Helpful Resources for Financial Planning
SMART OPINIONS TO CONSIDER:
- Paul Krugman (public policy, liberal): http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com
- Greg Mankiw (economics, center right):
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com - Economic Policy Institute (great data and public policy):
http://www.epi.org - Interesting political observations (center, liberal):
www.washingtonmonthly.com - The Wall Street Journal health blog: http://blogs.wsj.com/health
- The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (good data):
http://www.cbpp.org
NEWS ON PERSONAL FINANCE:
INVESTMENT NEWS:
BANKING
Reach out to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators to see if you’re owed money from a forgotten bank or brokerage account:
www.unclaimed.org
www.missingmoney.com
For current interest rates on a wide variety of banking products and other excellent consumer information: www.bankrate.com
To see if your bank deposits are fully covered by federal deposit insurance: www2.fdic.gov/edie
Visit the Credit Union National Association to find a credit union that you might be eligible to join: www.cuna.org
To find a credit union anyone can join: www.penfed.org/member-benefits
CONSUMER
Sites that keep you informed about important consumer issues:
http://www.consumer-action.org
U.S. Government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
http://www.consumerfinance.gov
CREDIT
For consumer information on credit cards:
www.consumer-action.org
More information on consumer information on credit cards from the Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov
To research the latest credit card rates and offers:
www.cardtrak.com
www.cardoffers.com
www.cardhub.com
www.cardratings.com
www.lowcards.com
www.creditcards.com
For information on adding a security freeze to your credit history to help prevent identity theft: www.financialprivacynow.org
To find out what to do if you’re a victim of identity theft:
www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft
Visit the National Foundation for Credit Counseling to find a local nonprofit counseling agency to help you get out of debt: www.nfcc.org
To understand your credit score and learn how to improve it:
www.myfico.com
EMPLOYMENT
For those researching part-time work, visit the Senior Job Bank or $idehustl:
www.seniorjobbank.org
sidehusl.com
FAMILY
Find your local Association for Retarded Citizens for advice on locating benefits and creating a trust for a disabled person: www.thearc.org
For free, state-specific forms for living wills and health-care proxies, also known as “advance directives” reach out to Caring Connections: www.caringinfo.org
Visit the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals to find lawyers who specialize in cooperative divorces: www.collaborativepractice.com
For good consumer information on divorce: www.divorcenet.com
For caregivers, including people caring for an aging parent, visit the Family Caregiver Alliance: www.caregiver.org.
For help with long-distance care, try the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers: www.caremanager.org
For locating local senior service organizations: www.eldercare.gov
For evaluations of the charities you contribute to visit:
www.charitynavigator.org
www.guidestar.org
Visit the National DO Not Call Registry to get off snail mail lists and call lists that lead to annoying sales calls: www.donotcall.gov
To reduce junk mail, visit the Direct Marketing Association Mail Preference Service: www.dmachoice.org
For coupons and other consumer deals: www.fatwallet.com
FINANCIAL PLANNING
To learn about basic financial planning: www.smartaboutmoney.org
For the names of planners who charge fees for advice and don’t earn commissions by selling financial products:
Garrett Planning Network: (http://www.garrettplanningnetwork.com)
NAPFA – National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (https://www.napfa.org/)
Financial Planning Association (https://www.onefpa.org/Pages/default.aspx)
The Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website can be of help with background information on registered investment advisers: www.adviser.sec.gov
To organize your spending and saving, visit: www.mint.com
HEALTH AND HEALTH INSURANCE
Kaiser Health News is a splendid site for what’s happening in the health world, plus investigative reporting: www.khn.org
Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation for a go-to site for health policy information and reports, plus info on the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, and drug costs: www.kff.org
ClearHealthCosts.com researches the costs of medical procedures in various cities and gives tips on cutting medical costs.
