“When your dream appears as an opportunity, you must have ready cash to take it home with you.”

- Anonymous

Welcome to Money-Smarts, MsMoney.com's weekly newsletter of financial facts, features, and tools. Money-Smarts is designed to provide quick and useful information to help secure your financial future. Enjoy, and tell a friend about MsMoney.com!

In This Week's Issue:

• Market Summary for Friday, June 2, 2000
• Tips for the Week: Daily Advice to Help Get You Through the Week
• Read the Latest: Take the Money and Run
• Run the Numbers: Financial Health Test

Market Summary for Friday, June 2:

Close

Net Change

Percent Change

DJIA

10794.76

+142.56

1.34%

NASDAQ

1477.20

+28.39

1.96%

S&P 500

3813.38

+236.69

6.73%

30-Year Bond

5.935%

+1/32

N/A

Source: Reuters

Tips for the Week: Daily Advice to Help Get You Through the Week

Monday: You can earn free plane tickets through mileage credit cards, but avoid carrying a balance because the rates can be sky-high steep. Click here to compare mileage to low-rate credit cards.

Tuesday: Be smart: buy disability insurance. Although it can be expensive (between 1-3% of your income), it's also necessary protection: 1 in 8 people will suffer from a severe disability during their lifetime

Wednesday: Look for imaginative ways to provide less costly care for your children--check out neighborhood art classes, tennis or music lessons, or volunteer centers. These options are frequently less expensive than child care centers, expose your children to new interests and skills, and some providers can even arrange to pick your kids up from school.

Thursday: Spread out the money you invest among various asset classes and holdings. A well-diversified portfolio helps offset temporary losses because the strong performers will likely balance (or hopefully exceed) the weaker investments. Learn more about where to invest.

Friday: In a rising housing market, try to hold on to your house for at least 2 years. If you sell within 2 years, your profits will be subject to capital gains tax. Learn more about buying a house.

Read the Latest: Take the Money and Run...To a Financial Advisor You Trust

By Kara Stefan

For many, instant wealth presents relief, freedom, choices, and wish fulfillment. Then again, some people just go hog wild.

Not thirty-three year old Amy Watson, who recently sold a company she helped start up six years ago to a larger firm in Silicon Valley. Now she's a millionaire. The Ft. Lauderdale native has decided to quit her job in public relations and pursue her lifelong dream of writing novels.

With the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" mentality sweeping the country, overnight millionaires have become far more prevalent in recent years. But much like having children, sudden wealth doesn't come with a handbook. "Every dime I'm spending I look at very carefully," says Watson. "I regard this money as a resource that will allow me to live according to my values."

Watson's binge buys include a laptop computer and a docking station--not exactly spendthrift indulgences considering they're tax write-offs for her next profession. The rest of her fortune is invested; she plans to live off of her interest and leave the principal intact. Furthermore, her husband plans to continue working. More-->

Run the Numbers: Financial Health Test

What does it mean to be financially healthy? For some, it means never needing to work. For others, it means avoiding bankruptcy. For a quick gauge of your financial health, take our Financial Health Test.

Questions

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