Grandparents count their blessings by numbering their grandchildren. Parents count the change in their pockets and wonder how they are going to be able to afford kids! We can show you several creative ways to relieve much of the financial stress of raising a family and help you prepare to enjoy being grandparents.

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1. You too can become a billionaire 2005 (2005-04-11)
   There are 691 billionaires in the world according to a recent survey. Most are in the United States, and the others are scattered throughout 46 other countries. Because of the surging world economy, 104 newcomers were added to the list last year. Learning how billionaires amassed their wealth may expand your financial horizons and possibly seed you with an idea that will lead to the inclusion of your name on the list.
   
   
2. Kiddie Tax Loophole Soon to Disappear (2007-10-29)
   This year, Congress has made income-shifting a dream of the past, trapping more kids in the dreaded "kiddie tax." Beginning January 1, 2008, children under 24 will owe taxes on unearned income at their parents' higher tax rates.
   
   
3. The Seven Steps of Financial Preparedness (2008-10-06)
   When a hurricane threatens, making a plan and gearing up for emergencies is imperative. Economic emergencies happen too, but it may be less obvious how to prepare. Here are seven steps you should take to weather any financial storm.
   
   
4. Raising Money Savvy Kids - Teen Budgeting (2007-03-19)
   Many parents are concerned about raising their children to be financially savvy. If you want to raise kids who can create and manage wealth, there are a handful of key life skills every child should practice. Every kid should practice living within a budget before leaving home, not after. One way to provide opportunities for real world lessons at home is to give your children some oversight of the family budget.
   
   
5. Achieving Family Harmony in Estate Planning Part 1: Leave Your Estate in the Right Hands (2009-05-04)
   The most important product of estate planning is achieving family harmony. Think carefully when you choose your executor or trustee.
   
   
6. Budgeting Part 1: Creating a family budget (2005-03-21)
   Spending less than you earn is the essential foundation that creates the capital for investing and wealth building. Following the simple advice in this series of articles on budgeting will help you create the wealth necessary to benefit from professional fee-only asset management.
   
   
7. Squirrel Away Money While You Can (2005-09-12)
   In 1985, an MIT professor won the Nobel Prize for a simple technique that squirrels have known intuitively from birth -- you have to "squirrel" away some nuts during times of plenty so you can survive during times of scarcity.
   
   
8. Financial Harmony in Marriage (2007-05-21)
   Money problems can ruin the love affair with your spouse. The work of blending two lives in harmony requires certain basic commitments. Even a financial planner can't help unless the couple is willing to make five simple commitments.
   
   
9. IPS: Build Your Financial Dream Home with a Good Blueprint (2007-02-05)
   Without a financial plan, your investments are controlling your dreams, not the other way around. You need a blueprint for your financial dreams to come true. That blueprint in sound financial planning is called an Investment Policy Statement (IPS).
   
   
10. Financial Planning for the Second Half of Marriage (2007-04-02)
    My wife and I are celebrating our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary this month. Our oldest child is now a freshman in college and our youngest is a sophomore in high school. The financial planning issues that were important during the first half of our marriage become critical as a couple enters the second half.
    
    
11. You too can become a billionaire 2007 (2007-07-02)
    There are 946 billionaires in the world according to a recent survey. Half are in one country, the United States of America! The others are scattered throughout 53 other countries. Because of the surging world economy, 195 newcomers were added to the list last year and only 32 dropped out. Learning how billionaires amass their wealth may expand your financial horizons and possibly stimulate some ideas that could lead to your name being added in the future.
    
    
12. Budgeting Part 2: Living on a family budget (2005-03-28)
    Dieting is difficult when the rest of the family is still feasting. Living on a budget without the help of your family is impossible.
    
    
13. Seven Financial Rules for Marital Bliss (2006-06-12)
    An overwhelming number of failed marriages cite financial troubles as a major factor in their breakup. This is no surprise because the way we use our time and money reflects our values. Without a strong set of shared values, marriages drift apart. But, dealing with finances together can bring a couple closer. Here are seven principles of how you can build wealth and your marriage.
    
    
14. Raising Money Savvy Kids - Postpone Spending (2007-02-19)
    One of the critical concerns of generational wealth management is raising young people to be financially savvy. Many have written to say that they read and discuss this column at the dinner table with their children. If you want to raise kids who can create and manage wealth, there are a handful of critical rules that are foundational. Here's the main one: Postpone spending.
    
    
15. Budgeting Part 3: Reduce Your Spending (2005-04-04)
    If you need more money to makes ends meet, you can earn more or spend less. Both take work, but making a game out of the latter can reap more rewards than Monopoly. Let's roll the dice and get started. You'll be amazed at how much money you can save.
    
    
16. A College Degree is Worth a Million Bucks (2005-09-26)
    A college degree is worth more than its weight in gold. In fact, the value of a college education is worth about $1 million, according to a 2002 study conducted by the US Census Bureau. In the face of rising college tuition costs, education may seem like an impossible dream, but education is a key part to your financial well-being. As with any big investment, diligent planning and saving is required.
    
    
17. Joshua and the Wall of College Savings (2005-10-10)
    Four-years of college currently cost $60,000 at a public university. In eighteen years, it may cost more than $145,000. To stay ahead of rising tuition costs, you should plan ahead and save early. Tax-favored 529 accounts can help you provide an excellent college education for your children and grandchildren.
    
