Last week, I discussed the importance of mentors.  Finding and learning from mentors is simply an investment in yourself. This week, I want to provide other methods to beef up your investment competencies. The following are some tried and true ways that I have been able to increase my investment knowledge:   
• Formal Education:  Community colleges offer short and inexpensive courses.  You can return to college and pick up a degree in finance. I picked up advanced degrees in Business and Advanced Management to help me better comprehend financial and other reports 
• Magazines and Newspapers: My favorite investment/business magazine is Business Week. Business Week informs their readers about new and existing businesses and thus leading to their readers discovering new investment ideas.  You will learn about CEO’s, both good and bad.  Hint-Do not invest your hard earned money in a company led by a weak poor performing CEO!!  Other titles I read: Investment Business Daily- Newspaper; Fortune-Magazine; Money-Magazine.  All these titles come in electronic and paper content. Try several at the local library or Barnes and Noble before subscribing. 
• Blogs:  Look no farther – “Becoming an Everyday Millionaire”.  Happens to be my favorite financial blog.  I am sure there are others.  Try mine PLEASE!
• Investment Clubs:  Look for a local investment club, I belong to one and started a family members club.  If you cannot find one locally or one you like, start your own with like-minded friends and family.
• Books: There are thousands of investment books.  Amazon even rates them for you.  Read the summary and the customer reviews.  I counted my investment and financial books- 82.  {So assuming $20/book, I spent $1640.  Spread over 20 years, that is about $82/year.  Or I could have gone to the library and placed that $82 annually in an S&P 500 Index Fund and I would have about $5,400 today. Just imagine if instead I had placed that money in Amazon or Apple stock!!   Oh my!   Hint- Go to your local or college Library!} Last week’s blog “Who Are Your Financial Mentors”  listed my favorite three financial/investment books.
• “The Snowball, Warren Buffett and the Business of Life” by Alice Schroeder. 
• “One Up On Wall-Street” by Peter Lynch
• “The Intelligent Investor,” By Benjamin Graham

• Internet Courses:  Several companies offer inexpensive courses. Example: “The Great Courses” offers investment and finance courses.  These courses are taught by experts and college professors and you can take at your own pace. 
• Investment Advisory Companies.  Companies I use:  Motley Food (that is really the company’s name. But do not let the name fool you (pun intended).  Several smart and successful investing experts work there.  Morning Star-Excellent source of ratings for mutual funds and stocks.  Excellent tracking and research tools.
• Investment firms, such as Ameritrade, Fidelity, Vanguard, Etrade, Charles Schwab and many others.  All offer their clients free research tools and many offer online and classroom workshops.
• Google-  FREE!!  You can google and research any subject.  Want to know the favorite companies of Millennials?  What are Berkshire Hathway top holdings?  What is the S&P 500 performance YTD 2017?  Etc.
• All above options and more are yours to take advantage of.  The road to wealth is paved with knowledge and competencies.  

Invest in yourself!