“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, February 2, 2001
• Tips for the Week: Daily Advice to Help Get You Through the Week
• Read the Latest: Counting Candles
• Run the Numbers: Frequent Flyer Card or Low Interest Rate Card?

Market Summary for Friday, February 2:

Close

Net Change

Percent Change

DJIA

10864.10

-119.53

-1.09%

NASDAQ

2660.50

-122.29

-4.39%

S&P 500

1349.34

-24.13

-1.76%

30-Year Bond

5.45%

----

N/A

Source: Reuters

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

Monday: Consider international investments. With more than 50% of the world's capital market opportunities existing outside the U.S., a purely domestic investment strategy can severely limit your long-term earnings potential. Learn more about international investing.

Tuesday: Look for imaginative ways to provide less costly care for your children--check out neighborhood art classes, tennis or music lessons, or volunteer centers. These options are frequently less expensive than childcare centers, expose your children to new interests and skills, and some providers can even arrange to pick your kids up from school.

Wednesday: With bonds, the longer the period to maturity, the greater the potential for price fluctuation. That is why long-term bonds generally offer a higher interest rate--to compensate for the greater level of risk. Learn more about investing in bonds.

Thursday: Take yourself and your financial objectives seriously, or no one else will. Financial choices that you make today will determine what you can and can't do with all your tomorrows. Learn more about setting--and sticking to--your financial goals.

Friday: The best antidote for investment risk is to make informed decisions, take consistent action, and invest for long-term wealth. Learn more about risk reduction strategies.

Read the Latest: Counting Candles
How Your Age Can Help Determine Where to Invest

By Kara Stefan

It's a common misconception that if you choose great stocks, your portfolio will perform well. That theory doesn't always pan out for the masses. What does work is a strategy called asset allocation--which is simply spreading your money out across various asset classes, including stocks, bonds, and cash accounts.

You see, a widely recognized investment study revealed that approximately 91% of your portfolio's return is determined by how your money is dispersed over these asset classes--not by what stocks you pick, and not by when you invest. More-->

Run the Numbers: Frequent Flyer Card or Low Interest Rate Card?

Click here to calculate which card-flight card of lower interest rate card-is a better deal.

Questions

Are there topics you’d like to read more about in Money-Smarts? Questions we can answer? Send an e-mail to emailus@msmoney.com and give us your feedback! Thanks!