    
18. University Students: Getting Sucked Dry by Credit Cards (2007-09-03)
    Last week we listed the ways university student are enticed into using credit cards. This week we will examine the economical impact of those initially small and convenient monthly payments.
    
    
19. Dorothy in Taxland - Tax on Marriage (2007-09-17)
    As Glinda advises us, "It's always best to start at the beginning," and at the beginning of the tax return is determining your filing status. Two different people can end up with very different amounts of tax owed, simply because of their filing status.
    
    
20. Managing Your Biggest Asset: Your Career (2007-07-16)
    Your career is your biggest financial asset. Most people determine the value of their work by the dollar amount on their paycheck. However, judging your career based solely on your take-home pay is a short sighted evaluation. Learning to manage the full value of your career will translate into a higher quality of life and a higher net worth.
    
    
21. Financial Planning Begins with Spiritual Values (2006-12-25)
    Many people assume that financial planning primarily deals with cold hard cash. Most financial planners would disagree. Financial planning is the process of aligning your financial choices with your life passions. And although financial planning can tell you how to accomplish your goals, it cannot tell you what your goals should be. Values transcend the cash and the numbers.
    
    
22. Belle Didn't Really Love Scrooge (2006-12-11)
    About this time each year I re-read "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens. By far, the saddest portion of the book is the scene where the ghost of Christmas past forces Ebenezer to relive the day his fiancé breaks their engagement and his heart. While we often assume that Ebenezer did not love Belle, the sad truth is that Belle never really loved Scrooge.
    
    
23. NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation (2006-10-16)
    The non-profit NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation is offering a series of monthly presentations in Charlottesville, beginning this Saturday. The Foundation is dedicated to bringing consumer financial education to communities across America.
    
    
24. How to get out of debt (Part 1) (2003-11-03)
    Triage
    
    
25. Personal Debt - The Borrower Becomes The Lender's Slave (2004-12-27)
    They say that as long as Americans keep spending, the economy will be strong and unemployment will remain low. "Spend now and pay later" is poor personal policy.
    
    
26. Fund a teenager's retirement as a multi-millionaire for only $18,000! (2004-01-19)
    We teach teenagers ten times more about sexuality than money. Many get the wrong message about what we expect them to be engaged in. Give this article to a teenager and encourage them to start a Roth IRA.
    
    
27. Donald Mortlock - Making a Free Market (2006-04-10)
    Most investors in the stock market know what a stock is but don't understand how the "market" itself works. Understanding how a market works is helpful to appreciate both how and why prices fluctuate.
    
    
28. Ten Principles for Teaching Children about Money (2004-03-01)
    Every purchase, investment, or donation can be a time to teach your children something about your values.
    
    
29. How to get out of debt (Part 3) (2003-11-17)
    Stop the bleeding
    
    
30. Wealth is what you save, not what you spend (2004-02-02)
    Many people mistakenly believe that their financial well-being is outside of their control. It isn't. Repair, make do or do without! Your financial future is made is every day's decisions to spend money or save and invest.
    
    
31. Estate Planning for a Family Business Balances Three Roles (2004-09-27)
    Wise estate planning for the family businesses accepts, mentors and integrates others (family role); makes a profit and demonstrates objective professionalism in its decisions (business role); and plans for the inevitable - a successful transfer of ownership to the next generation (ownership role).
    
    
32. Don't eat yourself out of financial security (2003-10-27)
    The worst financial problems stem from trying to live a champagne and caviar lifestyle on a beer and chips budget.
    
    
33. How to get out of debt (Part 2) (2003-11-10)
    Stop the worst bleeding
    
    
34. How to get out of debt (Part 5) (2003-12-01)
    Reconstructive surgery
    
    
35. How to get out of debt (Part 4) (2003-11-24)
    Emergency medicine
    
    
36. How to Live on 24 Hours a Day (2004-05-24)
    Time is so much more than money. If you have time, you can acquire more money. But money can't buy you more time. Time is a great equalizer. You can't go into time debt. Every day the rich and the poor alike are given twenty-four hours to spend.
    
    
37. The Five Most Important Documents to Have (2002-09-06)
    Communicating honestly about your finances with your family and putting your estate in order passes on a legacy of foresight and financial wisdom that will help generations to come.
    
    
38. June: The Month of Wedding Financial Planning (2003-06-15)
    Couples getting married in June usually don't take the time for pre-marital financial counseling. Yet much of the friction in marriage stems from different financial perspectives, and how money is handled is often a factor in divorce.
    
    
39. Money can't buy you happiness (2003-12-22)
    Financial planning is primarily about living life and using money to further values that transcend the things that money can buy. Reviewing your values may not result in a dramatic career change, but it will help you to see ways to align your actions to your goals.
    
    
40. Holiday Joy Doesn't Cost A Fortune (2003-12-08)
    Scrooge's riches did not make him happy. Fezziwig's celebration did not make him poor.
    
    
41. Slow and Steady Wins The Race (2003-09-22)
    Financial lessons from a snapping turtle.
    
    
42. Everyone needs some frivolous purchases (2004-03-08)
    Everyone needs some fun in their life, and sometimes fun costs a little money. But frivolous purchases can also rob a family of the savings they need to reach their goals.
    
    
43. Family Budgeting (2002-05-29)
    Spending less than you earn is the foundation that creates the capital for investing and wealth building.
    
    

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