• The American unit of currency is the U.S. dollar, and the symbol for it is the dollar sign: $.
• All denominations of dollar bills are the same size and color (except for the fading that occurs with time). Only the amounts and markings on the bills are different. Be careful to check the numbers on the bills before handing them out or taking them back as change.
• America is generally a "cash-less" society, so there is no need to carry a lot of cash (money / currency) with you. Cash is usually used for small, daily purchases. It is not a good idea, nor is it necessary, to carry large amounts of cash.
• Wire transfers are another good way to transfer money to and from the United States. Banks and some other services (such as Western Union) can do this for you for a small fee.
• Traveler’s Checks are a very safe way to bring money into the United States. They are accepted almost everywhere, and if they are lost or stolen they can be replaced for free. You can buy them in your country and use them as cash in this country, and you can buy them here for use abroad or for traveling within the United States.
• Monthly bills are generally paid with personal checks and are sent by mail, and is one of the main reasons you should open a checking account at a bank.
• Checking Accounts are accounts you can open at banks so that you can store your money for short term uses such as paying bills or withdrawing cash. These are sometimes called "current accounts" in other countries.
• In order to deposit a check into your account, you have to "endorse" it, which means to sign the back of it.
• Savings Accounts are accounts you can open at banks so that you can store your money and earn interest on it.
• ATMs, or cash machines, are used to withdraw cash from your bank accounts or to perform other banking functions. They can also be used as a convenient way to transfer money into and out of the United States.
• Currency exchange can be performed at banks, currency exchange counters at airports, and at some travel agencies, for a small fee.
• A good way to establish credit in the United States is to get a "secured" credit card, that is one that you pay a deposit to secure so that the card issuer is protected against any possible loss. Once you use it and make your payments on time, you will eventually be able to get unsecured cards and otherwise establish your credit worthiness

Bills
As mentioned above, all U.S. bills are the same size, shape and color. They are differentiated only by the markings and the value shown on them. The large numbers in the corners on the front of the bill indicate that bill’s value, as shown below. The only thing that might cause you some confusion is that there are some bills with similar markings and values that look somewhat different; that is because there is a difference between newer and older bills. The newer ones have larger "faces" on them and slightly different designs. Both the newer and older ones are considered legal and both are universally accepted. Below is a chart showing the bills currently in circulation plus the $2 bill, which is no longer in circulation but which you might come across sometimes.

Counterfeit Money
Fake (fraudulent or illegal) money is called "counterfeit" money. Printing it or using it is a very serious crime in America, and the government is very diligent in preventing that from happening. If you are ever unsure as to whether or not a bill you have is real or not, don’t hesitate to either take it to a bank to have them verify it, or call the police.

4. Exchanging Money (Currency)
There are several ways exchange foreign currency for American currency before or after you arrive in the United States. The same sources can usually be used for exchanging money when returning to your country or when departing from the U.S. to another country. Below are some of the more common methods or exchanging currency:

ATMs (Automated Teller Machines)
These are a very quick and easy to get American currency once you’re here and therefore to transfer money into the U.S. as well (see below). If you have a bank account in your native country and if it is accessible in the U.S., once you are here you can simply withdraw your money in U.S. dollars. The same holds true when traveling abroad from the United States; if the country you’re going to has ATMs and if your accounts are accessible, then all you have to do is withdraw money in the local currency.

Currency Exchange Centers

Banks
In America, you can go to almost any commercial bank and exchange currencies. There is a small fee for this service, usually about 1.5% of the amount being exchanged.

Travel agencies
Most travel agencies, especially the large ones, perform currency exchange, also for a fee of around 1.5% of the face value of the amount you’re exchanging. You can exchange money either before you leave for the U.S. or after you arrive.

Currency Conversion Rates
One thing you might want to check when converting currencies is the prevailing rate at which the two currencies are being exchanged. You can research the rates in several ways:

Cash
This is obvious, but should not be overlooked. You should bring enough American money with you to last a few days (but not too much in case of loss or theft). Bring smaller denominations such as $5, $10, and $20 dollar bills; stores, taxi drivers and other businesses might not have enough change for larger bills.

ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines)

Traveler’s Checks
Traveler’s Checks are a substitute for cash. Like cash, they can be used almost anywhere, in most stores, hotels, etc. Unlike cash, they require your signature before they can be used. Best of all, they can be replaced if they are lost or stolen (usually within 24 hours), so they are a very safe way to carry money. They come in denominations of $20, $50, and $100. The fee for getting them is about 1.5% of their (face) value. There is no charge for replacing them if they are lost or stolen, and there is no charge for using them.

Wire Transfers (Interbank Transfers)
A wire transfer is an electronic funds (money) transfer from one bank to another. It is a common way to send money to the U.S. You can do this to transfer funds to an American bank account so that you’ll have money when you arrive here, or to pay expenses such as college tuition or rent. Once here, you can use wire transfers to send money abroad (see below), or for transferring money within the United States.

How To Perform A Wire Transfer
To do a wire transfer, you need to visit your bank, speak with a bank officer or customer service representative, and provide the information below, along with the money to cover the amount being transferred PLUS the fees involved.

Personal Checks
A personal check, that is a check written against an individual’s personal account, drawn on a foreign bank is NOT a good way to transfer funds to the United States for two reasons. First, the "turnaround time" (the time it takes for the funds to "clear") can be 6 to 8 weeks even if it is written in U.S. dollars. Secondly the fees can be quite expensive, about $45 per transaction, because the bank has to perform a collection action to retrieve the funds. However if you do choose to do this, in order to cash or deposit a check, you will need to go to your bank with two forms of ID, one of which be a "photo ID" (one that has a photograph of you such as your passport or driver’s license), and request the bank to collect the funds.

Official Checks
An official check (or "cashier’s check" as it is called in America) is drawn on a bank’s own money and therefore guarantees the availability of the funds. However, as with the above, there is a long turnaround time involved (6 to 8 weeks), and a fairly high fee that ($45 per transaction is generally typical). As per the above, you will need two forms of identification, one of which needs to include a photograph of you, and you will need to request the bank to collect the funds for you. That collection process is the reason for the fee.

Other Money Transfer Services
There are some additional methods for transferring money, and two of the main ones are these:

6. Transferring Money Out Of The U.S.
The methods for transferring money out of the United States to another country are similar to those for transferring money into the U.S. from another country. There are differences, however, and those differences depend largely on what is available in the destination country.

Cash
This is obvious, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. There is no limit on the amount of American currency you can carry out of the country. There may, however, be limits on either American currency of another currency into the country you’re going to, so check that country’s laws or restrictions before leaving here with a lot of cash. Carrying cash is risky, however, so you should explore other options such as the ones below.

ATMs
It is possible to withdraw money you’ve deposited in American banks from ATMs in other countries, depending on the country. If the country you’re going to has this capability, transferring money can be as easy as stopping for a few minutes at an ATM and withdrawing your money. As noted above, if you withdraw U.S. dollars from an ATM in a foreign country, the exchange rate is the wholesale bank rate, the most favorable one you can get, so there is a significant advantage to using ATMs in this way.

Wire Transfers
For details on these, see section on Wire Transfers in section above on Transferring or Sending Money INTO the United States. This is a very common way to send large amounts of money abroad, and some banks and organizations have special arrangements in order to reduce the fees, such as Remit2India (www.timesofmoney.com/remittance/jsp/about_remit.jsp) for transfers to India. It is also possible to do these over the phone or on-line, depending on your bank, but you will need an access number supplied by your bank in order to do it.

Money Orders / International Money Orders
A money order is a financial instrument, similar to a check, written in U.S. currency that allows the person named on it to either receive cash on demand or deposit it into his account. That depends on the type of money order – some can be cashed; others can only be deposited into someone’s account.

You can buy money orders / international money orders from Western Union offices (www.westernunion.com), and U.S. Postal Service offices (www.usps.gov) and some storefront financial services (see below). There is a fee for money orders, from as little as 69¢ up to $8 or $10, and there is a size limit, depending on the issuer, generally ranging between $500 and $700. Some banks issue international money orders, but most are likely to issue "foreign drafts" instead (see below.)

