“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste the adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

- Anne Bradstreet

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, March 23, 2001
• Tips for the Week: Daily Advice to Help Get You Through the Week
• Read the Latest: Getting Mileage Out of Your Credit
• Run the Numbers: Saving for a College Education

Market Summary for Friday, March 23:

Close

Net Change

Percent Change

DJIA

9504.78

+115.30

+1.23%

NASDAQ

1928.97

+31.27

+1.65%

S&P 500

1139.90

+22.32

+2.00%

30-Year Bond

5.30%

-----

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: Getting Mileage Out of Your Credit
Cards That Encourage High Flying and High Spending

By Kara Stefan

Ever bought too much of an item just because it was on sale? Ever used a coupon to buy something you would have never purchased in the first place?

A growing trend today is to charge everything you can just to get frequent flier miles. Maybe that's why the average consumer charges about $18,000 a year to a mileage card compared to $3,000 a year to a regular credit card.

The fact is consumers spend more--on average, six times more--with an airline mileage card than they do with non-mileage cards. For some happy shoppers, a mileage card justifies no-holds barred spending sprees all in the name of free air miles.

Others simply transfer payment of typical household expenses to a mileage card, such as mortgage, car, insurance, and medical payments. Unfortunately, even this more grounded strategy doesn't always work. You may not have the discipline to stash money away for the impending credit card bill and come out short when it's time to pay off the balance each month. More-->

Run the Numbers: Saving for a College Education

Find out how much college will cost in the future and see the impact of changing your initial contribution or monthly savings.

Questions

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