Online Investing Hacks

Hacks #87-100

With self-service becoming a business mantra, we become more responsible for our financial futures every day. Just consider the decline of company-funded pension plans and the popularity of employee-funded 401(k) programs. However, there’s a lot more to planning your finances than choosing and managing your investments. In fact, the topic of financial planning could fill a book of its own.

Although this chapter merely scratches the surface, choosing the right financial products and services offers plenty of rewards. With good financial planning, you can save hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. Whether you invest those savings to make money or use them to have some fun, the time you spend on personal finance provides attractive returns. On the other hand, living life without a financial plan can lead to unacceptable results—surviving to retirement only to realize you have to live with your kids.

With a computer and an Internet connection, there’s no excuse for letting your financial planning lapse. As you’ll learn in this chapter, you can research financial products at your convenience and take all the time you want to make your decisions. In addition, by using the Web for your financial needs, you can obtain more services than you can get offline, often at better prices. Comparison shopping for loans, insurance, investments, or toasters is easy and fast; you can find the best deals in a matter of minutes.

It’s true that some web sites and services lose points ...