Have you ever attended a family get together and your great uncle (insert any particular relative that might just drive you up the wall a bit) begins a diatribe on a particular stock or the market in general and throws his opinions around as though they were weighted in gold? And at the same time, trying to convince you to opt in? Well, in this case, as most cases in life, being educated of the facts is your best way to gain sanity and remain grounded so that you can confidently set him straight and walk away, or know for certain if indeed he does know what he’s talking about.

Just as continually staying abreast of new ideas, concepts and technology in the field your profession is in is a wise and prudent idea, it is also a good idea to stay up-to-date on the financial news of the day. Now I wouldn’t suggest you watch the stock market on a daily basis (unless you want to), but I highly suggest reading at least one financial article or viewing one financial money program once a month (possibly more).

Why is this a good idea? Even though you may not be trading stocks regularly, it is important to take control and be well educated on exactly what is going on so that you can’t be swayed by someone trying to convince you to do something unwise with your money, or on the flip side, to know when it might be an ideal time to do something with your money other than what you are currently doing.

Once you have the knowledge of what is going on in the financial market, you have the power and no one can take that away from you.

Below is a list of publications, shows and authors to consider taking a look at, and please share financial website or shows that you have found to be of value.  I’d love to hear and am always looking to broaden my horizons as well.

Authors:
Jean Chatzky
David Bach
Suze Orman

Blogs:
The Simple Dollar
Get Rich Slowly
Wise Bread

Publications/Websites:
The Economist
Money magazine
Financial Times
The Wall Street Journal
Kiplingers

Shows:
The Squawk Box
Mad Money
Bloomberg