Foreign Drafts
A foreign draft is a negotiable instrument (similar to a check) in either foreign currency or U.S. currency, drawn on a domestic or foreign bank (usually a "correspondent bank" of an American bank). One of the benefits of these is that they allow you to make payments to or in another country in that country’s currency, and even drawn from a bank in that country. That allows the draft to "clear" much more quickly than a check drawn on a U.S. bank. These are accepted in most countries around the world. To get one, go to your bank, fill out a funds transfer request, and pay a fee (about $25). It takes about two business days to process, and you can either go in and pick it up from your bank or have it sent to you if you request it.

Traveler’s Checks
For details about Traveler’s Checks, see the above description of them in the section on Transferring Money Into the United States. The only thing to add here would be a word of caution… Traveler’s checks are accepted widely in the rest of the world, but even so you should try to find out how widely they’re accepted in the particular country you’re going to before you leave, just to be safe. In general, they are an excellent means of transferring money from one country to another, both into and out of the U.S.

Cashier’s Checks and Personal Checks
See description above for details on these. In general, these CAN be used to transfer money abroad, but the costs, turnaround time (the time it takes to clear), and risk if they are lost or stolen, make them less attractive than other methods of transferring money.

7. Banks And Banking Services
Banks are places where you can store money, retrieve money, borrow money in the form of bank loans, make investments, get money orders and foreign drafts, perform wire transfers, exchange currency, get cashier’s checks, and perform other money-related activities. They are almost indispensable in American life.

Savings Protection: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The FDIC is the federal government agency set up to protect individual investors from the risk of bank failure. That means that if you deposit your money in a bank that is insured by the FDIC, that every account you have is insured up to $100,000, so that if the bank fails, the federal government will "cover" you for up to $100,000 (but no more) per account. Do NOT deposit your money in any bank that is NOT insured by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Any bank that is insured by the FDIC will have a sign that says so, and if there is any question in your mind about it, just ask a bank officer.

Banking Hours
Banking hours are generally Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Some offices are open on Saturday mornings (9 AM to 12 noon), and with ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) and on-line banking, you can perform some banking functions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How To Find And Select A Bank To Do Business With
Sometimes the best bank to do business with is the one closest to you. Sometimes it may be one farther away but that offers better services or lower fees. Other times your employer will have a special relationship with a bank, thereby giving you special benefits for banking there. The "Yellow Pages", your local business phone directory, lists the banks in your area, and many of them have advertisements in the Yellow Pages that describe their features. You can always walk into any bank and find out any information you’d like to about it either by talking to a bank officer or by picking up their printed information. Usually there is a display with printed information about the bank’s services. You can take that printed information with you. Also, a bank’s web site is also an excellent source of information. Last, but not least, you can ask people you know about their banks and get their recommendations.

Checking Accounts (Called "Current Accounts" In Some Countries)
A checking account is the bank account you use to store cash for short-term use for depositing your paychecks, withdrawing cash, and writing checks to pay bills or make purchases, and is probably the first one you should open.

1. Go to the bank you’ve chosen and ask to speak to a bank officer or customer service representative. He or she can guide you through the process.
2. Bring personal identification, usually two forms of ID, one of which should have a photograph of you such as a passport or driver’s license, to show to the bank officer so as to establish your identity.
3. Bring some money to deposit money (cash, traveler’s checks, or even a personal or payroll check, but checks take time to clear), and…
4. Fill out a signature card. This card will be given to you by the bank officer who is assisting you. It is so the bank can verify your signature in the future.

• If you fall below the required minimum monthly balance, there will be a fee for that month, generally in the range of $9 - $15.
• Depending on the type of account, there may be a small fee for each transaction, generally about 50 cents.
• If you use another bank’s ATM, you might be charged a fee each time you do that as well, generally about $1.00 per transaction, so you’ll be charged a fee twice – once by your bank, and once by the bank whose ATM you’re using.
• Banks also charge a fee for printing checks, usually about $15 for 200 checks (a good number to start off with).

How To Write A Check
These are the things you need to complete when writing out a check. Match the numbers here to the images below to see what goes where.

Before	After

Endorsing A Check
To either deposit a check into a bank account, or to transfer it to someone else, you have to "endorse" it. To endorse it means to sign the back of it.

