“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, September 8, 2000
• Tips for the Week: Daily Advice to Help Get You Through the Week
• Read the Latest: Flex Plans in a Nutshell
• Run the Numbers: How Large a Line of Credit Can You Obtain?

Market Summary for Friday, September 8:

Close

Net Change

Percent Change

DJIA

11221.39

-38.48

-0.34%

NASDAQ

3979.25

-119.10

-2.91%

S&P 500

1494.63

-7.88

-0.52%

30-Year Bond

5.70%

-----

N/A

Source: Reuters

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

Monday: Max out your 401(k) plan, if possible. 401(k)s are a great way to grow your retirement savings tax-deferred, and the benefits are even greater if your employer matches all or part of your contribution. Learn more about 401(k) plans.

Tuesday: Allocate the money you invest among various asset classes and holdings. A well-diversified portfolio helps offset temporary losses because the currently in favor performers will likely balance (or hopefully exceed) the out of favor investments. Learn more about asset allocation.

Wednesday: Don’t be held back by past financial mistakes. Decide to live differently starting today--figure out what’s most important to you, take charge of your financial life, and begin your new path to financial health and security. Learn more about how to get financially fit.

Thursday: A professional financial advisor can help you determine what portion of your portfolio should be in equities vs. other asset classes, how well you’ll weather stock market downturns, and recommend specific investment strategies.

Friday: Considering buying a house or condo? First, you need to figure out how much house you can afford. Click here to run the numbers.

Read the Latest: Flex Plans in a Nutshell

By Kara Stefan

When my son was four, I got an emergency call from his kindergarten teacher. During a field trip, his bus was hit by another car, and all the children were taken to the hospital in ambulances for "precautionary measures." I had to pay $600 for that dramatic ambulance ride--which was better than the field trip in my son's opinion--but hardly worth the price in mine.

One week later, he slipped poolside during a swimming lesson and had to get stitches in his forehead. Another $1,000 gone.

Ages 5-7 garnered more trips to the emergency room than I can remember. And during all that time, my employers offered flexible spending plans, but I was too cheap or too busy or too preoccupied to find out what they were all about. Well, here it is--for those of you too busy or too preoccupied to bother: flex plans in a nutshell. More-->

Run the Numbers: How Large a Line of Credit Can You Obtain?

Click here to calculate the maximum home equity line of credit you can secure based on the appraised value of your home and the mortgages you owe.

Questions

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