Laurin Mack is a PHD candidate in clinical psychology, which leaves her little time to bone up on her finances. But Mack, 29, wants to learn how to diversify a portfolio, monitor her investments online and roll over a retirement account into an IRA. Mack and other time-starved readers can use our absolutely essential financial toolkit to accomplish each of those tasks, and 33 others, in five easy steps or less.
These tasks are organized into four key areas: Personal Finances, Investing, Credit and Retirement. Take a look and see what you can accomplish today.
Personal Finance Toolkit
•
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
•
•
•
•
•
Replace a Social Security Card
•
•
Protect Your Home and Valuables
•
Write a Will Without the Hassle
•
•
•
Prepare for a Natural Disaster
Your Credit Toolkit
•
Get Your Credit Report in a Flash
•
Fix an Error on Your Credit Report
•
•
•
Decipher Your Credit Card Statement
•
Retirement Toolkit
•
Transfer an IRA
•
•
Buy a Medigap Policy to Supplement Medicare
•
Investing Toolkit
•
•
Find the Value of an Old Stock Certificate
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Understand a Mutual Fund Prospectus
•
•
Get the Inside Skinny on a Stock
•
-
How to Make the Most Of Your Credit Card Rewards in 2025Perks are a large reason why we get the credit cards we do, but studies show we don’t use them to their full potential. Here are some tips to maximize credit card rewards.
-
Stock Market Today: The Dow Slides Into Its First 9-Day Losing Streak Since 1978A Santa Claus rally is on hold as markets wait for more information about monetary policy.
-
What Does Medicare Not Cover? Seven Things You Should KnowHealthy Living on a Budget Medicare Part A and Part B leave gaps in your healthcare coverage. But Medicare Advantage has problems, too.
-
Roth IRA Contribution Limits for 2024 and 2025Roth IRAs Roth IRA contribution limits have gone up. Here's what you need to know.
-
Four Tips for Renting Out Your Home on Airbnbreal estate Here's what you should know before listing your home on Airbnb.
-
Five Ways to a Cheap Last-Minute VacationTravel It is possible to pull off a cheap last-minute vacation. Here are some tips to make it happen.
-
How to Figure Out How Much Life Insurance You Needinsurance Instead of relying on rules of thumb, you’re better off taking a systematic approach to figuring your life insurance needs.
-
Amazon Big Deal Days Is Coming! We’ve Got All the DetailsAmazon Prime To kick off the holiday season with a bang, Amazon Big Deal Days runs Tuesday, October 8 and Wednesday, October 9.
-
How to Shop for Life Insurance in 3 Easy Stepsinsurance Shopping for life insurance? You may be able to estimate how much you need online, but that's just the start of your search.
-
Five Ways to Shop for a Low Mortgage RateBecoming a Homeowner Mortgage rates are high this year, but you can still find an affordable loan with these tips.
