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Contents Introduction xi Part One: Take Charge of Your Money Chapter 1: First, Take Charge of Your Money 3 Where Are You Now? - Your Cash Flow - Your Net Worth - Why You Must Set Goals - Nitty-Gritty Budgeting - Plugging the Holes in Your Budget - A Budget for Today and Tomorrow Chapter 2: How to Boost Your Savings 19 Certificates of Deposit - Interest-Earning Checking Accounts - Money-Market Deposit Accounts - Money-Market Funds - Asset-Management Accounts Chapter 3: The Smart Use (and Common Abuse) of Credit 27 How to Get Out of Debt - Finding the Best Credit Deals - Credit a la Card: Finding the Best Credit Card Deal, Travel and Entertainment Cards, Debit Cards - Other Lines of Instant Credit: Overdraft Protection, Credit Card Cash Advances, Retail Installment Credit - Borrowing With Collateral: Equity in Your Home, Life Insurance Policies, Stocks and Bonds - Other Kinds of Loans: Unsecured Personal Loans, Debt- Consolidation Loans - How Lenders Size You Up - If You Are Denied Credit - Other Laws That Protect Your Rights Chapter 4: Banking Today 55 Sizing Up Banks and S&L's - Banking Online - Sizing Up Credit Unions - Sizing Up Brokerage Firms Part Two: Your Home Chapter 5: Buying a Home 67 Three Reasons to Own - How Much Can You Afford? - What Kind of Home Should You Buy? - Starting From Scratch - Buying a Condo or Co-op - How to Get Your Money's Worth From a Real Estate Agent - Get a Home Inspection Chapter 6: How to Be a Mortgage Maven 89 What It Takes to Get a Mortgage - Loan Lingo: Interest and Points - Loan Lingo: The Different Kinds of Mortgages - Checklist for Comparing ARMs - Serious Mortgage Shopping - How Much Will the Payments Be? - Creative Financing for Difficult Markets - Should You Refinance Your Mortgage? Chapter 7: Selling Your Home 109 Hiring a Real Estate Agent - How to List Your Home - Selling Without an Agent - Tax Angles for Home Sellers Chapter 8: Rent to Your Heart's Content 115 A Lease You Can Live With - Get Renters Insurance - When the Landlord Won't Fix It Chapter 9: Owning a Vacation Home 121 Buying the Place - Renting It Out - Should You Buy a Time Share? - Selling a Time Share (Alas!) Chapter 10: Homeowners Insurance 129 Coverage for the House and Contents - Liability Coverage - How Policies Differ - Insurance for Older Homes - Finding the Best Deal - A Guide to Homeowners Policies - Take Inventory - Making a Claim - Other Types of Home-Related Insurance: Title Insurance, Flood Insurance, Umbrella Liability Insurance Part Three: Your Car Chapter 11: Controlling the Cost of Your Car 145 Choosing the Right Car - Getting a Good Deal: Set a Target Price, Consider a Twin, Shop Late in the Month, Check Inventories, Look for Incentives, Hire Some Help, Join a Club - Don't Win the Battle and Lose the War - The Lure of a Lease Chapter 12: Insuring Your Car 163 Liability Coverage: In Case You're at Fault - How Much Coverage Do You Have? - How Much Coverage You Need - Crash Protection - Medical Payments: Coverage You May Not Need - Protection Against Uninsured and Underinsured Drivers - Comprehensive Coverage - No-Fault Insurance - How Your Rate Is Set - Getting a Good Deal - How to Make Sure You Get Paid Part Four: Your Money and Your Life Chapter 13: The Money Side of Marrying 187 What to Know Before You Marry: Choose a Family Accountant, Joint Accounts or Separate?, Review Your Insurance, Don't Worry About the Marriage Tax Penalty- at Least for Now, Write Two Wills - Prenuptial Agreements - Considering Joint Ownership - When Seniors Tie the Knot Chapter 14: The Dollar Side of Divorce 201 Community-Property States - Non-Community-Property States - Angles on Alimony - Child Support - Staying Out of Court - Do It Yourself? Chapter 15: Your Kids and Your Money 205 Raising Money-Smart Kids - Teaching the Value of Money - What Preschoolers Can Learn - Elementary-School Age: Start Good Habits - Teenagers: Make Allowances - Kids Owe Taxes, Too - Ways to Give Money to Children - Using Custodial Accounts Chapter 16: Paying the Price of College 215 Where to Stash Your College Cash - State-Sponsored College Savings Plans - Zero-Coupon Bonds - U.S. Savings Bonds - Coverdell ESAs - The Roth Alternative - When College Bills Are Due: Hope Scholarship Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit - Getting Financial Aid - Sources of Aid: Pell Grants, Federal Loan Programs, Private Loan Sources - Scholarships of Broad Interest Chapter 17: Funeral Finances 237 Put It in Writing - Pay Now, Die Later? - A Better Way to Pay Ahead - When the Funeral Is Now - The Cost of Burial - Finances After the Funeral Chapter 18: The Money Squeeze of Aging Parents 247 Do They Need Your Help? - Durable Power of Attorney - Where Will They Live? - Should They Move In? - Options for Elderly Housing: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Continuing Care, and Nursing Homes - When Your Parents Need You - Helping at a Distance Part Five: Protecting Your Life and Health Chapter 19: Buying the Right Life Insurance 265 What Have You Got? - When Should You Buy Life Insurance? - How Much Do You Need? - The Life Insurance Menu - The Case for Term - The Case for Whole-Life - Variations on Whole Life- The Itch to Switch - The Best Policy at the Best Price - Second-to-Die Insurance - How Safe Is the Insurance Company? - Making Sense of the Ratings - Making Sure the Right People Collect - Picking the Payoff Method - Mass-Market Life Insurance Chapter 20: Buying Health Insurance 291 Fee for Service: Health Coverage the Old-Fashioned Way - Managed Care #1: Preferred Provider Organizations - Managed Care #2: Health Maintenance Organizations - When COBRA Kicks in to Protect You - How to Check Up on Your Health Plan - Flexible Spending Accounts - Health Savings Accounts - What If You Can't Work? Why You Need Disability Insurance - Medicare - How Medigap Insurance Plugs the Holes - Tips for Buyers of Medigap Insurance - Long-Term-Care Insurance - Health Insurance for Pets - Insurance for Healthy Teeth Chapter 21: Think Twice About This Insurance 323 Life Insurance on Kids - Credit Life Insurance - Hospital Indemnity Insurance - Dread-Disease Insurance - Student Accident Policies - Credit Card Insurance Part Six: Investments for Today and Tomorrow Chapter 22: How to Have Investing Smarts All the Time 331 You're Going to Need a Plan: Set Exciting Goals, Adopt a Clear-Cut Strategy, Pay Attention, Control Your Risks, Make Investing a Habit, Don't Get Stuck in a Rut, Don't Fool Yourself - How Not to Get Ripped Off - Hiring Help: How to Pick a Financial Planner Chapter 23: How to Make Money in Stocks 343 What Makes a Good Stock? - Where to Find Out About Stocks - Getting a Little Technical - What's Your Plan? - How to Find the Right Broker: Full-Service Brokers, Discount Brokers, Online Brokers - Opening Your Account - If You Need to Tangle With Your Broker - Investing With a Club - Stupid Stock Tricks Chapter 24: What You Should Know About Bonds 365 A Primer for Bond Buyers - Why Quality Counts - Buying and Selling Bonds at a Discount - Before You Buy Any Bond - How "Zeros"-Can Add Up - Uncle Sam's Bonds: Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes, Treasury Bonds - U.S. Securities: Close Enough to the Real Thing: Ginnie, Fannie and Freddie: Mortgage- Backed Securities - Collateralized Mortgage Obligations: Take a Pass - U.S. Savings Bonds - The Enduring Allure of Municipal Bonds: Different Ways to Buy Munis, Advantages of Funds and Unit Trusts, Zero-Coupon Municipals, Insurance on Your Munis, Swapping Munis to Save Taxes Chapter 25: Making It Big With Mutual Funds 391 How Funds Work - Sales Loads and Other Charges - How to Pick a Winning Fund - Different Strokes for Different Folks - How to Tell How You're Doing - Should You Be Open to Closed-End Funds? - Exchange-Traded Funds - Money-Market Funds: Keeping It Short - Unit Investment Trusts Chapter 26: Investing in Real Estate 415 The Lure of Leverage - Tax Breaks in Real Estate - Exchanging Rental Properties - Selecting Profitable Rental Properties - Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) - Real Estate Limited Partnerships - The Risks in Raw Land Chapter 27: Walk On By: Investments You Can Live Without 427 Gold's Lost Luster - Silver: Not as Good as Gold - Collectibles: Buy What You Like - Stock Options: Opt Out - No Future in Commodities Chapter 28: Taxes You'll Pay (or Not) on Your Investments 433 Tax Angles on Savings Accounts - Working Around the Kiddie Tax - Learning to Love Your Basis - Capital Gains and Losses - Saving Taxes on Stocks - Saving Taxes on Bonds - Saving Taxes on Mutual Funds - Taxes on Life Insurance Proceeds and Annuities - Deduct Your Investment Expenses? Maybe Part Seven: Your Retirement and Estate Planning Chapter 29: Money Enough to Retire On 455 How Much Will You Need? - Where Will You Get It? - How Much Time Do You Have? - Checking Up on Your Pension: Defined-Contribution Plans, Defined-Benefit Plans - The Growing Role of the 401(k) - The New Roth 401(k) - Employee Stock Ownership Plans - Profit-Sharing Plans - Individual Retirement Accounts - Roth IRAs - Variable Annuities - Retirement Plans if You're Self-Employed: Keogh Plans, Simplified Employee Pensions, SIMPLE IRAs - Social Security: Don't Sell It Short - What to Do With a Lump Sum at Retirement - Using Home Equity for Retirement Income Chapter 30: Where There's a Will, There's an Estate Plan 501 Six Steps to a Good Will - Estate-Planning Basics - The Role of Probate - How Large Is Your Estate? - Your State Wants a Share, Too - Putting Your Trust in Trusts - The Overselling of Living Trusts - Good Reasons to Change Your Will Appendix State Securities Regulation Offices 517 Federal Reserve Banks 524 Guide to Recordkeeping 526 Glossary 533 Index 557
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication:
Finance, Personal.