Investing

How many times have you flipped to the back of a company's annual report and found yourself blankly staring at the pages of numbers and tables? You know that these should be important to your investing decision, but you're not quite sure what they mean or where to begin. In Lesson 3, we're going to take our first major step towards changing that. Smart investors have always known that financial statements are the keys to every company. They can warn of potential problems, and when used correctly, help determine what a business is really "worth". An investor who understands financial statements will never have to ask "is this company a good investment?

In This Corner...
People are constantly wondering where to park their money when they don't see any investments that interest them. In this article, we are going to look at two of the most popular ways of using excess cash, and discover just which one is superior!

Introduction to the Stock Market, An: Investing Lesson 1
Have you always wanted to know how to understand a company's annual report and financial statements? In this series of lessons, we set out to teach you how to take the financial statements of a company and carefully analyze them to determine what the stock is truly "worth". This allows you make better investing decisions by helping to avoid the costly mistake of purchasing a company when its share price is too high. This lesson explains how a company issues stock for the first time. It also covers important concepts such as market cap, book value, and p/e ratio. If you've already read the lesson, you can take the Quiz.

Invest in What You Know
One of the biggest keys to successful investing is to only purchase shares of companies you know and understand. Find out how to find these businesses by going through your own laundry room, or listening to your kids.

Investing in Municipal Bonds
Tax-free municipal bonds can be a great investment for those in higher tax brackets. Read this quick and easy-to-use guide to find out if they are something you should consider adding to your portfolio.

Investor's Manifesto, The
Just what makes an investor? All true investors exhibit certain traits, beliefs and characteristics. This is a compilation of those attributes in what I call "The Investor's Manifesto" - not only will they help you make the most of your money, they'll help you enjoy your life.

Love & Money
Relationships and Investing are both complex subjects - mixing the two can sometimes be a recipe for disaster. Here's what you should (and shouldn't) do with your money when you are seriously involved with someone else.