Record-Keeping
Be sure to record your checking account transactions (deposits and withdrawals) in your check register (or ledger) – the small book that comes with your checks so that you can record your transactions. This helps you keep track of your funds and to make sure the bank’s records are correct.

Voiding Checks
Voiding a check means to stop it from being paid. A common reason for voiding a check is if you’ve paid someone but he’s lost the check before depositing or cashing it. In that case, you void the first check so that if it can’t be presented for payment even if it is found later, and you write a new check to replace the first one. In such a case you must call your bank and tell it to cancel payment on that check. The fee for voiding a check is about $25, so make sure you’re not doing it unnecessarily.

"Direct Deposits"
It is possible to have your paychecks deposited directly into your checking account. This eliminates the time it takes for physical checks to "clear" (about 3 days), so you have access to your money instantly. It also saves you the trip to the bank to deposit your check. The amount just appears in your account.

Savings Accounts
A savings account is an interest-bearing account for long-term storage of money. It differs from a checking account in that checking accounts don’t pay interest and checks can’t be written against them. A savings accounts has a required minimum balance (as do checking accounts) and a stated interest rate that can change over time.

1. Go to the bank you’ve chosen and ask to speak to a bank officer or customer service representative. He or she will guide you through the process, including discussing with you the various options and types of accounts the bank offers.
2. Bring your Social Security Number plus two forms of ID, one of which should have a photograph of you such as a passport or driver’s license, and a second form of identification such as a credit card.
3. Bring some money to deposit into your account (to be safe, bring at least $100). The money you bring can be in the form of cash or check, such as a personal check or pay check. If it is a check, it will take a few days for the money to "clear."
4. Fill out application forms to fill out asking for your personal information (name, address, phone number, etc.), and the information you brought with you will be copied and kept for the bank’s records.
5. Fill out a signature card given to you by the bank officer. It is so the bank can verify your signature in the future.

1. What is the required minimum balance?
2. What are the penalties for going under the required minimum balance?
3. Are there any additional fees?
4. What is the interest rate at which my money grows (or "accrues")?

To deposit money into either your checking or savings account, all you have to do is…

Other Banking Services
Loans
Banks are sources for loans for things ranging from home loans (called "mortgages"), student loans (for college education), personal loans (for whatever you need one for), automobile loans (for new and used vehicles) and some other things. The amount, term (duration of the loan), and rate are variables that change depending on the purpose and nature of the loan, how secured it is, your credit worthiness, and the bank’s practices. Before you borrow any money, remember that this is a very competitive business environment and that you can shop around until you find the best deal for yourself.

Safety Deposit Boxes
A safety deposit box is a small, secured storage space in a vault in a bank where you pay a monthly fee to store valuables. These can be cash, jewelry, passports, legal documents such as wills, property deeds, contracts, and so forth. Most banks have these. There is a small monthly fee for using one, and that fee varies from bank to bank.

ATMs
ATM stands for Automatic Teller Machine. These are referred to as "ATMs", "ATM machines" (which is redundant), or "cash machines." They provide many of the functions bank tellers do. You can withdraw cash, deposit money, transfer funds, get cash advances from credit cards, and in some cases make payments. To use one, you need either a bank debit card or a credit card.

Overdraft Protection
Overdraft protection is a feature that lets you write checks for more money than there is in your account. By doing this you are essentially borrowing money from the bank, and you will be charged interest for your outstanding balance each month. The benefits of this are that you will not have to worry about writing "bad" checks (checks for more money than you have, something that is a serious crime in this country), won’t be charged penalties if you happen to do so, can pay bills when they’re due and avoid penalties that might have been imposed because of late payment, and can event take advantage of bargains that you may come across that you otherwise might not have been able to while you waited for deposited checks to clear. The interest rates on these balances can be quite high, so you don’t want to carry high balances on them, but they’re very good for a short term uses.

Brokerage Services
Some banks, especially the large "money center" banks, provide brokerage services that allow you to buy stocks, bonds and mutual funds. If they do offer these services, it is very likely that their web site will explain these services in detail. If your bank happens not to provide these services, there are plenty of other companies available who can do them for you. The advantage to having a bank that can do them is that it keeps all of your financial services with one company.