To find cost quotes for individual health insurance policies:
www.ehealthinsurance.com
To find a local health insurance agent, visit the National Association of Health Underwriters: www.nahu.org
To find high-quality, lower-cost treatment abroad: www.medicaltourismassociation.com
To find a specialist to help with complicated health insurance claims:
www.billadvocates.com
www.claims.org
Visit the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to find health insurance for children from moderate-income families:
www.insurekidsnow.gov
For the best pharma prices:
www.consumerreports.org/health/best-buy-drugs.index.htm
Visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for information on Medicare and Medicaid: www.cms.hhs.gov
To find a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan: www.medicare.gov
For information on the value of brand-name drugs, generics, and vitamin supplements: www.peoplespharmacy.com
For quotes on auto and homeowners insurance:
www.insweb.com
www.insure.com
www.esurance.com
www.insureone.com
Visit the Insurance Information Institute for consumer information on auto and homeowners coverage: www.iii.org
HIGHER EDUCATION
For people seeking student aid based on financial need, information on federal grants and loans can be found at:
www.collegeboard.com
www.finaid.org
www.studentaid.ed.gov.
The form you need to use to apply for financial aid: www.fafsa.ed.gov
For people seeking scholarships not based on financial need: www.collegeboard.com
For information on tax-favored college saving and investment plans:
www.savingforcollege.com
INSURANCE
Reach out to United Policyholders for help on getting insurance claims paid:
www.uphelp.org
INVESTING
For research on mutual funds and stock and bond funds: www.morningstar.com
For research on current yields on money market mutual funds: www.imoneynet.com
To compare the costs of different mutual funds:
www.finra.org/fundanalyzer
For a chat about index funds and personal investing:
http://bogleheads.org/forum
For basic stock research:
www.yahoo.finance.com
www.google.finance.com
To buy U.S. Savings Bonds or Treasury securities directly from the federal government:
www.treasurydirect.gov
For information on “green” investing:
www.socialinvest.org
www.socialfunds.com
For timely warnings on high-risk investments in the marketplace (including those sold as “low risk”):
www.finra.org/investors (click on “Investor Alerts”)
To check on the background of your stockbroker:
www.brokercheck.finra.org
To find out how to bring a complaint against a stockbroker:
www.finra.org (click on “Arbitration & Mediation”)
To see of old stock certificates are worth something:
www.smytheonline.com
www.scripophily.net
Find contact information for your state securities regulator:
www.nasaa.org
LIFE INSURANCE
For people seeking low-cost term life insurance: www.term4sale.com
For people wondering whether to dump, keep, or exchange a cash-value life insurance policy: www.evaluatelifeinsurance.org
For people considering a large cash-value purchase and want independent advice and looking for fee-only life insurance adviser:
www.glenndaily.com/glenndaily
Visit the National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations for information on how much protection you have in your state if your life or health insurance policy fails: www.nolgha.com
Visit the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to find your state’s insurance department: www.naic.org
REAL ESTATE
For everything you need to know about mortgages, including reverse mortgages, see mortgage expert Jack Guttentag: www.mtgprofessor.com
For help if selling your house without a broker:
www.forsalebyowner.com and www.owners.com
For an evaluation of the gurus who sell real estate investing programs, see real estate expert John T. Reed at www.johntreed.com
For information on reverse mortgages, visit the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association:
www.nrmlaonline.org
To find contact information for your state’s insurance regulator, visit the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) website:
content.naic.org
RETIREMENT
Social Security information, visit www.socialsecurity.gov and click on FAQs for answers to common questions. Social Security Administration information:
www.ssa.gov
800-772-1213
For general information on retirement and to calculate whether you’re saving enough for retirement:
www.aarp.org
For general information on traditional pensions:
www.pensionrights.org
To see how much of your traditional retirement pension is insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation:
www.pbgc.gov
To see how large a lifetime income you can buy with a fixed amount of money:
www.immediateannuities.com
For help deciding when to claim Social Security for maximum benefits:
SocialSecurityChoices.com
SocialSecuritySolutions.com
MaximizeMySocialSecurity.com
For an estimate of how much you can afford to spend in retirement:
Fidelity Investments Retirement Income Planner
T. Rowe Price Retirement Income Planner
For information on Individual Retirement Accounts, visit:
irahelp.com