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The Unofficial Guide Reader's Bill of Rights | |
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The Unofficial Guide Panel of Experts | |
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Introduction | |
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Managing Your Money | |
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The ABC's of Counting Your Pennies | |
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Why It's So Important to Save Money | |
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Put Your Money to Work for You | |
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Compounded Growth | |
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Dollar cost Averaging | |
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Rule of 72 | |
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How Inflation Reduces Your Spending Power | |
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Figuring Out How Much You Actually Spend | |
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Setting Up a Budget | |
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Just Say No | |
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Establishing an Emergency Fund | |
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"When I'm Sixty-fourt..." | |
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Figuring Out Where You Can Cut Costs | |
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Getting Motivated and Staying on Track | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Credit Cards | |
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Using Credit | |
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Shopping for a Card | |
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How Credit Cards Can Work Against You | |
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How Credit Cards Can Work for You | |
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Creative Credit Card Money Saving Strategies | |
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So Much Plastic | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Taking Care of Business | |
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Taking Advantage of Banks | |
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Taking Advantage of Credit Unions | |
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Credit Unions Versus Banks | |
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How to Get the Best Deals | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Creating and Protecting Your Wealth | |
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Building Your Assets | |
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Risk and Your Risk Tolerance | |
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Figuring Your Risk Tolerance | |
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What You Can Do to Reduce Risks | |
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Developing an Investment Plan | |
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Building a Diversified Portfolio | |
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Types of Investments | |
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Stocks | |
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Bonds | |
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Mutual Funds | |
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Real Estate as an Investment | |
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Tax Savings | |
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Leveraging: Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck | |
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Enlisting the Aid of a Financial Advisor | |
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What's It Going to Cost You? | |
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Putting Your Advisor to Work | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Safeguarding Your Assets and Your Family | |
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Health Insurance | |
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Fee-for-Service | |
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Managed Care | |
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Coverage Through Work and Other Options | |
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Pre-existing Conditions and the Law | |
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Working into Your Golden Years | |
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Shopping for a Policy | |
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Disability Insurance | |
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Long-term Care Coverage | |
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Homeowner's and Renter's Insurance | |
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How Much Is Enough? | |
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What Kind Should You Buy? | |
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Life Insurance | |
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Finding the Coverage That's Right for Your Needs | |
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Learn to Comparison Shop | |
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Auto Insurance | |
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Bringing the Costs Down | |
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Types of Available Coverage | |
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Getting Covered | |
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Protect Yourself | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Buying Big-Ticket Items | |
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Getting a Car | |
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What's the True Cost of Owning a Car? | |
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Finding the Best Overall Car and Truck Values | |
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Tips for Buying a Car or Truck | |
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Whether to Lease or to Buy--That Is the Question | |
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Added Incentives Sometimes Make Leasing a Good Buy | |
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Getting the Best Lease Deal for Your Money | |
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How Leasing Calculations Work | |
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Protecting Yourself | |
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Surfing the Net | |
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The Cost Impact of Accidents | |
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To Catch a Thief: More on Insurance Rates | |
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Should You Buy a New or Used Car? | |
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Strategies for Negotiating Price and Extras | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Finding Your Home Sweet Home | |
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Should You Buy or Should You Rent? | |
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Getting Representation | |
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Buy! Buy! Buy! | |
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Sell! Sell! Sell! | |
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Using the Internet to Find an Agent | |
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The Home-Buying Process | |
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Using the Internet to Find a Home and Get Insurance | |
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Strategies for Buying a House "On Sale" | |
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Frequent-Flyer Mile Programs | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Buying the Home of Your Dreams | |
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Shop for Your Mortgage Wisely | |
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Getting Professional Representation | |
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Builders' Contracts: Understandng the Fine Print | |
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The Lowdown on Resale Contracts | |
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Qualifying for a Mortgage | |
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Computer-Aided Credit Scoring | |
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How Much Can You Borrow? | |
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The Best Mortgage for You | |
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Types of Mortgage Loans | |
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Mortgage Loan Options | |
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The Risk of Foreclosure | |
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Getting the Best Mortgage Rate | |
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What's Negotiable in a Mortgage? | |
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Paying for Convenience: Buyer Beware the Mortgage Broker | |
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When to Pay Discount Points | |
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Home Loans on the Internet | |
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Down Payment Gifts | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Debt | |
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Digging Out of Debt | |
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Figuring Out How You Got There | |
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Getting Out of Debt | |
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Dealing with Creditors | |
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Big Brother Is Watching | |
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Protecting Your Credit Rating | |
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Debtors' and Creditors' Rights | |
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The Brink of Foreclosure: How You Got There and How to Step Back | |
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Bankruptcy | |
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Getting Back on Track | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Counting the Beans | |
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Taxes | |
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How Much Do You Pay in Taxes? | |
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Investment Tax Law | |
