Personal Finance Advice and Commentary

Here are seven ways to cut the cost of holiday gifts.

Creating a philanthropic family legacy begins with educating your kids.

Happy Monday! Learn how to fight off zombies and prevent wildfires, today on Bankrate.com.

When it comes to passing down an inheritance, most families think of money and tangible assets. But there’s another legacy that’s even more important to the preservation of families –the noneconomic one.

Typically, it’s not until after the financial paperwork, such as wills, trusts and family business agreements, is in place that families begin thinking about how they want their heritage, or identity, to be communicated to subsequent generations. But planning for this type of legacy can and should begin even earlier, giving multiple generations the opportunity to work together on the family story.

“More and more, families are recognizing the importance of family heritage,” says Susan Dsurney, family wealth adviser and CPA at GenSpring Family Offices.

Our retirement planning ought to insure that we can stand on our own two feet without relying on somebody else’s help, but it’s a good feeling to know that if things don’t go as planned,  a family member will be willing to step in and help out. It doesn’t matter what generation they are, Americans

If your retirement planning doesn’t include socking away a little money to help your grandchildren, it probably should. There are 65 million grandparents today — a record number — up from 40 million in 1980. And an estimated 4.5 million households headed by people older than 55 include one or more grandchildren. The MetLife Mature Market Institute

Deciding where to live is an important part of retirement planning. The risk people take if they put off this kind of planning until options narrow is greatly increased cost, says Andrew Novick, an attorney and vice president of client services at Condor Capital in Martinsville, N.J. He points to the experience of one of

Before economist Joanne Hsu’s parents retired, they invited their 29-year-old daughter to sit down and examine their financial records. “They showed me everything — all their retirement planning. My father wanted to put my mind at ease that they almost certainly would never have to rely on me,” Hsu said. Hsu’s mother is an accountant and