I took a phone call at my office the other day from a pleasant sounding young man representing the national office supply store I have a reward card with. He spent a minute of my time reading from a script about the current deals the company had and then asked me if I would place an order and receive an additional 10% discount. I was very impressed at this point with the telemarketing campaign this company was undertaking to boost sales in this difficult financial period. . More »

If you've found your way here to this article, chances are you've either got some money socked away or you're planning to do so.

But first things first. Why is investing a smart idea?

Simply put, you want to invest in order to create wealth. It's relatively painless, and the rewards are plentiful. By investing in the stock market, you'll have a lot more money for things like retirement, education, recreation -- or you could pass on your riches to the next generation so . More »