Today I have not only been overwhelmed with work, we are babysitting my son’s dogs, and I am trying to research investing ideas all in the course of 24 hours. Anyone else need more time in their day and money in their bank account? Is investing the answer to the money question because I don’t think any of us will find more time in our day.

I want you to check out www.etrade.com Remember that I don’t endorse any product, only provide information on all of them but I find that E trade offers an easy to use site with many options.

When you first get to the site or any financial site for that matter, look to see if it is FDIC protected. That is one plus. Check to see if it is user friendly meaning can you figure out where to go with a click or is it confusing? Does it offer many options for investing such as rolling over your IRA or automatic withdrawal from a current checking account to your new retirement account?  The site must be easy to find and easy to manage or it won’t be useful to you.

Look through the site to see if it offers the products you need and educational information on those products. Is there an address and contact phone number so that you can talk to a real person if you have questions?

Don’t invest the first time you go to the site. Visit the site a few times to make sure that it stays current and is easily accessible. Check with the Better ‘Business Bureau for their record of the investment company you are looking into.

Now go to www.etrade.com and see if you can locate all of the suggested items from the above paragraph. Compare it to other investment sites so you get the feel for how they work before you invest. Then take a few days to think it over before making that first investment step.

Your assignment this week is to investigate 1 or 2 sites and compare the ease with which they function. Let us know what you find.