On-line Banking
Many banks now offer on-line banking services through the Internet, so there are several banking transactions you can do from the comfort of your own home. Services vary from bank to bank, but these are some of the more common banking functions you can expect to perform on-line:

8. Credit Cards
A credit card is an open-ended loan card that allows you to borrow money up to a certain credit limit and carry over an unpaid balance, with no fixed time to re-pay, as long as you make the minimum payment each month. Credit cards are different from debit cards in that they let you make purchases even when you have no money available. When you use a credit card, you are essentially borrowing money at either a fixed or variable interest rate, and that interest rate can be quite high.

Benefits of Credit Cards
Aside from being able to make purchases on credit, there are other benefits to having credit cards, or at least one credit card: You need one to do common things like rent a car and/or register for a room at a hotel. Your credit card lets car rental agencies and hotels take the risk of renting you a car or a room because your credit card ensures that they will be paid. They are also good for emergencies – buying things or paying for something you hadn’t anticipated by are in desperate need of. There might be ways to get around having a credit card for those things, but it’s probably not worth the effort. It’s just easier to have a credit card.

Concerns About Credit Cards
First, the COST! Credit cards charge fairly high interest rates, so you can easily find yourself paying a lot of money in interest. Secondly, the temptation to spend can be overwhelming. Credit cards allow you to spend money you don’t have, and that gets many people into trouble. Thirdly, there is the potential for damaging your credit history and rating (see below). If you default on a credit card, have a history of late payments or are "overextended" (i.e., you have more debt than you can afford), it can adversely affect your ability to borrow money in the future for such things as a car or a home. If you ever find yourself in trouble with your credit card, that is if you can’t make your payments, the best thing to do is to contact your creditors directly and try to work out a payment plan.

Credit Card Terms
Each credit card has terms you need to be aware of before you even apply for one, and before you do apply for one, you should shop around for the best terms you can find. The terms are these:

How to Get Credit Cards
Credit cards are very easy to get in this country, once you have established credit (see below). Just sitting at home you will get endless offers for credit cards in the mail or from telephone salesmen calling you. You can get them through your bank, at stores, and on-line. Banks will have information about them and applications for them, as will stores and other places of business. Whatever the source is, you either fill out an application form by hand or by answering questions in a telephone call. The credit issuer will then run a credit check on you, and if you’re approved, you will be mailed your credit card in a few weeks.

Comparing Credit Card Rates and Fees
There are many sources for comparing credit card rates and fees. Here are a few of them:

• Cardtrak of America Consumer Information Line at (800) 344-7714. You can obtain the latest monthly report listing credit cards with low interest rates and low or no annual fees for a fee
  of $5,
• Credit-land (www.credit-land.com). This site has charts of credit cards rates and fees in certain categories such as low APR (annual percentage rate) cards, best cards overall, no annul fee cards, student credit cards, etc.
• CardWeb.com (www.cardweb.com). This site has a browse feature that will let you browse cards by certain categories such as low APR, annual fees, business cards, student cards, pre-paid (secured) cards, etc., as well as a search form wherein you enter information about yourself and the kind of card you’re looking for, and it then returns results of cards that match the criteria given.

Credit Card Fraud / Identify Theft
Credit card fraud is when someone gets your physical credit card, or even just your credit card number, and uses it to make purchases. It can happen if someone steals your wallet and gets your credit cards, or even if they find a credit card receipt in the trash that has your credit card number on it. There have been some cases of waiters in restaurants copying credit card information and selling it. The good news is that if someone uses your credit card without your permission, the most you are liable for is $50. The bad news is that it can hurt, at least temporarily, your credit history and cause you a lot of time and trouble to straighten it all out.

