.The Difference Between Wills And Trusts—What Parents Need to Know

Hiranmayi Srinivasan Tue, August 24, 2021

Estate planning is a crucial part of mapping out your family's future. While there are many different components of an estate plan, wills and trusts are an important part of assuring how your assets will be distributed after your death—and to whom. "When someone dies without a will, their assets belong to their estate until the probate process is complete," says Carolyn Yun, CPA and CFP at Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC in New York. "To ensure that a person's final wishes are met, it's important to get a will drafted," she says.

A will basically directs what will happen to your property after you die. "Most wills will appoint an executor, which is the person that handles the administrative duties of settling your estate," says Emily Cisek, co-founder and CEO of The Postage, a full-service digital estate planning platform. "A trust, on the other hand, is a legal entity that is set up to hold assets for someone's benefit," says Cisek.

.The Twelve Biggest Personal Finance Mistakes People Make Over and Over Again

Trent Hamm Founder & Columnist Last Updated: August 13, 2020

As I’ve mentioned before, I get tons of email from people describing the personal finance problems in their lives, commenting critically on things I’ve written, and offering up their own stories of success. Not only that, as The Simple Dollar has become more and more popular, I’ve had more and more opportunities to talk about personal finance with people face to face.

What amazes me is that I see most of the same problems pop up time and time again. Sure, the specifics of the story change, as do the severity of the situation, but these same twelve items come up in almost every story I hear about financial problems. Even worse, quite often multiple items from this list appear in the same tale of woe.

.How to Keep Your Emergency Fund Safe, Accessible and Away From Temptation

Georgina Tzanetos Fri, August 27, 2021,

Keeping extra money around in cash is always a good idea — but it depends on where you keep it. The old under-the-mattress strategy is never a good idea and with the ease of modern-day banking, a traditional savings account might not be as well.

Banking apps can see your hard-earned savings transferred into an active checking account with a few swipes, and the money used for things other than you intended. A traditional savings account can be useful for things like saving for a home, travel or college savings, all of which can ebb and flow with changing goals and circumstances.

.Is Having Multiple Bank Accounts a Good Idea?

100-Level (Novice) | Everyday Money Updated August 23, 2021

When it comes to bank accounts, is too much of a good thing too much? Should you have more than one or two bank accounts? And should they be at different banks? The more bank accounts you have, the more time it takes to track and manage them. But there are advantages to having multiple accounts. Read on to decide if having more than one bank account can be useful for you.

How many bank accounts should I have?

It’s an excellent idea for most people to have at least two bank accounts: a checking and savings account. And when you link your savings account to your checking account, transfers are a piece of cake. To keep things simple, you might want checking and savings accounts at the same bank.

.Avoiding Common Mistakes in Estate Planning [Tips & Checklist to Help You Avoid Them]

200-Level (Intermediate) | Estate Planning | Relationships & Money August 23, 2021

We all make mistakes, some big, some small. The good news is we can learn and recover from most if not all of them before it’s too late. When it comes to family, finances, and medical care in terms of estate planning, people make several frequent errors.

These often made blunders include not having an advance health care directive or powers of attorney, failing to name a guardian for minor children, not titling real estate correctly, and forgetting to name or update a beneficiary on a life insurance policy, retirement plans, or other financial accounts after major life events.

Below you’ll find an excerpt from our new book Estate Planning 101, with 20+ common estate planning mistakes and tips to avoid them (plus an estate planning checklist to keep you on track). Being aware of these often made missteps or omissions will help you do proper planning, and steer clear of them-or identify any you’ve already made. If you can raise your hand for any, it’s time for corrective actions.

.The Difference Between Wills And Trusts—What Parents Need to Know

Hiranmayi Srinivasan Tue, August 24, 2021

Estate planning is a crucial part of mapping out your family's future. While there are many different components of an estate plan, wills and trusts are an important part of assuring how your assets will be distributed after your death—and to whom. "When someone dies without a will, their assets belong to their estate until the probate process is complete," says Carolyn Yun, CPA and CFP at Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC in New York. "To ensure that a person's final wishes are met, it's important to get a will drafted," she says.

A will basically directs what will happen to your property after you die. "Most wills will appoint an executor, which is the person that handles the administrative duties of settling your estate," says Emily Cisek, co-founder and CEO of The Postage, a full-service digital estate planning platform. "A trust, on the other hand, is a legal entity that is set up to hold assets for someone's benefit," says Cisek.

.What Are Financial Milestones and Why Is It Important To Reach Them?

Andrew Lisa Mon, August 23, 2021

No matter your age, you might feel like you’re falling behind financially and missing the mark of where you’re supposed to be at your particular stage of life — but “supposed to be” is different for everyone. The good news is, there are a few universal financial milestones that just about anyone should aim for if they care about funding a full life and an independent retirement. Here are a few of the big ones.

Have an Active Brokerage Account in Your 20s

If you’re young today, congratulations. You’re holding every investor’s greatest weapon — time. The high costs of brokerage accounts used to price regular people out of investing, even when they were in their prime earning years. But today, there aren’t a lot of good excuses not to have money in the stock market — even for 20-somethings.

.Classic “Money Rules” Applied to TIME

FIRE is not a single point in time. It’s a lifestyle. If you follow a basic set of money rules it will lead to a financially successful life.

The same thing can be said about TIME. To me, 5am is not a single point in time, or a number on a clock face. It’s a lifestyle. Similar to FIRE, following a simple set of time rules will lead to a satisfying and life well spent.

I’ve written before about how the Pay Yourself First rule is similar to getting up early each day. (I pay the first few hours of every day to ME, not others – more here). It doesn’t matter if it’s 5am, 6am or 7… Paying yourself first each morning ensures you never lose out on personal time.