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Financial matters
Get Smart With Your Money

These Web sites will help you get your financial house in order and feel confident as you approach retirement.

REVIEWED BY KELLY QUIGLEY

Financial Web Site Roundup:

  • SmartMoney.com
  • MotleyFool.com
  • BPlans.com

    How you manage, spend, and save your hard-earned dollars make a big difference in your quality of life and business success. You must devote the right amount of money to marketing and other important business needs, while saving and investing so you have a comfortable sum left for living expenses and retirement. It’s not easy, but there are many free resources to help. These three Web sites will help you evaluate your financial state, choose solid investments, and craft a business plan that pays dividends. In addition, you’ll find great information to pass along to home buyers and sellers who are making the largest financial investments of their lives.
  • SmartMoney.com. Financial planning and research are the bread and butter of this Web site, which has been around since 1997. You can access nearly 100 financial worksheets and a broad array of calculators. The Real Estate section, part of the Personal Finance category, includes lots of buyer and seller worksheets, articles on owning a second home, mortgage information, and advice on renovating for the highest payoff. If you’re worried that you won’t have enough saved for your golden years, browse the Retirement page for worksheets and how-to articles that will help you develop a sensible financial plan and achieve peace of mind. For fun, check out the Deals of the Day Archive for creative money-saving tips and worthwhile buyer rewards programs. SmartMoney.com is a joint venture of Dow Jones & Co. Inc. and Hearst Partnership.
  • MotleyFool.com. Despite it’s name, this Web site — the creation of brothers David and Tom Gardner — is far from foolish. Its mission: to educate, enrich, and amuse individual investors around the world. When visiting for the first time, you’ll be prompted for your e-mail address. If you choose to comply, you’ll be allowed to access the majority of the site’s content for free. The Home Center — with its many calculators, mortgage data, and “Make the Deal” page, which offers advice on making an offer and closing the deal — may be a helpful tool to refer to clients. You also may want to encourage them to visit the page on how to Be a Smart Owner for tips on making home improvements and avoiding contractor scams. If you like the site, tune in to The Motley Fool Radio Show or read the Motley Fool Newspaper Column, which appears in more than 200 publications.
  • BPlans.com. Whether you’re fresh to the real estate business or a 30-year veteran, your business plan always can use improvement. This site offers 60 Free Sample Business Plans that cover everything from real estate brokerage to bed and breakfasts, and it provides a free step-by-step guide on How to Write a Business Plan. Visit the Tools page for Business Calculators, a Glossary of Business Terms, and other resources that will help you become a business whiz. This site, like many that provide valuable tools for free, also is seeking to turn you into a customer. You’ll notice frequent advertising for software and research products, but these links are well marked and easily avoidable if you only want to dabble in the complimentary content.

    Recommend a Web Site for Review

    Editors at REALTOR® Magazine Online surf the Web to find useful sites that can help you achieve greater success in your business and career. If you would like to recommend a Web site offering free, practical tools and resources to real estate professionals, please send your suggestion to mediatech@realtors.org.
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    The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and REALTOR® Magazine Online are not responsible for any Web site, its content, products and services, or its provider. Nothing in the Web Reviews shall constitute NAR's or REALTOR® Magazine Online's endorsement of the Web sites or their content. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online believe the information contained in the Web Reviews were correct and accurate as of the time they were prepared, but do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information and are not responsible for changes in the Web sites after the review. Members should conduct their own independent review of the Web sites prior to any use of the Web sites, their content, products, or services to determine their suitability for the members’ intended purposes.

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