A Family Effort | 195 |
| College vs. Retirement | 195 |
| Sharing the Burden | 196 |
| PART 3 COMPLETING YOUR FINANCIAL PICTURE | |
| CHAPTER 9 Insurance Planning | 199 |
| Life Insurance | 200 |
| How Much Do You Need? | 200 |
| Term Insurance | 203 |
| Permanent Insurance | 204 |
| Shopping for Life Insurance | 206 |
| Investigate Your Insurance Company | 208 |
| Health Insurance | 210 |
| Understanding Health Insurance Plans | 210 |
| Shopping for Health Insurance | 212 |
| Disability Insurance | 214 |
| Understanding Disability Insurance Plans | 215 |
| Shopping for Disability Insurance | 216 |
| Long-Term Care Insurance | 216 |
| Understanding Long Term Care Insurance | 217 |
| Shopping for Long Term Care Insurance | 217 |
| Home Insurance | 219 |
| Understanding Homeowners Insurance | 219 |
| Save Before You Shop | 220 |
| Shopping for Home Insurance | 221 |
| Car Insurance | 223 |
| Understanding Car Insurance | 223 |
| Shopping for Auto Insurance | 224 |
| CHAPTER 10 Estate Planning | 228 |
| Understanding Estate Planning | 228 |
| Wills | 229 |
| Probate vs. Privacy | 230 |
| Other Documents | 231 |
| Trusts | 232 |
| Living Trusts | 233 |
| Bypass Trusts | 233 |
| Charitable Remainder Trusts | 234 |
| Life Insurance Trusts | 234 |
| Qualified Terminable Interest in Property Trusts | 235 |
| Dynasty Trusts | 235 |
| To Learn More | 236 |
| Doing It Yourself | 236 |
| Finding a Pro to Help | 240 |
| Other Considerations | 241 |
| CHAPTER 11 Preparing Your Taxes | 243 |
| Doing It Yourself or Hiring a Pro? | 244 |
| Tax Tools and Strategies Online | 245 |
| IRS Online | 245 |
| Tax and Accounting Sites Directory | 246 |
| Deloitte & Touche | 247 |
| H&R Block | 248 |
| Yahoo! | 248 |
| T. Rowe Price | 248 |
| FinanCenter.com | 250 |
| SmartMoney.com | 251 |
| Quicken.com | 252 |
| Collecting Data the Easy Way | 253 |
| Filing Your Taxes | 255 |
| PART 4 APPENDIX | |
| Useful Web Sites | 261 |
| 401(k)/403(b) | 261 |
| Asset Allocation | 262 |
| Banking | 262 |
| Bill-Paying Services | 262 |
| Brokers | 263 |
| Budgeting and Cash Flow | 264 |
| Car Loans and Information | 264 |
| College Planning | 264 |
| Comprehensive Sites | 265 |
| Credit Cards | 266 |
| Debt and Credit Counseling | 266 |
| Estate Planning | 266 |
| Finding Lost Investments | 267 |
| Individual Retirement Accounts | 268 |
| Insurance | 268 |
| Investment Research | 269 |
| Money Style | 270 |
| Mortgages | 270 |
| Mutual Funds | 270 |
| Net Worth | 271 |
| Ratings Sites | 272 |
| Retirement Planning | 272 |
| Risk Tolerance | 272 |
| Taxes | 273 |
| INDEX | 277 |
