Special Christmas offer from SMI doubles your giving!
Each year, SMI offers some sort of Christmas promotion. This year, however, our offer is unlike any we’ve done before. This year we want to tap into the real meaning of the season and focus on giving. In fact, this year we’re going to give you a special opportunity to double your giving! This Christmas, when you give the gift of Sound Mind Investing, SMI will turn around and give to a child in need through Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree ministry. For those who may not be familiar with Angel Tree,

It's back-to-basics time
Allow me to repeat part of what I wrote in my October editorial (web membership required to access full article, sign up here): The past two years we've been dealing with [a recession], and some seasoned observers fear the worst is far from over. They advise avoiding the stock market and building your cash stockpile. Another group believes it's likely the economy has turned the corner and the market is looking forward to a recovery. These advisers recommend moving money off the sidelines out of cash and

December issue of SMI just released
The December 2009 issue of the SMI newsletter has just been posted to the website. SMI web members following our Fund Upgrading strategy are advised of two new fund changes to make this month. This month, we've assembled a collection of great ideas to help you make significant financial (and spiritual) progress over the next 12 months. Your 10 Most Important Financial Moves for 2010 is designed to help you identify the most pressing financial priorities for you in the year to come. By identifying, prioritizing, and then checking these items off one by one as they are accomplished, you can make 2

Mary Hunt's "Cash only approach"
"Banks and retailers benefited greatly over past decades by promoting a cashless lifestyle. They convinced us that it's safer and more convenient to carry plastic. Cash, they declared, is old-fashioned and clunky. Plastic is hip and cool. Gradually, we fell for the pitch and, in turn, got more than we bargained for. Going cashless turned us into a debt-ridden society. But things are changing on the consumer front. Cash is making a comeback." Continue reading... Special offer from Mary Hunt for

Here's a quiz that attempts to measure how risk tolerant you are
Early on at SMI, I developed a brief quiz to help our readers determine how risk averse they are. The results from that quiz, in combination with our "seasons of life" chart, help them arrive at a stock/bond allocation suitable to their risk tolerance and age. At least that's the idea. As we all know, however, the way you answer questions in what is essentially an academic exercise can lead to outcomes that are quite uncomfortable in the depths of a severe market selloff. As the recent b