Web Sites Worth a Visit

www.ihatefinancialplanning.com
Don’t let the URL fool you. Whether they love or hate financial planning, PFP professionals and clients can find useful information at this Web site. Visitors can register for free to access articles, checklists and interactive forms on topics such as annuities, asset allocation, budgeting, estate planning and IRAs. Members also can find financial calculators, weekly tips and a guide to decoding financial jargon.

www.msfinancialsavvy.com
This site bills itself as “a woman’s one stop on the Web for business, finance and careers,” and with its many links to investment information, visitors can believe it. It includes links to glossaries and tutorials on how to find stock quotes, as well as a message board so registered users can create what the site calls an “investment club forum” where either new, intermediate or advanced investors can post questions about and get replies to their clubs’ investment concerns.

www.planningforretirement.com
Interested parties can find personal financial planning and retirement strategy information, as well as a daily tip and links to similar Web sites here. Users also will want to check out the article database. Titles include “How to Create an Emergency Fund,” “Do You Know How to Manage Stock Market Volatility?” and “Money Management for Newlyweds.”

www.wealtheffect.com
This site tackles topics including insurance, investing, loans and taxes with articles such as “Stocks—From Start to Finish,” “Enron Goes Hollywood” and “Understanding Insurance.” Visitors also can access budgeting spreadsheets, financial planning calculators and investor worksheets.

www.mutual-funds.com
School is in session, at least for those who want to learn more about mutual funds. This Web site—the electronic version of Mutual Funds magazine—features sections such as Money 101: Investing Mutual Funds, which links to tutorials on Money magazine’s site, www.money.com, on asset allocation, investing basics and estate planning. The Expert Advice area discusses specific investment topics in a Q&A format. Users also can register for the free weekly e-mail newsletter, Hotline .

www.fundemail.com
Visitors can subscribe here for free to two e-mailed newsletters. One of them, Manager Insight, includes interviews with fund managers, and Fund Launch Alert offers news on recent fund launches. Users also can research archived newsletters on the site.

www.msfiscallyfit.com
No, this isn’t a Web site for beauty contestants with attractive portfolios, as the URL may imply: It’s a site for women in business to get advice on smart investing. Visitors can find links to articles such as “Establish a Strong Image Through Branding,” as well as a lengthy section on mutual funds “from getting started through actively investing.”

www.brill.com
Brill’s Mutual Funds Interactive Web site has a plethora of fund information that investment advisers and their clients can benefit from, including the News Headlines section, with links to timely topical articles. In the Expert’s Corner, professionals offer market analysis, opinions and mutual fund recommendations. This site also offers a glossary of mutual fund terms and, for lighter fare, an investor crossword puzzle.

www.estateattorney.com
Pennsylvania attorney Robert Clofine’s elder law and estate planning site gives interested Web surfers articles such as “Life Insurance & Estate Taxes,” “Living Trust Myths” and “Reducing Federal Estate Taxes.” Users also can link to other related Web sites (see below) including www.elder-law.com .

www.estateplanninglinks.com
Do you know the difference between an inheritance tax and an estate tax? Who gets your property if you die without a will? You can find the answers to these and other estate planning questions at this URL. In addition to offering estate planners information (articles and glossaries) and resources (calculators and software downloads), CPAs can click on links to estate-tax-law information and federal agencies.

www.401khelpcenter.com
Describing itself as “Your 401(k) Portal to the Web,” this site offers a broad array of resources and services such as calculations, discussion forums, 401(k) news and survey data. Sections include General Topics, Intelligence Digest and Legal Actions and Issues.

www.ssa.gov/women
The Social Security Online for Women Web page provides a central location for accessing basic Social Security information about retirement, survivors, disability and supplemental security income. Topics include Beneficiary, Bride, Caregiver, Divorced Spouse, New Mother, Working Woman and Widow, and visitors can link to fact sheets with pertinent statistics and survey results, as well as get the URLs to other government agencies.