Top Web Sites for Financial Help

Here are Kiplinger's picks for 2008 best investing and financial services Web sites.

Bonds: Investinginbonds.com. A one-stop shop, this free site provides historical prices and call information for specific issues, plus a wealth of market data.

Stocks and funds: Morningstar.com. For copious commentary and statistics on both stocks and funds, this site is hard to top. The juicy stuff will cost you $159 per year for a premium membership.

Credit reports: AnnualCreditReport.com. Forget copycat sites. This is the official Web site where you can get a free report from each of the three credit bureaus once a year.

Credit score: myFICO.com. Buy your score from one credit bureau for $15.95 or from all three for $47.85. Plus, get advice on how to raise your score, and use the site's EZ Error Correct system to dispute mistakes.

Tax calculator: Kiplinger.com. If you got a tax refund, give yourself a pay raise by using our easy tax-withholding calculator (http://kiplinger.com/tools/withholding).

Social Security calculator: http://www.ssa.gov/estimator. Type your name, Social Security number, birth date, birthplace and mother's name into this secure site, and it will show your estimated benefits based on your up-to-date earnings record.

Health insurance: eHealthInsurance.com. Provides immediate quotes for most major health insurers and compares policies. For personalized attention, call 800-977-8860 or find a local broker through http://www.nahu.org.

Health insurance: Coverageforall.org. Offers strategies for finding coverage, especially for people with medical conditions or modest incomes.

Medicare: Medicare.gov. Chock-full of detailed information about Medicare, with excellent tools to help you pick the best Part D plan or Medicare Advantage policy based on your specific medications and health condition.

Life insurance: AccuQuote.com. An easy way to get term-insurance rates from many of the top companies. Call 800-442-9899 for personalized help, especially if you have a medical condition.

Life insurance: Insure.com. Use this site to see the detailed criteria you must meet to qualify for each company's term-insurance rates.

Auto insurance: InsWeb.com. Lets you compare price quotes from several major insurers (the number varies by state). Also a good resource for money-saving tips on every kind of insurance. For personal help, contact an agent through the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.

Homeowners insurance: AccuCoverage.com. For a fee of $7.95, you can calculate how much coverage you need. Plug in data about your home's age, building materials and other details, and get an immediate estimate of its replacement cost.

Customer Service: http://Naic.org/cis. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners maintains complaint records for each insurer in every state. Focus on the complaint ratio: the number of complaints for every dollar the insurer collects in premiums.