Credit Rating And Credit Bureaus
There are three credit bureaus that keep track of your credit history:

Establishing Credit As A Newcomer
Foreigners coming to America won’t have any credit initially, so that presents some initial problems. Without credit, you have to pay for everything in cash, and getting something such as a cell phone on an annual plan is difficult or impossible. This difficulty doesn’t have to last for long, though. These are some steps to take to quickly establish credit in America:

1. If you’re a student, you can probably get a credit card simply for being a student. Many credit card issuers offer special programs for students. Once you have a student credit card, you can start to build your credit by making a few purchases and making your payments on time.
2. If you are not a student, you can get a credit card by "securing" it, that is paying the credit card issuer the amount of money that you will be issued credit for. For instance, to "secure" $2,000 in credit, you pay $2,000 and can only "borrow" up to $2,000. After you have established your credit worthiness, you can then apply for a non-secured credit card.
3. If you don’t have a lot of cash to secure a card in that manner, you can apply for an unsecured credit card, but it will probably have a very high annual percentage rate. After a few months of charging things and paying on time, thereby establishing your credit worthiness, you can apply for a different credit card. In fact, you will probably receive frequent phone calls from credit cards offering low annual percentage rates.
4. You can apply for a personal loan from your bank. If it is approved, your regular payment of it will help establish your credit.
5. You might wish to apply for store credit cards such as Macy’s or Sears and charge a small amount on it or them. Your payments will help establish your credit history, and after as soon as a few months you can apply for other credit cards.
6. You might wish to buy something through the vendor’s own payment plan, such as a computer from one of the major manufacturers. As with the above, your regular payment into that account will help establish your credit.

Obtaining An Apartment With No Credit
When you apply to get an apartment, the landlord or agent may want to run a credit check on you or otherwise establish that you are a good risk. If you have no credit, that can be a problem. To establish that you are someone who can and will pay the rent on time, explain your situation to him – that you are a newcomer to this country, that you haven’t been here long enough to establish credit, but that you have a job and are trying to establish your credit. Get a letter from your employer stating that you are employed and what your salary is. Another thing to try, instead of or in addition to those things, is to offer to pay more than the required security deposit. If, for example, the landlord wants 2 months of rent as a security deposit, offer 3 months if you can afford it.

9. Investments
America is fundamentally a capitalist society, and there is no shortage of ways to invest your money, or businesses to help you do that. Banks, brokerage firms (called "brokerage houses"), and mutual fund companies can all assist you in your investment needs. There is much more to the subject of investing than can be adequately covered here. This is just a very broad overview of the kinds of things that are available. Before you invest in anything, you should do a lot of research, and that research should include researching the firm your brokerage firm, the market or markets, trends, potential risk, alternatives, the individual stocks, bonds or other investments, and so on until you have a high level of confidence in what you are doing. Remember, it’s your money, so be very careful with it.

Types of Investments
These are some of the main kinds of financial "instruments" you can invest in.

Stocks
Stocks are shares of ownership in a company. When you buy one or more shares of stock in a company, no matter how large or small it is, you become a part owner of that company. Before the electronic age, it used to be that you took possession of a share of stock in the form of a piece of paper. Now, however, shares are traded electronically and your shares are represented as numbers in your account at your brokerage firm, mutual fund or bank.

Bonds
Bonds are debt securities of a corporation or the government (local, state or Federal) that pay a fixed rate of interest for a fixed period of time. Interest is usually paid every six months and its face value is repaid at maturity (the end of it’s term). Whereas owning stock is to be part owner of a corporation, when you buy a bond you are essentially lending money to an institution and are being paid interest on the loan you are making. Among the types of bonds you can invest in are: U.S. government securities, municipal bonds, corporate bonds, mortgage and asset-backed securities, federal agency securities and foreign government bonds.

Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are a kind of investment wherein a group of investors, including institutions as well as individuals, pool their money to have it jointly managed and invested by a professional money manager, called a fund manager. The fund manager is the one who makes the decisions as to what to invest in, and no more than 5% of a fund’s assets can be invested in any single asset, so mutual funds are diversified.

Brokerage Services
Brokers are people that buy or sell stocks on your behalf. A brokerage house is a firm that performs that function. Some banks, especially large commercial banks, also provide brokerage services.

(On-line) Brokerages Companies
Below is a list of some of the brokerage companies that conduct business on-line. The major brokerage companies all have on-line sites included in this list. These sites offer information about how to sign up for accounts, what their fees are, how to conduct trades, stock quotes, market information, company financials, and a lot of other useful information. Even if you do not to invest on-line, or over the Internet, these sites will give you information about the various brokerage companies and other useful information without making you invest.

