Blog - Page 14 of 14 - Take A Smart Step

What is a Style Box on Morningstar and How to Use It

Morningstar created the style box as a way to get a quick glance of where a portfolio is invested. This can be a mutual fund portfolio or even your own portfolio.There is a stock version and a bond version.What

Understanding Mutual Fund Fees

If you think airline fees are confusing, wait till you try and understand mutual fund fees. We are going to look at four mutual fund fees that you will encounter. These include: management

The Ultimate Guide to the PE Ratio for New Investors

January 19, 2011
/ Investing
/ By Take a Smart Step Staff
/ 2 COMMENTS

The price to earnings ratio (P/E or PE ratio) is a quick way to see if a stock might be overpriced.It is also a great tool to compare different stocks.Let's take a deeper look at what the PE ratio is and

How to Understand What a Mutual Fund Minimum Investment Is

January 5, 2011
/ Investing
/ By Take a Smart Step Staff

What is a mutual fund minimum investment? It is the smallest dollar amount you can open a mutual fund with. Understanding what a minimum purchase is does not seem like it should be all that hard to understand.

Where to Safely Keep Your Emergency Fund [Includes Comparison Cheat Sheet]

You know you need an emergency fund, and that it should be held someplace safe. But the options of where to hold those emergency funds can be a bit confusing. There are so many accounts that it is not

Learn to Invest in 4 Easy Steps [First 2 May Surprise You]

When you are new to investing everything can seem overwhelming. There is an entire language dedicated to just investing. Just looking at stocks you immediately see terms like domestic stock, large cap

6 Steps to Financial Discipline & Financial Success

October 18, 2010
/ Personal Finances Retirement Save & Spend
/ By Take a Smart Step Staff
/ 1 COMMENT

You have worked hard to grow your business and found success. You know what it takes to be disciplined, you do it every day with your business. Don’t believe me? Take a look at one of the definitions

Why a Budget is Critical to Building Wealth and How to Start

It seems like one of the most hated aspects of personal finance is doing a budget. Most people hear the word and cringe. they quickly begin to wonder what other wonderful things they could do besides

Four Ways to Stop Your Emotions from Ruining your Money

September 22, 2010
/ Personal Finances
/ By Take a Smart Step Staff

I suffer from migraines. It is often difficult to determine what is causing a migraine. They are often caused by many triggers, and not the same ones each time. It took me over 15 years to

Be Sexy & 4 More Reasons You Should Understand Your Investments

September 22, 2010
/ Investing
/ By Take a Smart Step Staff
/ 3 COMMENTS

There are many reasons why it is in your best interest to understand your investments. Here is a quick look at my top five reasons: 5. It is Sexy! Yes I said sexy, hear me out. When you understand