Charles Schwab & Co., the San Francisco-based provider of discount financial services, has released a survey suggesting that despite all the education and information available, some last-century problems just won’t go away. Among them: women still find money matters “scary,” and families don’t talk to their kids about managing finances. Only 53 percent of women (vs. 82 percent of men) have confidence in their investing abilities. Between parents and children, discussions about money and investing fall between sex and drugs as least talked about subjects. While 29 percent of parents discussed drugs often or sometimes and 17 percent discussed sex, about 27 percent talked about money. In other words, more than two-thirds of all young people never receive money education or advice at home. With courage and a little work, 2001 will be the year to change all that.

Educate Yourself And Family
One of the best purchases any individual or family can make is “Everyone’s Money Book” by Jordan Goodman, published by Barron’s. Goodman’s book sells for about $25 in most bookstores, and around $22 if ordered online. Much of the research for the year 2001 update of this incredibly comprehensive glossary/investment atlas/fact book/advisory was done here in San Diego by San Diego Metropolitan’s automotive columnist, Austin Lynas.

Information on financial and investment matters abounds on the Internet. Among the best for general information and objective discussions is OnMoney.com. For women who need information on career planning, divorce, financial management after widowhood, etc., the site www.Schwab.com/women is balanced and comprehensive. Hundreds of other useful Web sites exist, but hunt for unbiased information and avoid anything that is just a sales pitch in disguise.

Simplify Your Investments
Louis Simpson, the Rancho Santa Fe investor who earlier this year was named as the person who would replace Warren Buffett as head of investments at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. should anything untoward happen to Buffett, clearly has excellent investment ideas. We’re not going to hear much about most of them. Not long ago, however, Simpson discussed a very simple investment strategy that can be used by almost anyone to manage an investment portfolio, even a self-directed retirement account.

In this scenario, money is deposited in several index funds — mutual funds that track general market trends. These could be the funds of any reputable no-load company — Vanguard, for example. At least one of the funds should be a broad-based stock index fund, such as one that tracks the S&P 500 (a total stock market index fund). At least one of the others should be a bond index fund. The investor reviews the funds twice a year, and depending on market conditions (whether stocks are doing well or not, whether interest rates are up or down), money is shifted from one fund to the other. You don’t have to pick stocks, the fees are modest, and the portfolio is likely to do at least as well as the markets overall. Index funds not only take much of the cost out of investing, they also reduce our worries that we’re not smart enough to handle money. Logical thinking and statistical analysis will show that the majority of investors, even professional mutual fund managers, cannot do better than the market averages. A few will do better, some will do worse, but the majority will fall somewhere in the middle.

Simpson, in most years, has been among the group that beat the market, and that’s why he’s one of the most respected investors in the United States today. He will be honored by the San Diego Press Club at the Feb. 8 Headliner’s banquet, along with San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy and an impressive list of other local luminaries. For information and tickets please contact the Press Club.

Share Your Good Fortune
With the remodeling trend going on at rage speed in San Diego, many of us are replacing kitchen and other appliances that work just fine, except that the old refrigerator doesn’t go with that new oven, the new washer doesn’t match the old dryer — that sort of thing. One way to ease the guilt of replacing an appliance that is perfectly good (or doors, windows, toilets and even the kitchen sink) is to donate it to Habitat for Humanity to be reused when houses are built for low-income people or others in need of shelter. To make such a donation, call the organization’s facility, Restore, at (619) 463-0464. Additionally, General Electric Co. has launched a Web site that allows for similar charitable giving. The GE Appliance Donation Web page offers help in locating a charity and making arrangements for donating old, still-in-working-order appliances. The site includes contact information for the Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul and the American Council of the Blind. Anyone who works for a charity and would like to be included on the site can contact the GE Answer Center at (800) 626-2000, or log on to the Web page and send an e-mail message.

Happy New Year everyone!

Janet Lowe is the author of 20 books and audio tapes on business and investment matters. Her most recent is “Damn Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger” (John Wiley & Sons).