A common, folksy investing maxim is to invest in good companies that you understand.  It's not a bad place to start, but as this Bloomberg article on Apple's valuation underscores, the downside is that such companies may have prices that are assuming perfection.  If that perfection doesn't happen, the stock price may be in trouble.  Even if they hit the targets, the likelihood that the investment will grow at a rate greater than the overall market is often low.

Note that this is not a commentary on Apple specifically, or whether or not I agree with the author.  The point is that investing - particularly in individual companies - cannot be done in a vacuum.  The quality of the company is not necessarily correlated with the quality of the investment.  What really matters is how the market values the company.  There are good companies and mediocre ones that make good investments.  The same is true of bad investments.

As part of "Jump-Start Your Retirement Planning Days", Kevin O'Reilly is teaming up with Kiplinger Personal Finance and The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors to provide free advice to consumers. See the press release and learn more here:http://tinyurl.com/FFP-Napfa.

More about Kiplinger:http://kiplinger.com
More about NAPFA:http://www.napfa.org

Some quick facts from Bankrate.com's 2009 Checking Study:

• NSF (nonsufficient fund) fees rose to a record high for the 11th straight year.  In other words...don't bounce checks!

• Another new high:  monthly service charges on interest-bearing checking accounts that fall below minimum balances.  This is a good reason to use a checking account for transactions, and a savings account or similar vehicle for earning interest. It's still pretty easy to find free non-interest bearing checking accounts, and the miniumum opening balances tend to be low.

• Online bank accounts require higher opening balances, but lower minimum balances to avoid fees, and the fees are lower.  They also pay considerably higher rates of interest on interest-bearing accounts (.69% vs. .12% average in 2009).  These accounts are a good option for the tech-savvy (or simply tech-unafraid).

• The average ATM fee increased 12.6% to $2.22; this was under $1 in 1998.

• The average fee for "foreign" ATM usage dropped from $1.46 to $1.32, as some banks dropped these fees altogether.  It is a no-brainer to use your own bank's ATM if it is at all possible.

As the federal government and media have made clear in recent months, banks make a considerable amount of money from fees.  Theoretically, retail banks accept deposits and pay a relatively low rate of interest, then turn around and lend that money at a higher rate.  That spread is their profit.  That's a bit simplistic, but banks - especially the big ones - don't typically operate that way anymore.  They do make money on the spread, but fees are a big part of their profits.  When you see big jumps in averages fees from year to year, rest assured that their expenses are not increasing at the same rate.  That's pure profit, at your expense.  Check out these tips from Bankrate to avoid paying fees on your checking account.

View a summary of the 2009 Checking Study at http://www.bankrate.com/finance/checking/2009-checking-study.aspx.