Resources
Online Go-To Resources
A wealth of information about financial and household matters awaits you online. Some of it is helpful; much of it is not. Let me help you navigate and sort through this information.
Here are some of my favorite go-to resources. I update this list as I discover new information, so please keep checking back. (And if you have other resources that you think would be a good addition, please contact me.)
The list is organized using the Go-To categories: Estate, Family, Finances, Health Care,Home, and Possessions. At the end, I include some general resources.
Family
Child and dependent care tax credit: Regardless of income, you can claim a child and dependent care tax credit. To learn more, see this article from TurboTax.
Military service records: You can request military service records online here; see here for FAQ.
Passport: Some countries require that a passport be valid for up to six months after date of entry and also contain one or more blank (unstamped) pages. Here is the starting point to learn more: the passport page at the U.S. Department of State's website.
Replacement of vital records: If you need to request duplicate copes of birth certificates or other vital records, learn where to begin by consulting usa.gov, which connects you to state-specific resources.
Travel rewards programs: For the best airline and hotel travel rewards programs, as compiled by U.S. News & World Report, see this article. To learn if your travel rewards are transferable to your heirs, see this article.
Finances
Credit cards: If your credit card is lost or stolen, federal law limits your total liability to just $50. Learn the facts here. If you want to initiate a credit freeze, read this article first to learn more.
Credit report errors: If you find an error in a credit report, you should correct it directly with the credit reporting agency, rather than the lender. To learn more, see this from the Federal Trade Commission.
Credit reports-free: You can order a free credit report each year from each of the three credit reporting agencies, but only if you go through the officially authorized website, annualcreditreport.com. If you order directly from the company website, you will be charged!
Credit score: Many banks now offer to provide your credit score for free through the FICO Score Open Access Program. See this article to learn if your bank is one of them. Another source is through intuit's mint.com, a free personal finance tracking software program.
Credit unions: Credit unions often offer better interest rates than banks. To find a credit union you might be eligible to join, see this page sponsored by the Credit Union National Association.
Home equity loan vs. home equity line of credit: For a discussion of the difference between these two options, see this article from aarp.com.
Identity theft: While stories of identity theft are prevalent, actual cases are very rare. However, should you need to report identity theft, start here.
Insurance: auto: State laws vary regarding minimum auto insurance coverage requirements. To learn more about the rules in your state, see this article from the Insurance Information Institute. To compare prices on auto insurance by getting online quotes, a good place to start is esurance.com.
Insurance: homeowners insurance: For an overview on buying homeowners insurance, see this guide from Consumer Reports. You can learn more about riders for high value items in this article.
Insurance: umbrella: To learn more about the pros and cons of umbrella liability insurance, see this article.
Interest rates: If you are thinking about borrowing money for any purpose, you can find out current interest rates at bankrate.com.
Private mortgage insurance: You can eliminate the expense of private mortgage insurance (PMI) once your home equity increases to 20 percent of current market value. For tips on getting rid of PMI and more information, see this article from bankrate.com.
Social security: It pays to educate yourself about the ever-changing laws affecting social security. Even the Social Security Administration staff isn't always current about the latest, so if you choose to talk directly with the SSA, it's a good idea to ask the same question of more than one representative. If you have not already done so, I recommend that you create an online account with the SSA, which will give you access to your earnings record and your annual estimated benefits statement. An excellent resource for keeping up with the latest is Laurence Kotlikoff, who contributes extensively to pbs.org. (He also co-authored a book in 2015, Get What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security," which unfortunately was outdated shortly after its release due to a major revision in tax law.) You don't have to be a customer to access some excellent information from the private investment company Vanguard Investments, long the industry leader in investor education. See their article on social security here.
Student financial aid: A good place to start learning about student financial aid is at finaid.org. If you are planning to submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), learn about the recent changes in filing deadlines and applicable tax years here.
Health Care
Health care directive: You can find do-it-yourself state-specific forms for creating your health care directive (also known as living will or advance directive) at caringinfo.org, as endorsed by the American Medical Association. Health care directive templates are also included in the "Quicken WillMaker Plus" book and software kit.
Health insurance exchange: To obtain health insurance through your state’s exchange, as provided by the Affordable Care Act, see healthcare.gov or obamacarefacts.com.
Health insurance plan comparison: To compare health insurance plans in Washington State, see insurance.wa.gov.
Health insurance policies: For multiple quotes on individual health insurance policies, begin with ehealthinsurance.com.
Long-term care insurance: Learn more in this article from The Partnership for Long-Term Care and this article from aarp. Jane Bryant Quinn, always offering a solid perspective, wrote this article in 2010, but it is still relevant. For residents of Washington State, see this guide from the insurance commissioner.
