.10 Reasons You (Think You) Don't Need a Will

Allison Kade Feb 28, 2019

Money can be fun: buying stuff, being generous with our friends, planning for our glorious future.

And, sure, it can sometimes be a little less fun: paying down debt, balancing our budget, planning for the unexpected.

So, understandably, a lot of people focus on the fun stuff and put off the rest. We’ve spoken to too many people who haven’t created a last will and testament. Here are the top reasons people convince themselves they don’t need a will . . . and what you should really know.

1. What If I’m Immortal?

A last will and testament describes your wishes if you were to pass away. It can cover your property, and even name whom you’d like to take care of your kids if you were no longer around. Even if you're young now, you could still benefit; millennials need wills, too.

.How To Avoid Costly Estate-Planning Minefields

6 Costly Estate-Planning Minefields, And How To Avoid Them

Over the years many celebrities have provided cautionary estate-planning lessons, and actor James Gandolfini, who died in June 2013 at age 51, is no exception. The actor, known for portraying mob boss Tony Soprano, left a portion of his estate, widely estimated at $70 million, to relatives and friends through his will, which became public and was criticized as being badly constructed. For one thing, it exposed some of his wealth to probate, the time-consuming and potentially costly process a legal court takes to administer financial affairs. In addition, his estate could owe millions of dollars in federal estate tax alone.

At least Gandolfini had an estate plan; fewer and fewer Americans do. In 1998, 61 percent of Americans 55 and older had a will or trust. In 2012, only about 54 percent did, says a study by Texas Tech University. Failing to take action or making the wrong moves can be costly for you and your heirs. Here are six blunders experts told us they see most often, and what to do instead:

.Money Lessons From Boris Becker – How To Avoid The Riches-to-Rags Debacle

June 27, 2019 By Aditya

Whether you like the sport of tennis or not, you are probably familiar with the face of a former world champion Boris Becker. A flamboyant career winning 49 singles titles and 15 doubles titles paved the way for his $29 million net worth in the year 2017.

So, how do you go from a multi-million dollar net worth to bankruptcy where you are forced to auction all your trophies and awards to pay off one’s debts ?

The answer is simple — Bad Financial Planning.

While Becker didn’t turn bankrupt overnight, his riches-to-rags story is a much needed wake up call to reevaluate our finances and strategically plan for the long term. Before you lay flat on the turf, helplessly declaring your bankruptcy, let’s understand how you can avoid this massive debacle.

.Money Lessons From Boris Becker – How To Avoid The Riches-to-Rags Debacle

June 27, 2019 By Aditya

Whether you like the sport of tennis or not, you are probably familiar with the face of a former world champion Boris Becker. A flamboyant career winning 49 singles titles and 15 doubles titles paved the way for his $29 million net worth in the year 2017.

So, how do you go from a multi-million dollar net worth to bankruptcy where you are forced to auction all your trophies and awards to pay off one’s debts ?

The answer is simple — Bad Financial Planning.

While Becker didn’t turn bankrupt overnight, his riches-to-rags story is a much needed wake up call to reevaluate our finances and strategically plan for the long term. Before you lay flat on the turf, helplessly declaring your bankruptcy, let’s understand how you can avoid this massive debacle.

.Do's & Don'ts When You Increase Your Income

7/11/2019 Team Member Blog, Consumerism to Frugalism

2 Things You Should Do (and 1 You Shouldn’t) When You Increase Your Income

Most of you would like to increase your income.

Whether you’re looking to make a career move, change companies, start a business, or simply move up in your current situation, making more money is likely one of the major factors in your job decisions.

Here at Money Saved is Money Earned, we know money isn’t everything and you shouldn’t live just for money. However, we also know that money plays a major factor in your ability to live the way you want.

While we should live within our means, most people would make very different choices if money wasn’t an option. Having said that, money should never be the end goal.

.Organize Important Papers in Case of Emergency

Help others find key documents and records if you are incapacitated

Based on content from the NIH/National Institute on Aging AgePage "Getting Your Affairs In Order."

No one ever plans to be sick or disabled.

Yet, planning ahead can make all the difference if you take an unexpected trip to the hospital or suffer a health problem making it hard to remember where you put everything.

Good planning and organization is a gift to those who will help you manage your health and financial affairs if needed.

.What You Should Keep in a Fireproof Safe – And What You Shouldn’t

If you’ve read up on fire safety, you’ve likely taken precautions to keep your family safe and prepared — you’ve equipped your home with a smoke detector on every floor, established an emergency escape plan with your family, and invested time in teaching your children to call 911 in case of a fire emergency. You’ve taken the steps to protect your family — but have you fully protected your most valuable possessions?

In an instant, a household fire can destroy treasured items, documents, and a lifetime of memories. You can protect your valuable possessions by storing them appropriately. Today, many people opt for a fireproof safe, rather than paying to keep their belongings in a safety deposit box at the local bank.

.Where Should You Keep Your Emergency Fund?

By AJ Smith

We have all heard and (hopefully) heeded the advice to keep between three and six months' worth of expenses aside as an emergency fund. Even if you feel like you have a handle on budgeting for your day-to-day expenses, what happens when the unpredictable hits with the potential to set your finances back?

This stash is not meant for buying a home or going on a trip, it is for real emergencies. It's a good idea to make growing an emergency fund a priority and where we keep this money can make a big difference.

It's important for the money to be accessible, but it can also be earning interest while waiting to be tapped. If you are building up your emergency fund and looking for a better place to keep it than under the mattress, check out these options of places to park your emergency fund.

.The Real-Life Secrets of Millionaires

By Kimberly Palmer

Several years ago, New York Times Wealth Matters columnist Paul Sullivan opened up his finances to a group of high-powered, high-net worth investors known as Tiger 21. Members gather regularly to discuss investing strategies and at one meeting, Sullivan asked them to critique his own -- relatively meager by their standards -- financial life.

"Given what I do, I thought [my wife and I] had a handle on it, but what I learned from that meeting is that we hadn't thought enough about the risks in life," Sullivan says. Those risks include declining incomes and the unexpected death or disability of a household wage earner.

As a result of that meeting, Sullivan and his wife took out life and disability insurance policies and sold off a condo in Florida that had been a vacation home for the family.

.What to Do When You Inherit Your Parents’ House

Advice for selling it, moving in or renting it out used 6-17-20

By Craig Venezia July 1, 2019

Boomers stand to inherit upwards of $27 trillion over the next four decades, according to The Center of Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, and a portion of that includes the house their parents lived in.

But when that house becomes yours, figuring out what to do with it can present financial and emotional issues. If your siblings are involved, things can get even trickier.

“There are three basic paths you can take,” says Bruno Graziano, a senior estate planning analyst with Wolters Kluwer, CCH. “Sell the house, move into it, or rent it out.”