Yahoo Launches Personal Finance Site

By Geoff Duncan Published January 19, 2007

Internet giant Yahoo has offered information and services aimed at investors for years, but now the taken the wraps off its new Yahoo Personal Finance Web site, aiming to provide everyday users with online financial tools and information to help them better manage many aspects of their money and investments. Rather than attempting to offer an online ledger application, in which users would directly monitor accounts and transactions, Yahoo Personal Finance aims to provide a wealth of information, advice, guides, calculators, and other tools designed to help users get a hand on their money without getting into risky privacy territory.

“The goal of Yahoo Finance has always been to help our users make informed financial decisions, and now we’re able to do that across every aspect of their financial lives,” said Peggy White, Yahoo Finance’s general manager, in a statement. “Not all of our users manage an investment portfolio, but we all manage a checkbook. This presents a huge opportunity for Yahoo Finance to expand beyond our core investing-focused offerings.”

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Features in Yahoo Personal Finance include more than five dozen calculators designed to help users get a handle on common scenarios like retirement planning and loan payments, as well as advice and guides covering topics from college planning, having children, tax planning, insurance, real estate, and more. Yahoo Personal Finance has partnered with twenty-five content providers (including CNNMoney.com, Consumer Reports,The Motley Fool,Smart Money, and The Wall Street Journal) to provide top-notch material, and will also carry exclusive advice columns from thirteen financial exports, including a career advice column The Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk.

Of course, Yahoo wouldn’t be Yahoo if it didn’t tout the online advertising opportunities afforded by a personal finance site. Their message to advertisers: if you want to reach consumers as they’re making important life decisions, buy an ad on Yahoo Personal Finance! After all, only people who have money will be visiting a personal finance site.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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