The simplest stock fund…credit card…a free online bill organizer…and more

Do you invest in so many stocks and mutual funds that they have become a blur? Do you lose track of passwords and user names for the financial Web sites that you use? And do deadlines for paying bills sneak up on you?

These all are signs that your financial life has become too complicated. But there are ways to cut through the complexity.

Bottom Line/Personal asked seven top personal finance experts for the simplest products and services to make your financial life more manageable…and help you save money, too.

STOCK INVESTING

Many investors don’t have the time, interest or expertise to choose and track an array of stock funds.

A simpler stock portfolio: Vanguard Total World Stock Index ETF (VT). This exchange-traded fund (ETF) covers many of the world’s stock markets in a single holding. It owns shares of nearly 4,000 stocks, tracking the performance of large, medium and small companies globally and providing diversity across nations, regions and currencies. And it has a very low annual expense ratio, just 0.22%. www.Vanguard.com

CREDIT CARDS

Some credit card issuers have decided that a policy of forgiveness might attract consumers who are tired of paying penalties for missing deadlines.

Penalty-free credit card: Clear from American Express. This card charges no fees for late payments, cash advances or balance transfers and no annual fee, plus it offers a rewards program that automatically mails you a $25 American Express shopping card for every $2,500 spent. It is best, however, if you do not carry an ongoing balance. Reason: After a 0% introductory rate for 12 months, its standard interest rate is a steep 17.24% to 22.24%. www.AmericanExpress.com/clear

Warning: Even with this card, if you miss a payment altogether before the next billing cycle kicks in, that could appear on your credit report and hurt your credit score.

Citibank Simplicity charges no late-payment or annual fee, but it does charge for cash advances and balance transfers and has no rewards program. Its introductory interest rate for consumers with good credit scores is attractive—0% for the first 18 months (then 12.99% to 21.99%). www.CitiCards.com

Free credit card monitor: BillGuard monitors up to three of your credit cards for free…or up to 10 for $79 a year. The site scans your card activity daily, looking for unusual transactions, suspicious fees and unwanted renewals of subscriptions. You are alerted by e-mail if a charge needs your attention. BillGuard offers a free “dispute this charge” service to help resolve problems, and it uses bank-level encryption for security. www.BillGuard.com

KEEPING ORGANIZED

Free password organizer: RoboForm simplifies remembering user names and passwords. It uses the same kind of encryption technology used by financial institutions for data security.

How it works: Install RoboForm on your Web browser’s toolbar, and it runs in the background after you launch it with a master password. Then every time you log in at another site, whether it is a bank, brokerage firm or credit card site, RoboForm stores the log-in information and creates a link to that site. After that, you just click the link through RoboForm, and you are taken to the site and automatically logged in. RoboForm also automatically completes online forms that ask for information such as your name, address, phone and credit card numbers. www.RoboForm.com

Free bill organizer: Manilla provides a Web site (www.Manilla.com) and the Manilla app for smartphones to automatically store your bills and statements and let you see, on one screen, the amounts and due dates. Manilla alerts you by e-mail or text when a due date is approaching. It works with bills from thousands of product and service providers. For very small companies that don’t bill electronically, such as a local plumber, you can manually input a reminder that will notify you when the bill is due. Manilla does not accept or process any payments. You still have to pay the bills, either by check, credit card or electronic transfer.

CHECKING ACCOUNT

Overdraft-free banking: Capital One 360 Checking is a free online checking account with no monthly fees or minimum balances that reduces the hassle of overdrafts. The account does not charge you a fee if you write checks for more than is in your account, up to $1,000. Instead, it treats the overdraft like a loan and charges you interest—currently 11.25% annually. www.CapitalOne360.com

AIRLINE FEES

Airlines often ding coach-class passengers with a complicated array of extra charges for things such as checked baggage and changing your flight.

A single fee for a package of services: American Airlines Choice Essential and Choice Plus allow coach-class customers to buy a package of several add-on services for much less than they would cost separately. For $68 round-trip, the Choice Essential package includes one checked bag, the ability to change your domestic flight reservation before the day of the flight and priority boarding. For round-trip, Choice Plus provides all the elements of Essential, plus 50% more air miles earned for the flight, same-day flight change and a premium beverage such as wine or beer. If you are likely to use these services anyway, the packages are a bargain. Just a single one-way flight change typically costs $75 to $150 and a round-trip checked bag, $50—that’s a savings of at least $57 if you buy the Choice Essential package. www.AA.com

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