Medicare: To learn more about Medicare, see www.medicare.gov and this article from nolo.com article. Another good resource is aarp's Medicare Starter Kit.
Pharmacist selection: To learn more about selecting a pharmacist, see this buying guide from Consumer Reports.
Physician selection: For tips on selecting a primary care physician, as well as additional online resources, see this article from Consumer Reports and this one from the National Institute of Health.
POLST (Physicians Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment): To understand when you need a POLST, see this article.
Registry of advance directives: The U.S. Living Will Registry is a private service that electronically stores advance directives and makes them available to health care providers 24/7. For more information, see here.
Home/Possessions
Digital back-up: You're not alone if you're confused about the best way to back up your digital files. For a good overview on your options, see this article from cnet. And then do it!
Earthquake preparedness: Because I live on an island that would be cut off in the event of a major earthquake (a real possibility in the Pacific Northwest), I take earthquake preparedness very seriously. If you live where earthquakes are a real possibility, you will want to have an earthquake kit on hand; see the downloadable checklists at VashonBePrepared.
Estimating house value: If you're curious to get a very approximate market value on your home without going through a complete home appraisal, you can get a zestimate on zillow.com. While this will only give you a rough estimate, know that prospective buyers often use this value as a reference point.
Home improvements and taxes: If you have made major improvements to your home and expect to realize significant capital gains when you sell your house, you will want to keep track of those expenses so that you can add them to the cost basis of your house. To learn more about current exclusion levels and eligible improvements, see this article from turbotax.
Household inventory: It's easier than ever to create a video record of your valuable household property, extremely helpful if needing to file an insurance claim. An easy-to-use application is Allstate's Digital Locker, which is free and available to all, whether or not you're an Allstate customer.
Land line: Thinking about getting rid of your land line? First read this article from the New York Times, which addresses some of the disadvantages of going cell only
Offsite storage: For a good review of the pros and cons of using offsite mini-storage facilities, see this article.
Password security: Learn how to make your passwords more secure in this article by Brian Krebs.
Shopping for electronics: You can simplify your shopping for gadgets and gears by starting with the recommendations offered at thewirecutter.com. Their staff conducts extensive testing and then recommends only the best.
Shopping for household products: Wirecutter also offers recommendations for the best household gear and gadgets, giving you a good place to start. An excellent resource for kitchen equipment recommendations is Cook's Illustrated.
Technical support: If you buy your electronics through Costco, you will automatically receive Costco Concierge Service, which provides free technical support and additional warranty coverage.
Wills/Estate
Digital legacy: For an overview of your options for what happens to your social media accounts and other digital legacies, see this article from nolo.com. For your Facebook options, see this article in their help center.
Durable power of attorney: A durable power of attorney, which ends at death, is designed to let someone else manage all of your financial affairs for you if you become incapacitated. Learn more here at nolo.com and review a sample document here. Be mindful that this is a very powerful document which should not be signed unless you fully understand its ramifications.Living trusts: For an excellent review of the advantages and disadvantages of using a living trust, see this article at nolo.com.
Funeral pre-arrangements: You can make necessary prearrangements with funeral homes through their websites. To learn more, see this from Dignity Memorial. You can also get a free Final Arrangements Kit (e-book) from nolo.com here.
Last wishes and obituary: An excellent resource to help think through last wishes is the ObitKit, a workbook that "lets you create your very own, one-of-a-kind written legacy for your family, friends, and community." Learn more here.
State estate tax: With the federal estate tax exemption having been raised to $10.9 million for a married couple, you may not owe the federal government any estate tax; however, you may still need to pay a state estate tax. For example, in the state of Washington, the current threshold is $2,079,000. Learn about your state's requirements here.
Trusts: A trust allows a third party, the trustee, to hold assets on your behalf, and can be a valuable tax-saving tool if used properly. If you want to learn if a trust makes sense in your situation, read this overview from Forbes.
Wills: Unless your estate is quite complicated, you do not need an attorney to draft your will. Read about making your own will here and learn more about purchasing an online do-it-yourself will here. Alternatively, you can purchase the "Quicken WillMaker Plus" book and software kit, which gives you want you need to create a will, health care directive, durable power of attorney, and other estate planning documents.
General Resources
Legal: Free articles on a variety of legal subjects are available through nolo.com. Nolo also offers a number of do-it-yourself legal books and software.
Personal finance: Jane Bryant Quinn offers practical, experienced advice on personal finance. Her latest book, How To Make Your Money Last, is an excellent reference for those in or near retirement age. Take a look at her website here, and if you're interested, you can sign up to receive her email newsletter. I also enjoy reading the articles in the Squared Away Blog, from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. To learn very basic information about finances, see Smart About Money, presented by the non-profit National Endowment for Financial Education.