Jeff D. Opdyke – författare

At some point in every relationship couples run up against financial quandaries that neither imagined while dating. Some will be relatively small, such as worrying over a mate's bad credit history; some will be huge; such as a spouse taking financial control in a marriage of supposed equals. Too often with money, couples face two choices: fight and risk making the situation worse, or keep quiet and risk making the situation worse. "Financially Ever After" offers a third option: family financial fluency - the insight, knowledge and vocabulary couples need to communicate effectively about their money and their feelings about it. Opdyke offers up dozens of real-life scenarios between couples, with actual scripts and suggestions of how to broach touchy subjects with your significant other.

When couples are planning their financial lives together, few questions are as significant as how to afford a family. The average middle-income family will spend somewhere between $185k and $270k raising a child through the first seventeen years of life, according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. And now, in this difficult financial climate, tension levels are running even higher over how to cover these costs. To help couples meet this challenge, veteran Wall Street Journal personal finance writer Jeff Opdyke has laid out everything they need to do. From preparing financially for a baby's arrival to the financial lessons kids need to learn so that they have a solid grasp on money by they time they leave home, the chapters are split into natural divisions that track money's major categories: earning, saving, spending, investing, and giving. Finally, there's a section on the all-important basics of what parents should know to save for and ultimately afford college costs.Opdyke, who for six years was the "Love & Money" columnist for the Journal, provides a smart, accessible blueprint for parents that will help reduce the stress of building a family and enhance parents' skills for raising money-savvy kids. With Opdyke's advice in hand, parents will be well-equipped to create a sound financial life for their family.

From the day we receive our first piggybank to the day we can financially make it on our own, our parents play a fundamental role in our financial lives. One of the most poignant stages in life comes when you must assume the role of the parent to your parents. It can be a frenetic stage, in which you struggle to understand the finances specific to aging parents-often in the face of an emergency. "Protecting Your Parents' Money" is the essential guide to helping you navigate this confusing and difficult transition, and provide a game plan for tackling complex like estate planning, Medicare planning, and nursing homes. Most importantly, it will help bridge the communication barrier between parents and adult children that can make the process so much more difficult than it needs to be. Among the topics covered include Personal Finance 101: The Senior Years: The essential definitions and workings of the myriad investment options and financial requirements your parents will deal with in retirement. The Talk: The one, all-encompassing discussion every child needs to have with every parent at some point. The Move: The hunt for a quality home. How do you research nursing homes?What should you be looking for? And how do you compare costs and how are your parents assets factored into the mix? Understanding Medicare. Elder Fraud: How to look for tell-tale signs that your parents have been victimized. At a time when the nation prepares for the pending retirement of the massive Baby Boomer generation, this book will provide the comprehensive map you will need to navigate the breadth of financial issues, while treating seniors with dignity and compassion they deserve.