Peter Kinney articles

Being the biggest name in the business doesn't guarantee survival. These once-powerful brands discovered that when competitors offered similar products for less money, even decades of customer loyalty sometimes weren't enough to keep the doors open.

Your boat hasn't left the dock in two years. Most people heading into retirement hold onto things they should absolutely sell. The sad reality is that such assets drain money while sitting unused.

Everything was supposed to be settled. But when your retirement savings suddenly lose value just before your last day at work, the decision to keep working can become a painful argument between financial security and the family that's been waiting for you to come home.

Handing children part of their inheritance while everyone is still around to enjoy it can sound much easier than dealing with an estate later. However, once the amount gets large enough, tax questions start appearing fast. The surprising part is that the biggest tax issue may not be the one families expect.

Some gifts don't come wrapped. When one sibling receives years of free childcare from a parent, the others may eventually wonder whether that generosity gave someone an enormous financial advantage, and whether the family should ever put a price on it.

Before online shopping, there was the catalog. Throughout the 1970s, families flipped through colorful pages of toys, clothes, electronics, and holiday gifts, turning the arrival of a thick booklet into one of the most exciting shopping traditions of the year.

Family ties make this complicated. When one sibling wants to keep an inherited house and another wants their share of its value, agreeing on a price can become surprisingly difficult, especially when sentimental attachments and financial expectations collide.