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Capital Gains | |
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Long-Term Capital Gains | |
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Short-Term Capital Gains | |
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Dividends | |
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Taxes and Timing Your Investments | |
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Reinvesting Your Shares | |
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Selling Your Shares | |
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FIFO | |
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Average Cost, Single Category | |
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Average Cost, Double Category | |
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Specific Shares | |
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Tax Savings and Education | |
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Taxes and Retirement | |
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401(k) Plans | |
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Traditional IRAs | |
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Roth IRAs | |
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Which IRA is Best for You? | |
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Aggressive Mutual Funds: In Your Taxable Accounts or Retirement Portfolio? | |
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Divorce and Taxes | |
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Property Transfers | |
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Alimony Versus Child Support | |
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Alimony Recapture | |
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Exemptions | |
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Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) | |
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Health Insurance | |
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How to Handle Assets with Potential Capital Gains | |
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More Tax-Savings Strategies | |
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Placing Investments in Your Children's Names | |
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Charitable Contributions | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Your Financial Future | |
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Investing in Your Future and Your Children's Future Education | |
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Benefits of a College Degree | |
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Finding the Right Collge or University | |
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Preparation | |
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Strategies for Saving for a College Education | |
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Investing In and For College | |
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Investment Strategies | |
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Tax Packages | |
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Traditional IRAs | |
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Education IRAs (EIRAs) | |
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Hope Scholarship Credit | |
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Lifetime-Learning Tax Credit | |
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Student Loan Interest Payment Deductions | |
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State Tuition Plans | |
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Working While You Go to School | |
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Community Service Loan Forgiveness | |
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Qualified State Tuition Programs | |
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State Education Savings Plans | |
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Prepaid Tuition Programs | |
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Government Financial Aid | |
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Finding Private Loans and Scholarships | |
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Best-Kept Secrets | |
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Graduation Date Guarantee | |
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Joint Degrees | |
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Low-Cost Loans | |
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Free Tuition | |
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Other School Tuition Programs | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Investing for Retirement | |
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Why You Should Save for Retirement | |
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The Costs of Retirement | |
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How to Plan for What You'll Need | |
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Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs, and SEP IRAs | |
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Roth IRAs | |
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Traditional Deductible IRAs | |
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Nondeductible IRAs | |
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Simple IRAs | |
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SEP IRAs | |
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401(k) Plans | |
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Keogh Plans | |
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Should You Borrow from Your 401(k)? | |
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Reverse Mortgages | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Estate Planning | |
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Common Estate Planning Terms | |
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Your Taxable Estate | |
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The Importance of Estate Planning if You Have Children | |
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Titles | |
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Tenants in Common | |
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Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship | |
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Tenants by the Entirety | |
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How Title Affects Estate Taxes | |
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Will | |
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Making It Legal | |
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Living Wills | |
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Revocable Living Trusts | |
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Selecting Trustees, an Executor, and a Guardian for Your Children | |
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Insurance and Estate Planning | |
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Legal Representation | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Financial Threats | |
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Dealing with Job Loss | |
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Unemployment Benefits | |
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Protecting Your Assets | |
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Postemployment Insurance Options | |
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Health Continuation Coverage Benefits Under Cobra | |
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Guaranteed Individual Health Coverage Under HIPAA | |
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Life and Disability Insurance Coverage | |
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Savvy Investments Strategies for Periods of Unemployment | |
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Strategies for Finding a New Job | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Dealing with Divorce | |
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The Costs of Divorce | |
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Myths About Divorce Settlements | |
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Figuring Out What You Own | |
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Issues that Get In the Way | |
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The Difference Between Men and Women | |
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Dividing Assets When You're Splitting Up | |
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Asking for Help | |
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Mediation Versus Arbitration | |
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Calling a Lawyer | |
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Above All, Be Prepared | |
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Looking Out for Number 1 | |
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Getting Back on Your Feet | |
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Saving on Taxes: Keeping Uncle Sam a Distant Relative | |
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Doing Your Homework | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Fraud Protection | |
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Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft | |
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Protecting Your Finances on the Internet | |
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E-mail Advertisements | |
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Protecting Your Online Transactions | |
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Protecting Yourself Against Fraud on the Internet | |
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Investing Online | |
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Fraud and Your Financial Planner or Salesperson | |
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Protecting Your Assets from Telemarketers | |
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Protecting Your Assets from Check Fraud | |
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Just the Facts | |
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Glossary | |
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Resource Guide | |
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Recommended Reading List | |
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Index | |