Most of us are not wise about financial matters. We don’t know how to judge which stocks will be profitable, whether we should invest in bonds, or what the financial interests are of those who say they will give us the answers.
Knowledge is our best defense against bad advice, according to the Consumer Federation of America.
Investing
Your government has free help available. At sec.gov, look for the “Your Money” button to download lessons about how to evaluate stock tips and read disclosures.
At mymoney.gov, you will find postings about how to save for retirement and avoid scams. It also links to local authorities at the North American Securities Administrators Association site, nasaa.org.
Independent and free information may be even better. Morningstar.com, started as a mutual fund research company, but now has an entire curriculum on stocks, bonds, funds, and more. The course starts with simple stuff and moves up to more-complex levels. It tells you how to evaluate whether a stock is well priced or not.
Borrowing
Bankrate.com offers interest rate quotes and advice on borrowing and saving. For more technical information, visit the American Association of Individual Investors at aaii.org.
Interest rates on home equity lines of credit are now at 8 percent or more. Many credit card companies, however, are still offering 0 percent interest for one year.
One problem is that you don’t know how much credit each card will offer you. Financial experts recommend that you return several no-interest credit card applications. Then you can cancel those that don’t give a high enough credit limit without doing serious damage to your credit rating.