“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, December 15, 2000
• Tips for the Week: Daily Advice to Help Get You Through the Week
• Read the Latest: Real Estate Investing
• Run the Numbers: What Price Should You Pay for a Bond?

Market Summary for Friday, December 15:

Close

Net Change

Percent Change

DJIA

10434.96

-240.03

-2.25%

NASDAQ

2654.42

-74.09

-2.72%

S&P 500

1312.33

-28.60

-2.13%

30-Year Bond

5.42%

----

N/A

Source: Reuters

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

Monday: The mix of vehicles in which you invest determines approximately 90% of your investment's performance. Understand the different asset classes and which investment vehicles make the most sense for you, given your goals. Learn more about where to invest your money.

Tuesday: Thinking about buying a car, house, cell phone, or computer? Ask your children to research the products, as well as financing options, on the Internet. You'll get valuable information, and they'll get valuable lessons in comparison-shopping and how to pay for big-ticket items. Learn more about buying a car or home.

Wednesday: Reassess your asset allocation whenever your personal circumstances change: for instance, if you have children, remarry, retire, become divorced or widowed. Certain situations may demand a more aggressive portfolio while others call for switching to a more conservative investment strategy.

Thursday: It's never too early to start saving for retirement. Click here to find the right IRA for you!

Friday: Financial goals flow naturally from well thought-out and heartfelt values (what does financial health mean to you?). Once you clarify your values, figuring out your financial goals--and how to get there--is easy. Learn more about financial health and how to achieve it.

Read the Latest: Real Estate Investing

By Kara Stefan

Investing in real estate today isn't anything like it was 15 years ago--when the market collapsed due to questionable limited partnerships and the old "swampland in Florida" pitch. From the ashes of that debacle rose a smarter, lucrative, and less risky investment, called the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

A REIT is to private developments and limited partnerships what a mutual fund is to stocks. Instead of plunking all of your money into one make-or-break real estate deal, your contribution is spread out among several real estate investments, allowing for diversification. It also allows the smaller investor to participate in large-scale commercial projects.

Not only that, but REITs are professionally managed like mutual funds. And because of the high-flying deals of the 1980s and early 90s, the IRS now strictly regulates REITs. More-->

Run the Numbers: What Price Should You Pay for a Bond?

Click here to calculate the price you should pay for a bond based on the rate of return you select.

Questions

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