Regardless of age and health, we all have an expiration date. We don’t know when that time will come, but inevitably death will always catch up to us. And whether or not we want to think about our impending exit, most of us care deeply about how we leave this world and those we will [...]

Estate Planning Basics & Checklist – List of 5 Things To Do Before You Die is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

If  you’ve ever been the executor of someone’s estate, you know that the role is a difficult one. Mourning the death of a loved one is painful in and of itself. Add to it the responsibility of sorting out what they’ve left behind and you can quickly become overwhelmed. A number of questions must be [...]

Executor of Will Duties & Responsibilities – Letter of Instruction Sample Template is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Financial planning and maintenance are easy to put off. That’s why they appear on so many top 10 lists about how to help stop procrastination and how to keep your financial New Year’s resolutions. We know that organizing our finances, like exercising and eating right, will improve our quality of life and make us feel better. [...]

Setting and Achieving Your Long-Term Financial & Personal Goals In Life Now is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

I will start off this article with a simple premise: The more time you have, the more money you can make. I think this can be applied to everyone’s professional lives and to a lot of personal lives as well. Anyone who has a second business that they work at in their off time to [...]

5 Effective Time Management Tips, Techniques, and Skills You Need to Master is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Earlier this month, my wife and I were proud to fulfill a promise we made to ourselves some time ago, which was to build a playground for our kids. It was truly amazing to see it all come together after months of planning and saving. Between myself, my father-in-law, and a couple of neighbors, we [...]

How to Build an Outdoor Wooden Playground For Your Kids – Swing Sets & Slides is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Even though you’re young and healthy now, you shouldn’t ignore answering the question “Do I need a will?” or the importance of documents like trusts or Power of Attorney. These are legal documents that can protect you and your loved ones. We’ve previously gone over the importance of things like how to prepare a will, [...]

Understanding Power of Attorney is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

This is the first installment in what will be a continuing series on tips for investing for beginners. I am not an expert, but I think I can shed some light on the topic because it was only a few years ago that I myself was a beginner. Rather than getting discourse from an investment [...]

Investing For Beginners: Pay Yourself And Your Debts First is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

I have never professed to know everything there is to know about money and finances, and I am reminded of that on a fairly regular basis. Recently, I came across the term “umbrella insurance” and realized that I basically knew nothing about it. I had heard of it before but really had no idea what [...]

What Is Umbrella Insurance And Do You Need It? is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

I have had many conversations with many people in the past who have inquired about how to get out of debt. Most of these people realize that they are in debt and that they do need to do something about it. Realization of the problem and desire for a solution is one of the all-important [...]

The First (And Most Important) Step To Fixing Your Finances is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

If you are not already participating in an employer-based 401K program, you should really consider doing so. It is one of the best savings/investment vehicles out there, because it invests your money before taxes are taken out. Briefly, if you are in a 401K, you choose to have a percentage of each paycheck taken out [...]

How to Choose the Right Funds For Your 401K is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

When it comes to student loans, the landscape has certainly changed. Lenders who used to be major players in the game have disappeared, and the rules governing consolidation aren’t the same anymore. Is consolidation right for you? The answer may not be as easy as it seems, but hopefully we can help you navigate those waters. [...]

How To Consolidate Your Student Loans is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Making any kind of arrangements or plans for after we have passed away or become incapacitated may seem uncomfortable or even morbid to many. However, I feel it is our obligation if not our duty to do what we can to make our wishes known to the loved ones we leave behind in such a [...]

What Is a Living Will and Why Do You Need One? is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Numerous times in the recent past, I have come to learn things about my employer-based health insurance policy that I wish I would have known before. I recently found out the hard way that the deductibles on my policy are tracked separately for each covered member, that my prescription drug plan leaves a lot to [...]

When is The Right Time To Learn About Health Insurance? is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

The oil currently gushing out of the Earth into the Gulf of Mexico is a tragedy of epic proportions. While I was watching the updates on television, I began to think if my finances and my family could survive such a catastrophe. What I mean by that is, If I died tomorrow, or were suddenly unable [...]

Could Your Finances Survive a BP Oil Spill? is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Having a will prepared for yourself for the benefit of the loved ones you leave behind can go a long way in simplifying what will obviously be a very difficult time for them. There will already be a million other things that need to be taken care of like helping them know how to divide [...]

How To Prepare A Will Yourself is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Kids say some pretty cute things. I think we can all agree on that. My three year old, Nicholas, is no exception. I have no idea where he gets some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth. Most of it is humorous, but some of it is quite enlightening. His latest quip is that [...]

Lessons from a Three Year Old: Everybody Makes Mistakes is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

I was reading a post on CNN Money about how employers are scaling back on benefits. With unemployment near double digits and so many people looking for work, employers are forgoing hiring permanent full-time employees and hiring temporary workers and contractual employees. This enables employers to circumvent having to offer employees full scale benefits. The [...]

How To Survive a Job That Does Not Pay Benefits is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

There are a bunch of financial sites that offer lists of the mistakes that individuals make in retirement planning. Common mistakes mentioned are a lack of diversification, waiting too long to start saving, and not saving enough money for retirement. While these mistakes will definitely hurt your portfolio, there are other retirement planning blunders that [...]

3 Overlooked Mistakes That People Make With 401k Plans is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Being financially illiterate isn’t cute or feminine. Many women in the past got away with passing all financial responsibilities on to their husbands, but in this day and age, with more of us not getting married until later, it is about time we started becoming financially responsible from the beginning. That means starting early, preferably [...]

5 Financial Goals Women Should Set in Their 20s is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

When it comes to life insurance, are you confused about the difference between term or whole life? Making the wrong decision can have disastrous implications for your finances, so you need to have a good understanding of both types of life insurance before you dive in. What Is Term Life Insurance? Term life insurance is [...]

Term Versus Whole Life Insurance: Which Is Better? is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.