Investing Unit 10: Action Steps

• 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

• Investing on Your Own
• Getting Help
• Financial Professional Team
• Choosing Financial Professionals
• Summary
• Action Steps
• About the Author

• Unit 11: Investment Fraud

• Study Guide
• Action Steps
• Monthly Investment Messages
• Glossary

Check off the steps after you have completed them.

Resolve to 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.

List your financial goals using the "SMART Financial Goal-Setting" worksheet in Unit 1. Determine which goals, if any, require professional help to achieve.

Match the financial goal with the professional best suited to help you achieve the goal.

Use the six-step plan given under "Making the Choice" in this unit to select the right professional for you.

Become familiar with a couple of resources on investing and consult them often.

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