By KAREN BLUMENTHAL
August 27, 2008; Page D1 WSJ
The most important decision you'll make this fall may be whether to vote for John McCain or Barack Obama. But as you mull that over, you might also take the opportunity to make some important choices for your own financial future.
If you're like me, you may have let some financial tasks slide for way too long. My husband and I knew we needed to update our wills, but it took us months to actually call the lawyer -- and then we stalled nine more months before signing the paperwork. ...(more)
Nearly 40 percent of Austin-area renters say they do not have renter's insurance, according to an online survey conducted by Allstate Corp.
In the midst of the current housing crisis, a growing number of people are renting nationwide. But Allstate found that many renters nationally are not adequately prepared in case of disaster....
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A couple of keys pioeces from the article -
-"Take a couple of weeks to grieve. It's an emotional process," Fowler said.
One exception to this suggestion is if the deceased lived alone. Then, someone should be sure to safeguard the property from vandals or even family members who may be tempted to take personal property to which they're not entitled. -
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-Asset inventory blues
Preparing an inventory of the estate isn't always simple. More than one house could be involved in the inheritance.
"A lot of times, if the person is just living on their own, it's a challenge to track down all the assets," he said.
This process must be completed within three months. -
While Apple made it infinitely easier to backup your data on a regular basis with the addition of Time Machine in Leopard, you still were tethered to an external hard drive. Now they have eliminated the tether and given us Time Capsule, a wireless base station that serves as a very large wireless external hard drive that Time Machine can use to keep your data safe.
This is a major improvement for everyone looking to make sure they never lose family photos, videos, financial data and more.
Think of this as another push for everyone to keep track and safely guard what is important to them.
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