What to do about conflicting financial advice

It's come to our attention via a recent online back-and-forth with our partner site Kiplinger.com (see here and here if you'd like the juicy details) that while there is a lot of personal finance advice floating around out there, not all of it is always in agreement. With everyone from newspaper columnists to authors to bloggers weighing in on how to manage your money, it can get confusing, especially when one source tells you to do the exact opposite of what another, seemingly equally credible one, advises.

We consulted Linda Sherry, director of national priorities for the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Consumer Action in Washington, D.C. Her organization watches out for consumers and makes sure they're getting the truth from companies of all sorts. She had suggestions both about how to ferret out sound financial wisdom as well as how to evaluate advice you get from any person, article or website.

First, here are a couple of ways to track down good financial advice: