Using the Monday Morning Review™ effectively is extremely easy. Whether you're brand new to saving and investing, using an advisor, or doing it all yourself, everyone could use some ideas on exactly how to get started. Everyone's savings and investment plans and circumstances are different, but these guidelines can help you take the first , independent steps on the road to successful investing!

If you have an advisor, ask them to assist you with the steps below.

• Obtain any PIN's (personal identification numbers) before you attempt to make any on-line investment changes. It may take a few days to receive this information.
  
• Review your latest IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) statement(s) and determine how much of your investments are in stocks, bonds, and cash (such as money market funds).
• Determine, generally, how much you need to have in each investment category (stocks, bonds, cash) in order to meet your savings goals (for example, retirement, college savings, or buying a home, etc.).
• Call the toll-free number provided on your investment statement(s) and find out the following information: (1) how often you can switch your investments, and (2) how to move money between your accounts. Write down these instructions and keep them handy for quick retrieval.
• Check the most recent edition of the Monday Morning Review™ to determine if the trend for stocks, bonds or interest rates is up or down, then make changes to your investments as you believe appropriate. For example, if our signals reflect a “Buy” for each of the three major stock indices (Dow Jones Industrials, S&P 500, and Nasdaq), that suggests the overall trend for stocks is up and it’s a relatively safe time to buy stocks. Generally, investing with the larger trends, and not against these trends, will lead to more profitable investing.
• For those who don’t want to make as many changes to their accounts as the weekly signals dictate, review the most recent version of the Monday Morning Review, Quarterly Edition™ (if you have the Platinum Plans. If not, you may want to consider upgrading your plan). Using the Monday Morning Review, Quarterly Edition™ , determine if there is a major change in market direction, then make changes to your investments as you believe appropriate.
• If you're thinking of buying a home, getting a home equity loan, buying bonds, or investing in certificates of deposit (CD's), monitor the section of the Monday Morning Review™ on Interest Rate Forecasts in order to determine the general direction interest rates are headed (available with the Gold and Platinum Plans).
• In 30 seconds or less, it’s easy to scan each week’s issue for important changes. Then, when time permits, it takes only a few minutes longer to see the context for currrent and future financial trends. The signals and information provided in our newsletter will keep you informed of the market’s direction, and thus improve your chances of investment success.