Quick Steps to Financial Stability

Quick Steps to Financial Stability      Find money you didn't think you had      Deal with your debt      Make the most of tax breaks      Boost your investment returns      Get your kids through college      Ditch the job and retire      Choose the right loan      Save time and money by using our easy-to-follow templates No time to figure it all out on your own? Let Quick Steps to Financial Stability be your guide.   "When it comes to financial self-help advice, Al Lavine and Gail Liberman are as good as it gets. Whether it's setting up a budget, reducing debt, or taking out the right loans, Lavine and Liberman boiled it all down in this latest book to a series of practical steps to make complicated financial planning simple." —David Callaway, editor-in-chief, MarketWatch   Looking to get your finances on track? It's as easy as following the steps outlined in this book. You needn't be an accountant or a financial planner. Get the straight and simple scoop on how to take the bull by the horns yourself—just follow the step-by-step approach outlined in Quick Steps to Financial Stability. Have access to a computer? If so, it's even easier. And there are several online calculators you can use to help you get the job done.   Alan Lavine and Gail Liberman are husband-and-wife syndicated columnists. Their columns run in the Boston Herald, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Palm Beach Daily News, several Scripps Howard newspapers, and several online websites. They also write a biweekly consumer banking column for Dow Jones MarketWatch. They have been guests on CBS's The Early Show, Fox and Friends, CNN, CNBC, The 700 Club, and PBS. Their book, Rags to Riches, was featured on Oprah's television show and hit two best-seller lists. They live in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part I Are You Ready? Chapter 1 Examining Your Financial Condition Net Worth: Finding Your Bottom Line     Step 1: Round Up Your Assets     Step 2: List All Your Liabilities or Debts     Step 3: Subtract Your Liabilities from Your Assets Reviewing Income and Expenses     Step 1: Calculate Your Monthly Income     Step 2: Categorize Monthly Expenses     Step 3: Determine Where You Stand Setting Your Financial Goals Freeing Up Quick Cash     Controlling Your Debt     Trimming Expenses     Beefing Up Your Income Summary Chapter 2 Identifying Your Financial Goals Preparing for Life     Identifying Your Insurance Needs     Setting Financial Goals     Considering Your Savings Plan Planning for Big Goals     Buying a Home     Having a Baby     Saving for Your Children’s Education and Retirement Summary Chapter 3 Zeroing In on Your Debt Over Your Head in Debt? Try These Fixes     Controlling Debt Yourself     Credit Counseling     Consolidating Your Debts     Bankruptcy Understanding Your Credit Score     Getting Your Score     Check Your Credit Report to Raise Your Credit Score     Correcting Mistakes on Your Credit Report     What If Your Bad Credit Score Is Accurate? Summary Part II Creating a Simple Investment Plan Chapter 4 Weighing the Pros and Cons of Simple Investment Options Understanding Basic Investments     Cash     Bonds     Stocks     Basic Investment Rules What Kind of Investor Are You? Investing in Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds Summary Chapter 5 Creating a Plan That Works for You Choose Low-Risk Investments for Short-Term Goals     Bank Deposits     U.S. Treasury Securities     Other Lower-risk Investments Stocks: More Risk for Better Long-Term Returns Choose Mutual Funds to Help You Diversify     Analyzing the Risk of Mutual Funds     Pinpoint Your Strategy with Life-Cycle and Target Funds     Take a More Conservative Approach with Balanced Funds Boost Your Performance     Stick with No-Load Funds     Use Index Funds     Opting for Actively Managed Funds     Consider Dollar Cost Averaging     Rebalance Your Investments Always Consider Taxes Summary Chapter 6 Protecting the Downside: Insurance and Other Safeguards Finding Financially Secure Companies Health Insurance     Policy Types     What to Examine Before Buying a Policy     Cut the Cost of Medical Insurance Disability Insurance Life Insurance     Low-Load Companies     Getting Professional Help Long-Term Care Insurance Property Insurance     Automobile Insurance     Homeowner’s Insurance You Need a Will Summary Part III Supercharging Your Savings Plan Chapter 7 Saving for Retirement Determine What to Expect from Your Retirement Income Sources Your Retirement Plan Options     401(k)     IRAs     Roth IRA     Annuities Can You Retire?     Need More?     