Links & Resources

The following links are provided as a service to our Web site visitors.  PDS Planning neither endorses any products offered on the sites nor guarantees the accuracy of information on any of the linked Web sites.

Forbes Best of the Web

http://www.forbes.com/bow/

Each year Forbes Magazine compiles a list of the best Web sites for numerous areas of interest.  This includes collecting, education, health, investing, travel, the good life, personal finance, management, luxury shopping, and "look it up".  There are comments, both good and bad, on the various sites, with hot links to each one.  We bookmark this page every year.  It is a winner!

Bank Yields, Mortgage Info, Loan Rates, Calculators, & Information

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/default.asp

A truly remarkable Web site, Bankrate.com contains a wealth of information. You want to know what the average CD yields are? Find out here. You want to find mortgage loan information? Find out here. The information is updated in a timely fashion. In addition, there are some OK calculators that allow you to do "what if's" for mortgage loans, buying or leasing cars, and other consumer finance issues. You will want to bookmark this Web site!

Consumer Information Center

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov

The site provides some basic materials on everything from applying for passports to funeral planning. Read them free online in HTML or get a print version for around $1 or more each. In the Money section brochures are assigned to categories (Credit, Investing & Saving and Retirement Planning), enabling quick browsing. Especially useful are brochures on credit reports and estate planning. Expect sensible plain talk on how to find a reliable planner and invest wisely.  The Small Business, Employment and Housing sections supplement the Money guides nicely, with brochures on running a business, hot careers and energy efficiency.

Healthy Living On Line

http://www.healthylivingonline.org

This holistic site offers sensible advice on exercise, nutrition, and weight maintenance. Tips on starting a fitness program, avoiding hidden fats and boosting willpower. Online discussions cover topics such as how much sleep to get and health goals. Nutrition section recommends snacking on fruit popsicles and Hershey's bit-sized chocolate, and includes recipes. Roundup of articles from various publications covers health issues such as diabetes and depression, as well as the latest findings on artificial sweeteners.  For better or worse, this site blasts fad diets and many herbal aids.

City of Columbus

http://www.cityofcolumbus.org

The official city of Columbus site, complete with informaion on all government offices, resident services, and visitor help.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

http://www.mnh.si.edu

A tremendous informational site on one of the world's great centers of learning. Offers a virtual tour of the museum, with information about Imax movies and upcoming programs. The Online exhibit African Voices includes an interactive time line of African history and a feature on a Yoruba sculptor's work. You can also tour Dinosaur Hall, preview a Viking exhibit or learn about Thai royal gifts to the U.S.

CEO Express

http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp

"Designed by a busy executive for busy executives," this Web site has links to newspapers, magazines, internet search engines, international news (Paris' Le Monde!), health, travel, financial markets, statistics, government, law, office tools, reference, and literally hundreds of valuable information sites.  There may be a more complete source of information links, but this one is about as good as it gets.

Epicurious

http://www.eat.epicurious.com

The title says it all.  If you can't find a recipe here, it must not exist!

Hubble Telescope

http://hubblesite.org

Saving For College

http://www.savingforcollege.com

Almost everything you might want to know about the new 529 education plans can be found on this site.  And the details not found here are available via hot links to other Web sites.  This resource will let you learn about 529 plans, compare different plans, and even has a message board to ask questions and read what other people have asked.  But perhaps the best feature is a listing of all 50 states' individual plans, including any guaranteed options and the newer savings programs.  This is an excellent resource.

The Louvre Museum

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en

Never been to Paris but always wanted to visit the world's largest art museum?  Or been to Paris three times in the last fours years and still can't get enough?  Voila!  Here is the Web site for you!  The history of the museum, a description of its collections, a virtual guided tour, and detailed information on a changing selection of the museum's millions of artworks are all available with just a click.  Select the Site Map option, and select from a number of options.  Non parlez vous Francais?  No problem, the site is available in English and several other languages.

First Gov

http://www.firstgov.gov

This site is the only official U.S. Government portal to 47 million pages of government information, services, and online transactions.
It offers a powerful search engine that searches every word of every U.S. government document in a quarter of a second or less.
FirstGov.gov also features a topical index, online transactions, links to state and local government, options to contact your government, and other tools so you don't have to know the name of the government agency to get the information you want anytime you want it.

Web Md

http://www.webmd.com

If you haven’t visited this site, make it a priority. It is full of information, and from a strictly educational standpoint it’s hard to imagine a more comprehensive health site.

So You Wanna

http://www.soyouwanna.com

So You Wanna "teaches you all the things nobody taught you in school".  This site is a treasure trove of  how-to's, from etiquette, entertainment, food & drink, games & hobbies, sports, shopping, travel, and other topics.  You just might end up bookmarking this site!

National Alliance for Caregiving

http://www.caregiving.org

This site is dedicated to providing support to family caregivers of older persons and the professionals who help them and to increase public awareness of issues facing family caregiving.

Savings Bond Calculator

http://www.treasurydirect.gov

Find out what your savings bonds are worth now, in the past, or at a future date.  Also see what interest has accrued in any time period.  Learn about T-Bills, Notes, Bonds, and TIPS.

New Realtor

http://new.realtor.com/FindHome/default.asp?mode=Map

Ever wonder what your home might be worth if it were somewhere else in the country.  Or are you considering a move or a second home?  This site is the world's largest database of homes for sale.

Pritchett, Dlusky, Saxe & Keller CPA's

http://www.accountant-city.com/pdskcpa

The Web site of our accounting colleagues offers much current information on a wide range of tax and other planning topics.

Social Security Online

http://www.ssa.gov

A very good source of information.

Fund Alarm

http://www.fundalarm.com

A quirky but informative site for views and insights on everyone's favorite investment vehicle.  Not the easiest site to navigate, but great fun and lots of opinions.  No fund is spared scrutiny. The Discussion board is the best on the Web.

Bloomberg

http://www.bloomberg.com

Still another good investing site.

Morningstar

http://www.morningstar.com

More mutual fund and financial information than you can possibly absorb.