Family Fundamentals

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    Family Fundamentals: Learn the ABCs of IRAs before investing

    Every month, we put some money into a traditional 401K for retirement, but we wonder if we should start putting some of that money into a Roth IRA instead. What are the pros and cons?
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    Family Fundamentals: Know risks before you decide to co-sign on a loan

    Some good friends asked us to co-sign on a loan to allow them to get a lower interest rate. They said they won’t have any problem making payments (especially with the lower rate). My husband and I disagree about this. Where can we find information about the risks we’d be taking on?
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    Family Fundamentals: Resilient families better able to cope with crisis

    We know two families who are dealing with a serious illness of one of their family members. One family appears to coping well, while the other seems to be in a tailspin. Are there certain strategies a family can take to help them get through such a situation?
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    Family Fundamentals: Organize financial records in case of emergency

    A friend’s father passed away last year. She later remarked that it was a big relief to find he had left his financial records organized and easy for her to find. I’m single and live far from family, so I’d like to make sure my papers are organized, too, just in case. How should I begin?
  5. Family Fundamentals: Examine decision to live together beforehand

    Does living together before marriage help or hurt a relationship?
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    Family Fundamentals: Know how long you need to store tax records

    I’m starting to collect the documents I need to file taxes this year, and I noticed we still have tax records for the past decade in our files. How long do we need to keep them?
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    Family Fundamentals: Ideas can help family enjoy true meaning of holidays

    This year, we’re trying to help our kids focus on the non-commercial, non-consumer aspects of Christmas, but we seem to be having trouble getting the message through to them. Any ideas?
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    Family Fundamentals: Get ready for 2014, organize tax records now

    I keep all of our donation receipts in a manila envelope to make it easy to figure our charitable contribution at tax time. But I don’t really have a system for organizing other tax-related records. Any ideas?
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    Family Fundamentals: School policies can help prevent bullying

    I’m concerned that my daughter’s middle school isn’t addressing bullying very effectively. What sorts of things should schools be doing to reduce the problem?
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    Family Fundamentals: Ohio Saves can help you with savings goals (September 2013)

    I had high hopes in January that we would build up our emergency fund to a respectable amount by the end of the year. Although we’ve made some progress, we haven’t been keeping on track. How can we do better in the future?

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This column was discontinued in July 2016. For similar information and more, please see http://livesmartohio.osu.edu, a blog written by OSU Extension’s Family and Consumer Science professionals.