Dunnan on Dollars

  Personal Finance Tips from Nancy Dunnan

Heaps Of Free Help
All the information you'll ever need to protect yourself..

February 15, 2008 - Louis Pasteur* believed that "chance favors only the prepared mind." Given all the he accomplished, one must agree.

And you can leave nothing to chance and be prepared for just about anything if you own a copy of The Federal Citizen Information Center's Consumer Action Handbook. It's not only free, but up to five copies are free, so you can give it to four of your nearest and dearest.

It also explains how to... monitor your free credit report and correct any mistakes, to put an end to telemarketers, write the perfect complaint letter, activate the consumer lemon law and more.

In addition, it is full of sound advice on buying a car or home, preventing identity theft, managing credit and credit cards, filing for bankruptcy, finding the right lawyer, joining a gym.

Seasonal topics include flood insurance dilemmas, winter accidents, cutting the cost of air conditioning, reducing heating expenses and the like.

A section that many Online Investors will find helpful at some point in their lives is the one devoted to planning a funeral, with details on how to avoid being taken advantage of -- an all-to-often occurrence.

Special consumer tips and helpful resources are singled out for members of the military, those in the teaching profession and the disabled.

Physical and email addresses, telephone numbers and web sites for state offices, Better Business Bureaus, car manufacturers, consumer organizations, leading U.S. corporations, federal agencies and state offices are also included.

For your 5 copies: http://www.consumeraction.gov/ or 888-878-3256. 

* And for those of you who dozed off in science class... 

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), the French microbiologist and chemist, is best known for three discoveries. He ran a series of experiments that confirmed the germ theory of disease. He created the first vaccine for rabies. He taught the world how to stop milk and wine from going sour via pasteurization.

- Nancy Dunnan

RECENT COLUMNS by Nancy Dunnan
Credit Card Fall-Out - Higher Rates and Fees
Boost Your Credit Score
Filing the FAFSA - Financial Aid for Students
Tax Law Changes from Late-2007
New 401(k) Rules for 2008
The Debt Set - Fixing that Holiday Blowout
Tapping Your 401(k)

If you want to suggest a column topic for Nancy, drop her a line.

Like what Nancy has to say? you might be interested in the new edition of her book:
How To Invest $50 To $5,000: The Small Investor's Step By Step Plan for Low-Risk, High-Value Investing