As we round out this month’s Edu-blogs about tips and resources you can use to increase your financial awareness and celebrate “National Financial Awareness Day” every day, not just on August 14th, I want to share some of the websites I recommend for increasing your financial knowledge.
Investopedia (https://www.investopedia.com/)
This site is the mother of all investment and financial knowledge resources. I say that because of the wonderful rabbit hole effect the site can have. I know we are used to considering the rabbit hole as a negative thing where time is wasted on nonsense, but in this case, the rabbit hole is more like a wonderful little spiderweb. When you read an article or use a tool on the Investopedia site or app, it compiles a list of other articles that correspond with the one you are reading. It also suggests pieces to read after the current article to build your knowledge. And it provides linked words and phrases within the articles that will take you to definitions or explanations for what the article references. Good stuff!
NerdWallet (https://www.nerdwallet.com/)
While Investopedia is a site that predominantly covers investing, economic, and market topics, with some personal finance topics, NerdWallet focuses mainly on personal finance topics, with a little bit on investing and retirement. From credit cards to travel, personal loans to small businesses, banking to mortgages, NerdWallet educates readers on what they need to know to make the right choices and avoid missteps and misleading information. The site is rich in calculators that help provide real numbers when making financial decisions. I appreciate the conversational tone they take in their writing and the way they explain concepts in layman's terms.
The Balance (https://www.thebalance.com/)
The Balance is a great site that equally covers investing, the economy, and personal finance. And like Investopedia, they’ve been around a while, for over 20 years. The site boasts over 9000 articles written and fact-checked by financial industry professionals and reviews on over 2000 financial products and services. Topics include everything from budgeting to investing, mortgages, economics, and banking.
I like each of these sites for different reasons, but I will say they all have ads that promote various products and services, and some offer paid memberships. The point here is this, always be objective when reading as we are all influenced by money, so take the knowledge and leave the advertising. The other point is there is no reason to pay for members-only information - what these sites offer to regular readers is excellent and more than enough. It goes without saying, but none of the books, websites, or resources I’ve spoken about in any of this month’s Edu-blogs have asked me to do so or offered me compensation. I genuinely think these are good sources of information and often use them for information sources when writing these very blogs.
Happy discovering; keep sending me your tips and the resources you use to stay financially aware. I’ll be back next week with the National Financial Awareness Day Toolkit, as promised, with all your thoughts and suggestions as well as the ones I’ve spoken about this month.
Until next time…
One last thought, I believe an educated investor is an empowered investor. If you like what you’ve read and think your friends and family can benefit as well, please share.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk.
Dollar cost averaging involves continuous investment in securities regardless of fluctuation in price levels of such securities. An investor should consider their ability to continue purchasing through fluctuating price levels. Such a plan does not assure a profit and does not protect against loss in declining markets.