Myths 3 & 4

Myth 3: Dollar-cost averaging boosts returns.

This investing style is identical stock or fund purchases in defined increments of time. Like sending $100 a month to a stock index fund. The thought is you will be buying at high and low prices which levels off your costs.

The statistics over time do not bear out this theory. It is, however, just fine to invest in steady increments on a regular basis. Many prefer direct debit versus facing writing a check, seeing the outflow as an expense or the $ as spendable.

Myth 4: I should always get the credit card with the lowest interest rate I can find.

About half of us pay off our balances each month. Since no interest is paid on the balance carried, shop for a card with no fees and generous rewards.

If a balance is carried, look for low rate cards. Check out bankrate.com, cardratings.com and lowcards.com. Be sure to look beyond the rates for rates that jump after a few months and don't think about a reward card as they have rates about 2 points above others.

'til later