Our New Section Works Harder For Your Money

Something different....

Welcome to the Monitor's new Work & Money section, which appears weekly and replaces the daily Business & Money page. Lots of changes in this new section, many in response to reader comments.

Our goal is information that is more useful to you. We've maintained the Monitor's noted analysis of significant issues and balanced it with articles that speak directly to how you work and how you live.

And we've made it more accessible.

You don't have to spend 20 or even five minutes with us for important information.

We're delighted, of course, if you do. And Work & Money is tailor-made to be pulled out, read, studied, clipped, underlined, filed, and saved.

But spend even 30 seconds with Work & Money, and you'll likely find something that works for you.

We've also bumped up the size, from five to eight pages a week. And this entire Monday Monitor is four pages fatter. No extra charge.

Here in Work & Money, we've changed the emphasis. There's more coverage of workplace issues - how we balance the demands of family and work, manage time, interact with colleagues, climb the career ladder, find a new one, or ask the boss to notch our salaries up another rung.

Most weeks, you'll find these stories on pages B4 and B5. This week, Shelley Donald Coolidge, our workplace correspondent, tells a compelling story about working dads who find ways to spend more time with their kids.

That's the "Work"; here's the "Money."

Much of our new section covers financial issues - managing the ways you save, invest, even spend. For example, you'll see lots of stories about mutual funds, with new ideas about using them to build a nest egg.

The cover story, by personal finance writer Guy Halverson, gets you started on an investment plan. On B7, James Tyson of our Washington bureau points the way to professional help by picking a financial planner.

Of course, the key to building your savings is controlling spending. We've got you covered there, too.

Consumer reporter Eric Evarts shows that the dreaded "B" word, budget, need not be so dreadful. In fact, he shows that just tracking your spending can put more money in your pocket. Check it out: B3.

And in coming weeks, Eric moves from "B" to "C" - how to get to your credit cards before they get to you. Come back to us for that one. On Eric's agenda for future editions - driving a good deal on a car, negotiating a home purchase, and booking a cheap room at a fancy hotel.

Right next to Eric's budget package, on B2, is "A Week's Worth," a grab bag of insights on recent news plus quick information you can use. For example, it showcases the week's moves in the stock market - not just the action on the Dow Jones Industrial Average but what professionals call a 22-week moving average, which irons out the volatility and shows momentum and direction.

"A Week's Worth" also guides you through a new Internet site each week. The Web is fertile ground for financial help. Today's site is one of the best.

Next week, technology writer Laurent Belsie sketches another site - perhaps one that tracks your investments or maps a cheap route to a new car.

We've saved some of the best for last. Page B8 is where the Monitor really shines, exploring the broader issues - domestic and international - with depth and objectivity. Senior writer David Francis, with decades of business coverage to his credit, will be the primary contributor.

Me? I'm the business editor and eager for comments. Drop me a letter or an e-mail: mccormickl@csps.com