“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, January 26, 2001
• Tips for the Week: Daily Advice to Help Get You Through the Week
• Read the Latest: Take the Money and Run…to a Financial Advisor You Trust
• Run the Numbers: How Long Will It Take to Pay Off Your Mortgage?

Market Summary for Friday, January 26:

Close

Net Change

Percent Change

DJIA

10659.98

-69.54

-0.65%

NASDAQ

2781.30

+27.02

+0.98%

S&P 500

1354.95

-2.56

-0.19%

30-Year Bond

5.64%

----

N/A

Source: Reuters

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

Monday: To combat inflation risk, consider investing in growth-oriented securities. Just how large a portion you should invest in equities is best determined by your investment goals, time horizon, and tolerance for market risk. Learn more about investing in stocks.

Tuesday: It's not enough to be doing a good job today; you have to prepare yourself for the future by keeping abreast of new innovations in your field and readying yourself for the next step in your career path. Learn more about keeping one step ahead in your career.

Wednesday: Investments with the greatest return potential carry the greatest amount of risk. Likewise, investments with conservative returns are generally the least risky. The key is to strike a balance between your financial objectives and your ability to tolerate market risk. Learn more about the risk/return trade-off.

Thursday: Keep a diary of all your financial transactions and ideas. Use the diary to identify successful trends and breakthroughs. Capitalize on your own successes to grow your wealth.

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

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." More-->

Run the Numbers: How Long Will It Take to Pay Off Your Mortgage?

Click here to calculate how many months until you will have paid off your home equity line of credit.

Questions

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