Financial Resources
If you have read this introduction, click Financial Resources to go directly to the Index.
Introduction
Welcome to Financial Web Site Resources. This web-based resource was designed to help you access financial information and decision making tools for your own personal use and for you to use with clientele in your counties.
In the Table of Contents you'll find a variety of sites both nonprofit and commercial. The commercial sites (those that end in .com) that are here were selected because they offer free Consumer education materials in addition to the products and services they sell. Keep in mind that commercial web sites want you to seriously consider their products (and, of course, buy).
Buying from web sites is like buying from newspaper ads, telemarketing calls, and retail stores. You need to be able to evaluate the web site itself as well as the information that the site provides. You want to know if the web site is legitimate, if it will expand your overall knowledge of the products and services offered, and if your privacy will be protected.
Here are some guidelines to follow:
- Use the Rule of 3 -- always check out at least three sites when you are looking for product and service information and prices. Compare the information to buying locally before making a decision.
- Do you know or can you find out about the reputation of the online company? Start with Consumer Reports www.Consumerreports.org. In order to access the ratings, you'll have to join Consumer Reports Online for $3.95 per month. Consumer Reports has an extensive rating system which evaluates a web site for such things as security, privacy, shipping and handling, returns, customer service, delivery, and ordering and canceling. They also review sites for ease of use and design.
The Better Business Bureau OnLine (www.bbbonline.org) coordinates a voluntary self-regulatory program where companies can display the BBBOnLine Reliability seal if they agree to certain requirements including abiding by the BBB standards of truth in advertising.
You can also find evaluation information at www.gomez.com. This online evaluator creates scorecards and certifies sites based on criteria unique to the site's product. You can get this information by signing up free with Gomez.com.
- Is there a way to make personal contact with someone working at the online company? Do they provide a telephone number so you can get unanswered questions addressed or correct errors that you might have made in your order?
- Does the online site have a vested interest in selling you something? There is nothing wrong with buying products online, but you want to make sure that the information you get is what you want. Always check multiple sites.
- Will the information you provide at a web site be kept confidential? Look for the TRUSTe mark at the web site. TRUSTe (www.truste.org) is a nonprofit organization designed to help online businesses address customer privacy concerns. More than 1,600 companies display the TRUSTe mark, have a prominently displayed privacy button, and tell Consumers how the information about them will or will not be used.
This resource guide is a work in progress. Eventually, all of the "It's Your Money" columns will be included under topic headings to help you find information easily and quickly. As I find new web sites, I will add them.
I invite you to make this site up-to-date and useful. As you find new web sites that would help your colleagues, please send me the web site address and a brief description of how people can use it. If you find that a site has disappeared, please let me know and we will remove it. If you have suggestions for other categories, let me know that, too.
Have fun with this.
Judy McKenna
mckenna@cahs.colostate.edu
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