(Each chapter begins with a Chapter Summary and concludes with What Can You Do; Workshop; and Hour's Up!) Introduction. I. GETTING STARTED. Hour 1. Why Invest? Investing Versus Saving. Investing Myths. Investment Goals. Retirement Investing. Traditional Investing. Nontraditional Investing. Hour 2. Getting Ready. Cleaning Up Debt. Getting Rid of the Debt. Finding $200 a Month Extra. Extreme Measures. Emergency Reserves. Life Insurance. Hour 3. Investing Basics. The Miracle of Compounding. Investing Terms. Market Activity Terms. The Markets. The Electronic Market. Market Indicators. Following the Stocks. Hour 4. Investing Instruments. Common Stock. Mutual Funds. Pricing a Mutual Fund. Bonds and Cash Equivalents. Cash Equivalents. Other Investment Instruments. II. DOING THE RESEARCH. Hour 5. Existing Benefits Review. Stock Options. Direct Investment Plans (DIPs). Retirement Plans. Qualified Retirement Plans. Nonqualified Retirement Plans. Types of Qualified Retirement Plans. Defined Contribution Plans. Defined Benefit Plan. The Importance of Starting Early. The Early Bird Does Get the Worm. Hour 6. Understanding the Numbers. The Numbers. Where to Look for Numbers. Online Information. Annual Reports and Prospectus. Hour 7. Market News/Research. Sorting It All Out. Where Did All This Information Come From? How to Sort Through the Mess. Your First Cut--The Obviously Outrageous. Prognosticators. Is There Any Place to Get Good Information? Hour 8. Picking a Broker. Why Do I Need a Broker? What Kind of Broker Do I Need? Service with a Modem. Evaluating a Broker. III. MUTUAL FUNDS, STOCKS, AND BONDS. Hour 9. Mutual Funds--Part I Classifications. Sales Fee or Not. No-Load Mutual Funds. Expense Ratio. Fund Management. Total Return. Hour 10. Mutual Funds--Part II Types of Funds. Stock Funds. Bond Funds. Money Market Funds. Specialized Funds. Hour 11. Mutual Funds--Part III Investment Objectives. Index Funds. Growth Funds. Income Funds. Balanced Funds. Sector Funds. Value Fund. Tax-Free Funds. International Funds. Precious Metals Funds. Socially Responsible Funds. Hour 12. Stocks--Part I Classifications. Growth Stocks. Income Stocks. Value Stocks. Stocks on the Internet. Hour 13. Stocks--Part II Size. Market Cap and Investment Decisions. Large-Cap Stocks. Mid-Cap Stocks. Small-Cap Companies. Special Situations. Hour 14. Bonds. Types of Bonds. What's a Bond Worth? Exceptions. The Bad News. Bond Risk and Reward. Odd Duck Bonds. How Bonds Are Sold. Bond Tables. Rating the Bonds. IV. MAKING CHOICES. Hour 15. Investment Strategies. Your Role. Short- and Medium-Range Goals. Types of Strategies. Fight Investment Fear with Information. Hour 16. Risk and Return. Your Personal Investment Formula. Risk/Reward Relationship. Economic Risk. Inflation. Market-Value Risk. Too Careful. Risk and Investments. Hour 17. Picking a Mutual Fund. First Things First. Investment Objectives. Long-Term Investment Objectives. How Do You Choose? Taxes. Understanding the Mutual Fund Prospectus. Hour 18. Picking a Stock. Matching Your Investment Goals. Picking Stocks to Evaluate. Research Without the Internet. Reviewing Financial Statements. Other Sources of Information. How Important Are These Company Documents? How to Evaluate a Business. Valuation Models. Familiarize, not Memorize. V: WORKING TOWARD A GOAL. Hour 19. Asset Allocation. What Is Asset Allocation, Really? Asset Allocation Models. Portfolio Components. What It All Means. Other Considerations. Hour 20. Conservative/Low Cost Investing. Dollar Cost Averaging. DRIPs and DIPs. Buy-and-Hold Strategy. Holding Period. Investment Clubs. Hour 21. Active Investing. Disadvantages of Active Investing. Advantages of Active Investing. Online Trading. Disadvantages of Online Trading. Advantages of Online Trading. Tools of the Active Trader. After-Hours Trading. Hour 22. Aggressive Investing. Day Trading. Options Trading. Futures Trading. Exotic Deals. Hour 23. Retirement Planning. The 401(k) Plan. IRAs--Traditional and Roth. Retirement Planning--Long Term. Retirement Planning--Short Term. Retirement Management. Hour 24. Putting It All Together. Piece No. 1--Preparation. Piece No. 2--Buying Quality. Piece No. 3--Constant Review. Piece No. 4--Have Fun. Giving Back. Appendix A. 20-Minute Recap. Appendix B. Resources. Appendix C. Glossary. Appendix D. Answers to Quiz Questions. Index.
