• Introduction
• Unit 1: Basic Building Blocks of Successful Financial Management
• Unit 2: Investing Basics
• Unit 3: Finding Money to Invest
• Unit 4: Ownership Investments
• Unit 5: Fixed-Income Investing
• Unit 6: Mutual Fund Investing
• Unit 7: Tax-Deferred Investments
• Unit 8: Investing Small Dollar Amounts
• Unit 9: Getting Help: Investing Resources
• Unit 10: Selecting Financial Professionals
• Unit 11: Investment Fraud

• Study Guide
• Action Steps
• Investing Updates
• Monthly Investment Messages
• Common Questions
• Additional Resources
• Glossary
• Expert Team

Print this page and check each action step below as it is completed.

Unit 1: Before You Invest

Develop financial management skills and knowledge (e.g., record-keeping, budgeting)

Reduce expenditures to free up money to achieve financial goals

Complete an annual financial check-up, including net worth and cash flow statements

Review financial management strategies periodically and revise when necessary

Determine/establish an adequate amount of emergency fund for your individual situation

Evaluate current insurance policies and shop around for additional or replacement coverage, if indicated

Check your income tax withholding level and adjust, if : Maximize tax deductions (e.g., using home equity credit lines versus non-deductible consumer interest)

Set written short-, medium-, and long-term financial goals following the SMART goal format

Obtain a copy of your credit report to see if it is accurate and complete

Establish and periodically evaluate wills and estate plans

Unit 2: Investing Basics

Review the places where you are currently holding money and determine if your holdings are in savings or investment vehicles

Determine the rate of return for current financial holdings

Complete the What Are Your Investment Preferences? exercise to identify your characteristics and needs as an investor

Set aside time each week to read one of the personal finance magazines recommended in Unit 9

Assess your interest, skill, and time to make decisions about your investment plan and portfolio. Proceed on your own or seek assistance

Unit 3: Finding Money to Invest

Develop a plan to insure that you save the money needed to fund your goals

Set up a regular savings program, if you do not already have one

Identify two strategies you could implement to help you accumulate funds to invest

Identify a money-consuming habit that you would be willing to change

Calculate the amount of money you can realize in one year by changing this habit

Change your behavior, save the appropriate amount of money, and invest it

Track your investment and watch it grow

Units 4 and 5: Equity and Fixed-Income Investing

Read about equity and fixed-income investments in "the financial press"

Investigate equity and fixed-income investments available through your employer plan, if available

Obtain additional investment information from Cooperative Extension or financial services firms

Identify equity and fixed-income investments that match your goals and available cash flow

Research these investments and compare at least three specific products (e.g., stocks)

Calculate the percentage of your portfolio allocated to equity and fixed-income investments

Determine your marginal tax bracket (see Unit 7) to see if tax-exempt investments such as municipal bonds are cost-effective

Unit 6: Investing In Mutual Funds

Investigate mutual fund investment choices (e.g., stock funds) available through your employer plan

Decide upon your selection criteria (e.g., minimum deposit, low expense ratio)

Identify specific mutual funds that match your investment goals

Call at least three mutual fund firms for a prospectus

Do further reading on those mutual funds and mutual funds in general (e.g., prospectus, books)

Do follow-up research using Morningstar or Value Line

Complete a mutual fund application and make an investment

Track the progress of your funds at least quarterly

Unit 7: Tax-Deferred Investing

Inquire if your employer has a tax-deferred retirement plan (e.g., 401(k))

Find out what investment choices are available within the employer plan

Find out if your employer matches your investment dollars and, if so, by how much

Set a date to start contributing or to increase contribution- either a dollar amount or a percentage of your salary

If you are self-employed, determine the type of retirement plan you could start, set an amount to save, and begin making contributions

Investigate IRAs and determine which is best for your age and income level

Increase contributions to your tax-deferred plan each time your pay increases

Unit 8: Investing With Small Dollar Amounts

Investigate inexpensive investment options available through your employer, if available (e.g., 401(k) and savings bond purchase plans)

Attend an employer-sponsored investment seminar

Identify at least three "shoestring" investments that match your goals and available cash flow

Research these investments and compare at least three specific products (e.g., three large company growth funds). Use the Shoestring Investment Comparison Worksheet to record the key features of each

Dollar-cost average mutual fund purchases and/or enroll in an automatic investment program

Investigate the initial minimum deposits required for specific investments and ways that they can be reduced (e.g., automatic investment plan)

Unit 9: Getting Help: Investing Resources

Start reading the business and financial pages in the newspaper on a regular basis

Subscribe to a personal finance magazine

Find out if an investment club meets in your area and ask to visit one of their meetings

Read business and finance news on the Internet at Web sites www.usatoday.com/money, www.wsj.com, and www.quicken.com/investments

Read a business or finance magazine on the Internet (e.g., www.smartmoney.com)

Investigate mutual fund information online at Web sites www.morningstar.com, www.mfea.com, and www.lipperweb.com

Set up a "portfolio" online of stocks you own or are watching

Research a company or industry online (e.g., search the SEC’s EDGAR database)

Unit 10: Selecting Your Team of Financial Professionals

Develop a financial plan to guide your investment choices

Read at least one financial planning resource and decide if you can prepare and execute a plan yourself

Match your financial goals with the professional adviser best suited to help you achieve them (e.g., lawyer, financial planner)

Use the six-step plan described under Choosing Your Team of Financial Professionals in this unit to select the right professional for you

Become familiar with resources on investing and consult them often

Stay involved in the process—stay educated enough about investing to ask hard questions and closely monitor a professional’s work. Balance your trust in a professional with a healthy amount of consumer skepticism

Unit 11: Investment Fraud

Get a copy of a form for taking notes, so you remember what questions to ask when someone calls to sell you an investment from the SEC Web site www.sec.gov/complaint/callform.htm.

Keep notes of your conversation when you talk to a financial professional who makes recommendations

To learn more about telemarketing fraud, get a copy of Swindlers Are Calling from the National Futures Association www.nfa.futures.org/investor/SAC.shtml. Also read Cold Calling Alert from the SEC: www.sec.gov/investor/pubs.shtml.

Download and print out information about investment opportunities you read about online if you think you want to consider investing. If you later decide to invest, you’ll have proof of the offer

Maintain a filing system to keep all confirmation slips, statements, and notes about each investment

Ask to be put on the "do not call" list if a salesperson’s calls are annoying you

Report any suspicious sales activity to your state securities regulator and to the SEC

Read about How the SEC Handles Your Complaint or Inquiry at the following Web site: www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/howoiea.htm.

Get the name of your state securities regulator from www.nasaa.org/nasaa/abtnasaa/find_regulator.asp and put the phone number in a handy place

Call your state securities regulator and check the central registration depository (CRD) file for your broker to see if there are any disciplinary problems on file