Here are some links for the beginning investor. Morningstar is a great resource. In particular, the Family Finances tab on their website is helpful, with links to budget worksheets and a Money Management Classroom.
Jack Bogle’s book, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, is another good place to start to get the gist of the Vanguard founder’s low-cost indexing philosophy.
As far as blogs go, there are a lot of great ones. I would begin with Abnormal Returns and Clear Eyes Investing.
Abnormal Returns is the gold-standard in “forecast-free blogs.” It is a clearing-house for links to articles about all things related to finance and investing. Clear Eyes Investing is a newer blog I have come across that discusses some of the basics including the importance of having a strategy that fits your temperament in that you can live with it when the market goes against you.
When you are ready to move on from there, I would also recommend taking a look at the list of blogs I follow. These should provide a pretty good foundation for further inquiry and research.
And now, some of my favorite quotes and sayings about finance and investing:
The fundamental law of investing is the uncertainty of the future. — Peter Bernstein
The financial markets generally are unpredictable. So that one has to have different scenarios. The idea that you can actually predict what’s going to happen contradicts my way of looking at the market. — George Soros
Price is what you pay. Value is what you get. — Benjamin Graham
Investors should remember that excitement and expenses are their enemies. And if they insist on trying to time their participation in equities, they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful. — Warren Buffett
So there are risks. Nothing is automatic and easy. But if you can find some fairly-priced great company and buy it and sit, that tends to work out very, very well indeed especially for an individual. — Charlie Munger
Confidence when losing, humility when winning: a formula for long-term success in the markets. — Dr. Brett Steenbarger
The key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them. — Peter Lynch
With television, the sentiment virus will infect you. What television does best is pass along the emotions of the market.
— Barry Ritholtz
Most of the time common stocks are subject to irrational and excessive price fluctuations in both directions as the consequence of the ingrained tendency of most people to speculate or gamble … to give way to hope, fear and greed. — Benjamin Graham
If investing is entertaining, if you’re having fun, you’re probably not making any money. Good investing is boring. — George Soros
Zone of Competence 