“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 15, 2000
• Tips for the Week: Daily Advice to Help Get You Through the Week
• Read the Latest: You’ve Been Declined for a Loan--Now What?
• Run the Numbers: How Much Should You Pay for a Bond?

Market Summary for Friday, September 15:

Close

Net Change

Percent Change

DJIA

10927.00

-160.47

-1.45%

NASDAQ

3835.23

-78.63

-2.01%

S&P 500

1465.81

-15.06

-1.02%

30-Year Bond

5.90%

+0.18

N/A

Source: Reuters

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

Monday: To minimize the number of hours you spend at work while maximizing your productivity, you must identify and eliminate the “time-suckers” or areas of wasted time from your workday. Learn more about career time management.

Tuesday: Tap the experts through mutual fund investing. Mutual funds are managed by professionals to whom individual investors might not otherwise have access. Learn more about mutual funds.

Wednesday: Are you in a book club and looking to save money? Use your local library instead of buying your next book club selection. Learn more about taking control of your money.

Thursday: By investing in a tax-deferred vehicle, you avoid paying capital gains taxes (as well as taxes on dividends) each year and that allows your investment to grow faster over time. Of course, eventually you’ll have to pay taxes when you withdraw the money. Learn more about retirement accounts, the most common tax-deferred investment.

Friday: Planning ahead on the job is the best way to take control of your time. It keeps you on track, makes efficient use of your work hours, and allows you to stay focused on priorities. Learn more about how to plan ahead.

Read the Latest: You've Been Declined for a Loan--Now What?

By Jill Terry

After filling out all the forms and waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, your application for credit has been declined. Do you have to accept the bad news and figure out another way to finance your dreams? Not if the bank made an error in reviewing your application--and banks do make errors.

Financial institutions must follow certain rules when they decline an applicant. By knowing the rules, you can challenge your bank's decision from a position of greater power. More-->

Run the Numbers: How Much Should You Pay for a Bond?

Click here to calculate what price you ought to pay for a bond based on the yield to maturity you desire.

Questions

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