Cora	Linda

The world is a safe place. Everything is going smoothly today; the sun is shining, and my daughter is healthy. I still have a good bit of my mental capacity, and I have a new place in the world with BUYandHOLD's "Mom Chronicles."

The previous paragraph was how this article began a few days ago. When the words appeared on my screen, I choked. I couldn't write another word for twenty-four hours. Those black and white images hit me with a responsibility I had previously ignored. How could I, as an inexperienced investor, possibly help other moms with their investment planning?

As moms - single or otherwise - we roll with punches day in and day out. We try to balance our budgets with our babies. We manage to work, wish, hope and play in our minutes throughout the day. We design our lives with a major lack of blueprints and help. Perhaps we instinctively understand we have the responsibility to figure out how to do things ourselves. Or maybe we're just a resistant bunch of folks.

My daily life resembles the spring run-off of snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains. Some days are trickles of events. Other days could wipe out entire villages. I'm an artist, a writer, a single mom and head of household. I also have a personal life in there somewhere, among the rocks and dead trees that litter the path of my melting hours.

My time is spent working to make ends meet, or with my daughter, Cora. She's 11, and she's divining life with much more accuracy than her mother does. She wears braces, and she was recently required to wear glasses. None of these additions to her physical well-being seem to affect her mental attitude. She seems to be happy and "normal."

She does worry about cliques at school. She plays soccer. She's already 5'5" and she wants to wear heels. Makeup intrigues her, but she's too busy selling Girl Scout Cookies to be bothered with her hair. She's a major source of entertainment, inspiration and common sense for her mother. Cora manages to breathe spring into the fall of my own years.

I had Cora late in life. One of the reasons I waited to have a child was my wanderlust. I also waited to have a child because I'm naturally irresponsible (I'm an artist, remember?). My father would occasionally pass words of wisdom to his three children on the subject of money. My two younger brothers and I would stare at my father with glazed eyes. We would mutter something about my father being absolutely correct, and then we'd go off to do our irresponsible things. We were kids, after all...

But kids become adults, don't they? My brothers and I have gone on to establish our own businesses. One of them is an ecological hydrogeologist. His faithful clients trust his anti-corporate approach to his work with water rights. Surprisingly, he's the first sibling to invest in the stock market and to develop a retirement plan. My other brother owns an electrical parts supply franchise. He's hugely successful because of his personality, also. He never forgets a joke, and he's always in tune with his clients. He says he's too busy to invest in something he doesn't understand.

I got involved in the markets last year because I finally had a great year with my own business. Time was also moving much faster than I planned. I turned 45, and my daughter was entering teen-dom. My motive was to invest wisely for her future before I ran out of years and the ability to make money.

Let me just say here that some of us never really grow up. I was just as irresponsible in my early investments as I have been in handling the rest of my monetary life. Why should I be surprised? Enter my daughter, stage right-on, with her laughter over a Web site entitled, "The Motley Fool." Cora was enchanted with the URL of www.fool.com, and I was thrilled with the tutorials and other information offered through their gurus. It was through this site that Cora and I learned about BUYandHOLD.

These two sites were about to change our lives. Not only did we begin to learn how to invest our money wisely - Cora and I also added a new dimension to our relationship. When you have time, please turn off the television and go read a few of Joyce Roberson's articles in the previous Mom Chronicles. Browse through BUYandHOLD and take a look at their tools, their strategies and their philosophies. If you're a beginner, this will be enough to hold you for now. If you have more time and experience, you can dig deeper - but please - don't go any further than the Motley Fool for now.

I could lead you to thousands of sites on the Internet focused on the stock market, insurance, retirement plans and other financial matters. I still get hundreds of newsletters from these places, and I can't seem to cancel half of them. Don't do this to yourself. An excess of information and an eager willingness to part with money for a great cause is not always a good combination.

There are enough rocks and dead trees in the path of the spring run-off. Hopefully, I can help you avoid pitfalls in your investment planning with stories about obstacles I discovered with my own mistakes. Cora wants to help, too. She's in her room outlining ideas for "investment fun" games. Together, we want to explore with you the world of possibilities in preparing for the future.

As moms, we may not have a blueprint. But the world is a safer place when you're not alone.

Until next week.

Linda Goin

We would like to extend a great big BUYandHOLD welcome to our new "Mom," Linda Goin. Join her on a novice investor's path to greater financial enlightenment. The journey is always more enjoyable when taken together.