Other Ways to Retire Summary Chapter 8 How to Pay for Your Children’s Education Getting Your Hands Around the Cost of College Step 1: Determine What You Can Save Step 2: Examine Your Investment Options     529 Plans     Coverdell Educational Savings Accounts     Uniform Transfers to Minors Act and Uniform Gifts to Minors Act     Other Tax-Advantaged Options Tax Breaks for College Savings     The Hope Scholarship Credit     The Lifetime Learning Credit     Tax Deduction for Student Loan Interest Rules for College Investing Financial Aid If You Must Borrow Other Ways to Get Your Children to College Summary Chapter 9 Save by Choosing the Right Loans Your Loan Objectives The Scoop on Credit Cards Understanding Car Loans and Leases Picking a Mortgage     Checking Out Loan Upfront Costs and Fees     Choosing a Mortgage Type     Finding Information on Special Mortgage Programs Home Equity Loans and Lines Other Low-Cost Ways to Borrow Beware When You Borrow Money Eliminating Debt from Your Financial Life     Refinance Your Home     Prepay Your Mortgage     Consider a Biweekly Mortgage Summary Chapter 10 Your Keys to the Good Life, Now and Later Evaluate Your Income and Spending Evaluate Your Insurance Coverage Review Your Investments Review Your Tax Situation Update Your Estate Plan Enjoy Your Great New Financial Life Summary Part IV Appendixes Appendix A References and Resources Appendix B Finding the Right Help Appendix C Mortgage Shopping Worksheet   0789735083   TOC    10/19/2006

About the Author :
Gail Liberman and Alan Lavine are husband-and-wife columnists and best-selling authors based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Their columns run on Dow Jones MarketWatch and in the Boston Herald, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, several Scripps Howard newspapers, MyFinancialAdvisor.com, Fundsinteractive.com, Allaboutfunds.com, and Quicken.com.   Liberman and Lavine’s book Rags to Riches: Motivating Stories of How Ordinary People Achieved Extraordinary Wealth! (Dearborn, 2000) was featured on Oprah and hit two best-seller lists.   You might have seen or heard the couple on television and radio. They have been guests on CBS’s The Early Show, CNN, CNBC, The 700 Club, NBC, Fox, and PBS. They also have been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, USA Today, the New York Times, Business Week, Investor’s Business Daily, The Washington Post, Redbook, First, Town and Country, Bride’s, and Elle.   Their other books are The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Making Money with Mutual Funds (Alpha Books, 2000), Rags to Retirement (Alpha Books, 2003), More Rags to Riches (Dearborn, 2002), Love, Marriage and Money (Dearborn, 1998), Improving Your Credit and Reducing Your Debt (Wiley, 1994), Short and Simple Guide to Life Insurance (Authors Choice, 2000), and Short and Simple Guide to Smart Investing (Authors Choice, 2003).   The two have contributed to Consumers Digest, Your Money, and Worth magazines, as well as the Journal of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, Financial Advisor, and Financial Planning magazine.   Liberman’s own column,“Managing Your Fortune,” runs in the Palm BeachDaily News. She helped launch Bank Rate Monitor (now Bankrate.com) in North Palm Beach and was editor of the publication for 15 years. An award-winning journalist, she began her career with the Associated Press, United Press International, and United Features Syndicate. She also was a reporter for the Courier-Post, a Gannett newspaper in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Liberman obtained her Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She holds a Florida real estate license and a Florida mortgage broker license.   Alan Lavine, author of the nation’s longest-running mutual fund column, was on the ground floor of the mutual fund industry as the former director of research for IBC/Donoghue, now iMoneyNet.com, of Westborough,Massachusetts. His columns have been running in the Boston Herald for more than 24 years. A former Registered Investment Advisor, he also pens a regular column for the Journal of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Individual Investor, American Banker, Trusts and Estates, American Lawyer, and Financial World. During the 1980s, his family finances research was cited by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. A guest lecturer at Cornell University, Lavine has spoken before such groups as the American Psychological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Massachusetts Psychological Association, and Morningstar, Inc.’s Mutual Fund Conference.   Lavine has a Master’s degree from the University of Akron. He did post-graduate studies in finance and economics at Clark University, in Worcester, Massachusetts.   Lavine has authored Getting Started in Mutual Funds (Wiley, 1993); 50 Ways to Mutual Fund Profits (McGraw-Hill, 1996); and Your Life Insurance Options (Wiley, 1992). He also coauthored, with Gerald Perritt, Diversify Your Way to Wealth (McGraw-Hill, 1993), an alternate selection of the Fortune Book Club; and Diversify: Investors Guide to Asset-Allocation Strategies (Longman Financial Services Publishing, 1989).   Both Liberman and Lavine are listed in Marquis’s Who’s Who in America and are members of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.