Financial Mistakes to Avoid: Protect Your Assets

This is a plain-English guide for anyone who finds money advice more confusing than it needs to be. Nine chapters walk through the money slip-ups people make most often - no budget, credit card interest, no emergency fund, panic-selling investments, putting off retirement and estate planning - and what to do instead. The tone is light and jargon-free throughout, and every chapter closes with a short bottom line.

What's inside

• How to build a budget you will actually keep: track for a month or two, split needs from wants, set category limits, then review and adjust
• Credit cards explained without the jargon - credit limit, APR, minimum payment and grace period - plus why cash advances and store cards are worth avoiding
• Why an emergency fund comes first, how three to six months of expenses is worked out, and where to keep it so you are not tempted to spend it
• Investing fundamentals: risk against return, diversification, time horizon and compounding, with a plain tour of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs and property
• Retirement planning in six steps, from estimating your costs to choosing between a 401(k), a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA
• Whether buying suits you yet, the seven-step homebuying process, how interest rate and loan term interact, and the running costs people forget
• The six types of cover most people need - health, auto, home, renters, life and disability - and the estate planning essentials: a will, a trust, power of attorney, a healthcare directive and up-to-date beneficiary designations
• How to spot a financial fad: guaranteed returns, pressure to decide quickly, secrecy, celebrity endorsements and a lack of regulation

Details

• PDF, 41 pages
• Instant digital download
• Read on any device, or print it
• For personal use