Personal Finance: A Research Guide

Looking for tips on how to make your money grow or on how to spend it more wisely? The resources listed below will assist researchers in making wise decisions like where to bank their money and where to invest it. This guide introduces researchers to some of the basic informational sources on the topic. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library's catalog and research databases. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.

Bank Rate
www.bankrate.com
List of best interest rates and a wide array of financial calculators. Separate forums for the following topics: tax, small business, investment and advice.

Checkfree
www.checkfree.com
Use this service to receive and pay bills electronically. Requires paid subscription.

FDIC
www.fdic.gov/bank/index.html
Searchable databases allow users to find institutions and their branches in order to retrieve contact and financial status.

National Credit Union Administration
www.ncua.gov
Provides directory of domestic and international credit unions with links to each institution.

Paytrust
www.paytrust.com
Allows you to receive and review all your bills online, decide who to pay, how much and when and from which bank account. Requires paid subscription.

Best's Ratings Online
www.ambest.com/ratings/access.html
Includes contact information and brief financials on your insurance company. You can also find a table that defines the Best rating and what it actually means.

InsWeb
www.insweb.com
Allows you to compare insurance quotes from leading insurance companies to find the best rates available for vehicles, home, life, medical and pet insurance.

The following commercial investment services offer a variety of products and services including the ability to buy and sell stock as well as basic investment information. They allow you to view your portfolio, research industries, markets, and individual stocks.

Ameritrade: www.ameritrade.com
Datek: www.datek.com
HARRISdirect: www.harrisdirect.com
E*trade: www.etrade.com

CBS Marketwatch
http://cbs.marketwatch.com
Enormous amount of information best navigated with a ticker symbol in hand. The site provides, as it says, “the story behind the numbers,” with headlines and news on companies, industries, markets, and investment topics.

CNN FN The Financial Network
http://cnnfn.cnn.com
Financial news including sections on technology, companies, CEOs, the economy, and industry.

Forbes
www.forbes.com
Provides articles from its current and archived magazine. Forbes famous lists are conveniently located on one page. Find the “World's Richest People,” “Forbes 500,” “500 Largest Private Companies,” “Forbes Platinum 400,” and “Forbes 200 Best Small Companies.”

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BusinessWeek Online, Investing
www.businessweek.com/investor/index.html
A wealth of information on markets, stocks, funds, economy, IPOs, industries, and current news in the investment world.

Fool.com
www.fool.com
Includes stock research, quotes, data and discussion boards. Offers a customizable portfolio tracker and weekly stock screen to generate new investment opportunities.

MSN MoneyCentral
http://moneycentral.msn.com
Offers a wide array of information for the Investor including banking and bill paying, retirement, wills, taxes, insurance, saving, spending, family, college, mortgages, and loans.

Smartmoney.com
www.smartmoney.com
Offers a comprehensive site for beginning and seasoned investors with many interactive tools.

Stock Screener
www.quicken.com/investments/stocks/search/
Use Stock Search to find stocks that best meet your investing goals. Automated searches include preset criteria that match popular investing strategies or use the full search to create your unique stock screener by combining certain variables.

Yahoo! Finance
http://finance.yahoo.com
Provides a directory of investing and personal finance Web sites, including top business news for the day and links to other Yahoo! International market sites. Also provides a quick market summary and brief synopsis of the day's trading activities.