Clark has always encouraged people to learn about investing and to do it themselves whenever possible. It’s a wealth of knowledge and it can save you tons. But how much difference does it really make? Financial writer Jane Bryant Quinn conducted an analysis into this subject recently. She compared what people make when putting their money in a low cost mutual fund versus one sold by a high-commissioned broker or salesperson. In the first scenario, she compared investments of $10,000 over 15 years. If you choose the low cost fund, you’ll have $26,000 after 15 years. In a commissioned fund, you’ll have only $20,000. And, after 30 years, you’ll have 64 percent more money! That’s huge. It happens because, year after year, your money grows exponentially. So the longer you have the money in the fund, the bigger the difference. The problem is that most people don’t know what expenses they’re paying for their mutual funds, and companies make it very hard to understand. But you can’t go wrong with Vanguard, TIAA-Cref, Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price. These are all low to moderately low fee companies, with Vanguard having the least expensive fee structure. Check them out. It’s your money!