Free Stock Quotes Live

Wondering whether that hot stock your bought is sizzling or fizzling? Check out its latest price at Thomson Teal Time Quotes at www.thomsonrtq.com. The site offers live trading prices on more than 10,000 stocks---free of charge. Register at the site and then fax or mail a signed application form.

Treasuries

It's now easier to buy and sell Treasury securities, thanks to a new program called Treasury Direct. Under the program, you can buy securities by authorizing the Treasury to debit a bank account. Certified checks are no longer required.

You can also roll over an expiring issue to a new one with a phone call, and you can sell without first transferring Treasuries to a bank or broker. For more info, call your nearest Federal Reserve Bank or visit the Treasury Direct web site at www.publicdebt.treas.gov.

Social Security Retirement Benefits

If you have questions about Social Security retirement benefits, check out the Mercer Guide to Social Security and Medicare (800/888-4741, $9.95) and the National Underwriters Social Security Manual(800/543-0874, $21.50).

Also helpful is Social Security's benefit estimate computer program, which produces the "primary insurance amount" (PIA) for an old-age, survivor, or disability benefit, based on the characteristics of a particular worker. Get the program from the Social Security Web site at www.ssa.gov/OACT. You must have at least Windows 3.1 to access the program.

IRA Software

Confused about whether to invest $2,000 in a tax-deductible Individual Retirement Account or put it into on of the new Roth IRAs? Get help from T. Rowe Price. IRA Analyzer ($9.95, Windows only; 800-333-0740) guides you to the right choice by asking you to enter key personal financial data, then churning out clear bar graphs showing you projected account balances under each option. The software can also help you decide whether it makes sense to pay taxes on gains in your existing IRA and convert it to a Roth IRA.