Moneysmartz Personal Finance Guide and Blog

Financial Goal Setting Update

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:20:49 -0600

The foundation of a successful financial plan is an understanding of where you want to be financially in both the short and long run. The Moneysmartz Financial Goal Setting category provides links to tools and worksheets to help you set financial goals. If you have at least one half hour, visit the About Frugal Living listing that provides systematic directions for determining financial goals. For a quick introduction to financial goal setting and helpful financial calculators, visit the Financial Goal Setting listing from CCH Finance. If you plan to manage your finances on your own or work with a financial professional, a review of financial goal setting basics will help lay the groundwork for financial success.

Financial Engines

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:05:08 -0600

There is little middle ground between paying an advisor for financial planning expertise (visit Fool.com for a comprehensive comparison of financial advisory services and rates) and going it alone. Financial planners offer experience and an array of tools, while the do-it-yourself route affords flexibility and cost savings. If you are looking for the best of both worlds, lower fees and greater sophistication, then Financial Engines may be your solution.

A Forbes favorite for 401(k) advice, Financial Engines is an advanced financial analysis and modeling system created with the assistance of a Nobel Prize-winning economist. For fees ranging from $39.95 per month to $300 annually, the site helps individual investors create a personalized retirement forecast, get advice on taxable and tax-deferred accounts, forecast employee stock options, and forecast non-retirement financial goals.

If you are confident about your ability to interpret the Financial Engines output, then the $39.95 to test the system will be money well spent. At the minimum, after giving Financial Engines a test-drive, you’ll be able to ask smart questions if you choose to work with a financial planner down the road.

Five Questions for a Better Retirement

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:50:33 -0600

With the experts telling us how unprepared we are for retirement, it's no surprise that many of us put off retirement planning for as long as possible. If the experts are right, then most Americans will have a day of reckoning when confronting a retirement with inadequate savings.

If you are willing to feel some pain today with the hope of a brighter retirement, then Fidelity's My Plan, requiring answers to five simple questions, is a relatively painless way to determine how much you'll need when you retire and what you need to do to get there.

The My Plan tool is intuitive and pleasant; delivering good and bad news with a smile while providing concrete steps to change your investment habits and begin preparing for a better retirement.