Welcome to the FreeFinanceGuide

With a tumultuous stock market, millions of Americans have realized over the last several months that there's more to financial planning than setting aside a small amount of their earnings and watching the returns pile up. To help individuals make sense of their financial needs and develop and maintain sound financial plans, we have launched the FreeFinanceGuide.

"Financial planning is not easy. Each individual is faced by a variety of issues based on their particular circumstances, while those circumstances and needs and options are continuously changing," said Drew Snider, publisher of FFG's Consumer Media Group. "The FFG Financial Planning Toolkit has been developed to help consumers make smart choices in purchasing, borrowing and investing based upon their situation, to help protect their families and their net worth."

As with the FFG Business Owner's Toolkit -- one of the leading web sites for small businesses -- FFG Financial Planning Toolkit is a free resource for consumers that effectively takes complex detail and transforms it into user-friendly information.

Lifecycle Approach to Financial Planning

The freefinanceguide is organized to help guide individuals through decisions that make sense at various life stages. This lifecycle approach provides the novice user with a logical place to start, while the detailed, drill-down table of contents provides more seasoned users with direct access to the particular detail they're seeking. Through more than 1,200 files, forms and tools, the key topics covered include:

• Goal Setting -- covering the basics, such as why a financial plan should be developed, what to include and how to monitor your progress.
• Investing -- a roadmap to understanding the different types of investment vehicles, how age and risk tolerance play a role in financial planning, and the consequences of various investments, including homeownership.
• Insurance & Risk Management -- offering a guide through the maze of different types of health, disability and life insurance policies as well as the ins and outs of annuities and the level of property, liability or business insurance individuals may require depending upon their situation.
• Retirement Planning -- a comprehensive examination of why and how to start planning and saving for retirement; understanding Social Security and the retirement saving vehicles available, such as 401(k) plans and IRAs, as well as non-qualified plans, including vested trusts and stock options. The site also provides a detailed discussion of special retirement planning situations, including the impact of divorce.details the steps to consider in passing wealth to the next generation, including why mak
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• Estate Planng -- beyond retirement, this section
• e a will and what to include as well as when to coinnsider trusts in estate planning and how to minimize estate taxes.
• Tax Planning -- a definitive resource for understanding and reducing your tax obligation, including exemptions, credits and deductions apply; how to report investment losses and gains and how to avoid an audit.

Instant Access to Wealth of Planning Tools

In addition to fast access to easy-to-understand information, the FFG Financial Planning Toolkit includes about 100 planning calculators and interactive planning tools--all at no cost. These include calculators for retirement planning, refinancing a loan or comparing possible investments, which are embedded into the editorial content, provide immediate access to the tools as well as the editorial context needed to make the most of their use. Other tools include planning forms, such as simple wills, trusts and asset inventory sheets.

Additionally, the site includes thousands of hyperlinked documents and definitions -- all designed to provide users with easy navigation and fingertip access to the information they need. The site is continuously updated with the latest information and augmented by articles on consumer finance related topics written by FFG staff of business and finance professionals.

So take some time and look around. If you like what you see, let us know. If there's something you'd like to see, let us know. Our goal is to help people achieve their goals through careful financial planning -- by providing total know-how for your financial future.