Dr. Clemen Chiang

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Getting on the same page now means fewer potential problems when it counts. No one likes to think about what will happen when they pass away. What will happen to your home after your death? Will your children and any other dependents be provided for? Who will carry out your wishes? While not the most glamorous side of financial planning, estate planning is vital to ensuring you leave behind the legacy you want — problem-free. However, when it comes to estate planning, married couples often face unique challenges and opportunities. From managing jointly held assets to minimizing estate and income taxes, spouses must coordinate their plans to avoid unintended consequences — or surprises — down the line. Ensuring both partners are on the same page, both legally and financially, can streamline the estate process, protect wealth and provide peace of mind for their heirs. To offer deeper insights into how couples can best align their estate strategies, the financial experts of Kiplinger Advisor Collective highlight practical steps couples can take to ensure their estate plans are working in tandem, whether they’re newly married or decades into their partnership.

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Get out of debt and reach your goals sooner by starting with a well-thought-out plan. Trying to dig yourself out from underneath a growing pile of high-interest debt can often feel like you’re working hard to defeat something that will never truly end. Once you shovel out a nicely sized hole, a high interest rate fills it right back in, adding a little extra on the top. Add trying to save money toward your future goals, and you have what seems like an impossible task to achieve. However, it’s a real challenge many people are facing — and one that is possible to overcome.  Whether it's student loans, credit cards or personal loans, paying down debt without sacrificing your long-term financial goals requires a smart, strategic approach. Here, financial industry experts from Kiplinger Advisor Collective offer tips for how to best navigate this all-too-common obstacle, as well as how to build momentum, reduce financial stress and make meaningful progress without putting your future on pause.

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Leaving the workforce is a big decision, but one many couples make after welcoming a child. With rising child care costs, the choice to homeschool and the desire to spend more quality time with their children all key factors in their decisions, many parents are choosing to leave the workforce to become full-time parents. In fact, around 25% of mothers identified as stay-at-home parents in a 2023 Motherly survey (and about one in five stay-at-home parents are dads, according to the Pew Research Center). This was a sharp uptick from previous years, though inflation and increased costs of living may be forcing parents back into the workforce sooner than they’d hoped. While the decision to stay home with one’s children is not merely a financial one, finances play a huge role in a couple’s ability to make this choice, especially if they’re looking to make this change a long-term or even permanent one. The health of their finances now and what they may or may not be in the future are vital factors to consider if they want to make the right decision for their family. Because this decision is not one to make lightly, it may be wise for couples to ask themselves a number of questions to help guide them through the decision-making process and give them greater confidence in their choice. Here, five financial experts from Kiplinger Advisor Collective outline some of the most important questions you and your partner should ask before stepping into full-time parenting and the potential effects choosing to do so could have on your financial future.

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Budgeting is only effective if you’re able to make it work for you long term. Getting on a budget can be one of the most effective ways to start taking control of your finances. Whether you take a detailed spreadsheet approach, let an app do the work for you or leverage simple pen and paper, there’s no one correct way to do a budget as long as your system works well for you. However, many people who try tackling their first budget may quickly give up or find it too difficult to keep up with long term — but this doesn’t mean budgeting in general doesn’t work for them.  According to the financial advisers and experts of Kiplinger Advisor Collective, you may just be going about it with the wrong plan or mindset. If you’re struggling to budget or find that you’re not hitting your goals as quickly as you thought you could, consider the following six signs that your budget or financial plan may not be working for you — and what you should do to fix it.

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It’s never too late to start planning and saving for life after work. There are many life circumstances that can prevent someone from saving for retirement. Whether it’s expensive emergencies that need to be prioritized, trouble maintaining a steady income or simply the lack of knowledge for exactly how to save for retirement in the first place, life can often send obstacles your way that can prevent you from utilizing your money the way you want to. However, having a savings goal — and a plan for how to achieve it — is essential if you hope to one day retire and feel secure about your financial situation in your non-working years. Experts often recommend starting to save as soon as you can — after all, more time can make all the difference. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck if you are a bit late to get started. Here, eight financial leaders from Kiplinger Advisor Collective weigh in with some of the best ways to plan for retirement as someone who is starting later in life, and how you can not only catch up but also have the security you need to feel good about your situation.

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Taking these steps now can help ensure your family isn’t overwhelmed with uncertainty later on. The passing of a loved one is an emotional time, and family members are often dealing with their grief in different ways. If left undecided, the many legal and financial choices families have to make after the death of a loved one can be an additional emotional drain on their already overwhelmed minds. Larger families can often suffer an even greater burden as they must make decisions that involve many parties — choices that can sometimes lead to arguments or even major fights. Making end-of-life plans ahead of time can help prevent much of the stress that comes with the financial and legal aftermath of a loved one’s death. Taking the following six steps now, as recommended by the financial experts of Kiplinger Advisor Collective, can help ensure your family is taken care of in the event of your passing and are allowed to grieve without any additional burdens.