Financial experts offer these suggestions for becoming better informed about money:
* Track your expenses for four weeks in a small notebook. See where your money goes.
* Pay cash. "When you pull cash out of your wallet, you're going to think differently [about a purchase] than if you flip plastic," says Joan Perry, author of "A Girl Needs Cash."
* Read books, the business section of newspapers, and financial publications.
"Invest your first $100 in buying books and magazines," says Brooke Stephens, author of "Talking Money, Making Sense," then spend half an hour a night reading them.
* Find ways to economize. "Do your nails yourself instead of getting a manicure," Ms. Stephens suggests. "Brown-bag it for lunch once a week. Find fun things to do that don't cost money."
* Save 10 percent of what you earn. "Make yourself No. 1 on your own payroll," says Stephens. "And make an appointment with yourself to review your financial situation once a week."
* Talk to a financial expert who is not related to you. "Every person needs to have an unbiased professional to bounce ideas off and strategize with," says Julie Garella, a financial adviser in Charlotte, N.C.
* Invest in your retirement plan at work.
* Consider starting or joining an investment club.
* Don't be shy about asking for information. "There is no dumb question," says Gail Shapiro., who gives financial literacy classes for women in Wayland, Mass.
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