“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, October 20, 2000
• Tips for the Week: Daily Advice to Help Get You Through the Week
• Read the Latest: Closing in on a Basement Bargain
• Run the Numbers: What’s the Right Kind of Health Plan for You?

Market Summary for Friday, October 20:

Close

Net Change

Percent Change

DJIA

10226.59

+83.61

+0.82%

NASDAQ

3483.14

+64.54

+1.89%

S&P 500

1396.92

+8.16

+0.59%

30-Year Bond

5.73%

----

N/A

Source: Reuters

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

Monday: Equities tend to be good long-term investments. While past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, history shows that over the past 45 years, the stock market has yielded positive results in every period that investors held onto their investments for 5 years or longer. Learn more about stocks.

Tuesday: Create a fun visual for your children that helps them see their money grow. How about a money growth chart just like a child's height chart? Every time they save and earn money, they can update their chart with colored pens or pictures.

Wednesday: Don’t push the sell button too fast! As long as you don’t sell, your investment will have the chance to recover from price declines and earn you a greater profit. Learn more about investment risks and how to protect yourself.

Thursday: Whether you're 20 or 80, single or married, climbing the corporate ladder or raising a family full-time, you can take charge of your financial life. You just need to learn the basics and which steps to take to achieve financial health. Learn how to get financially fit.

Friday: Dollar cost averaging--where you invest a fixed amount of money at regular intervals, usually monthly--is a great way to start investing if you don’t have lots to invest or you want to follow a consistent and structured investment plan. Learn more about dollar cost averaging.

Read the Latest: Closing in on a Basement Bargain
What You Can and Can't Negotiate in Closing Costs

By Kara Stefan

Women earn an average of 75% of men’s pay. Studies have found that women pay an average of $200 more than men for new cars. And now a recent survey of MortgageIt.com customers reveals that female home loan borrowers paid average closing costs of $1,114 compared to men, who paid $1,053 in fees.

It seems apparent to me that women aren’t being discriminated against; it’s just that we don’t fare as well in situations that require financial negotiations--like a job, car, or house. We’re great at finding bargains, but we need to work on our closing skills.

The key is to not get so caught up in the excitement of buying a new home that you lose all sense of reasoning. Once you agree on a price, the deal isn’t done. It’s actually just begun.

The following is a primer to help you recognize all the fees--hidden or otherwise--when it comes to closing costs on a new home. Plus, read on to learn what you can reasonably expect to pay, what can be negotiated, and what you should flat out refuse to pay. More-->

Run the Numbers: What's the Right Kind of Health Plan for You?

If you’re choosing between an HMO and a PPO, use our health care analyzer tool to determine which is best for you.

Questions

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