• Fidelity: (www.fidelity.com)
• Merrill Lynch: (www.merrilllynch.com)
• Charles Schwab: (www.charlesschwab.com)
• HarrisDirect: (www.harrisdirect.com)
• Ameritrade: (www.ameritrade.com)
• TD Waterhouse: (www.tdwaterhouse.com)
• E-Trade: (www.etrade.com)
• Datek Online: (www.datek.com)
• Muriel Siebert: (www.murielsiebert.com)
• Quick & Reilly: (www.quickandreilly.com)
• Scottrade: (www.scottrade.com)
• Brokerage America: (www.brokerageamerica.com)
• JB Oxford: (www.jboxford.com)
• American Express: (www.americanexpress.com)
• Accutrade: (www.accutrade.com)
• Morgan Stanley: (www.morganstanley.com)
• Salomon Smith Barney: (www.salomonsmithbarney.com)
• Brown & Company: (www.brownco3.com)

• Citibank / Cititrade: (www.citibank.com) / (www.mycititrade.com)
• JPMorgan Chase: (www.jpmorganchase.com)
• Security Pacific: (www.securitypacific.com)

Financial Information and Research
Financial information about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, markets, economic conditions, individual companies, and more can be fund in any number of sources. The Financial section of many daily newspapers carries some of that information. The brokerage firms, listed above, also provide a great deal of information. There are also many, many more sources. Below are listed some of the more prominent sources:

Financial Information Sources
This publications specialize in financial information and can be found in newsstands and stores throughout most of the country.

• The New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• Financial Times of London
• Investor’s Daily

• Fortune
• Forbes
• Money Magazine
• Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
• Smart Money

• Reuters (www.reuters.com)
• Bloomberg (www.bloomberg.com)
• Yahoo Finance (finance.yahoo.com)
• MSN Business (www.bcentral.com)
• TheStreet.com (www.thestreet.com)
• The Motley Fool (www.motleyfool.com)
• Edgar (company financial reports to the Securities Exchange Commission) (www.sec.gov)

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
An IRA is a tax-deferred savings and investment plan wherein the money you deposit into an account is not taxed until you withdraw it in your retirement years. The earliest age you can begin withdrawing funds is 59 ½. At age 70 ½, you are required to start withdrawing your funds.. If you withdraw your money before retirement, you pay a penalty (a 10% "excise" or penalty tax) with some exceptions. Those exceptions can include medical expenses, health insurance, home purchases, and education expenses. In any event, be sure to check with your IRA administrator before withdrawing any funds.

401(K)s
401(K) plans allow for employers to offer their employees pre-tax savings and, if desired, matching and/or discretionary contributions by the employer itself. For example, an employee might contribute 10% of his salary towards his 401(K), and for every dollar the employee contributes, the employer might "match" 25%, 50%, or even 100% of the amount the employee contributed. In dollar terms, if an employee contributes, say, $2,000 and the employer "matches" 50% of the employee’s contributions, the employer pays $1,000 into the 401(K). Different employers offer different plans for matching employee contributions.

Credit Unions
Credit Unions are member-owned financial cooperatives that are similar to banks. They are formed by people with a strong common bond, usually employment within the same organization. They perform many of the same functions banks do, including provide savings and checking accounts and making loans (mortgages, automobile loans, etc.) These tend to charge lower fees than banks for the same services, and because they are not-for-profit organizations, any surplus funds they earn are returned to their members in the form of dividends. Not everyone is eligible to join a credit union: it depends on your employer or other organization you might happen to belong to (such as a labor union).

Store-Front Financial Services
Store-front financial services are essentially stores that offer some financial services such as check-cashing (having a check that is made out to you exchanged for cash), money orders, traveler’s checks, and electronic bill payment. Depending on the individual store, they might cash payroll checks, insurance checks, personal checks, tax refund checks, and winning lottery tickets. Some also offer other services such as mail services and prepaid telephone cards. These stores can be expensive, but they can also be convenient. Some are stand-alone stores that do nothing other than provide these services, while others might be part of another store such as a newsstand (where you buy newspapers and magazines).