7 Inexpensive Ways to Get Your Child Reading

Children who love to read have an advantage when it comes to academics. This in turn leads to increased opportunities when it comes to higher education and career prospects. However, many parents find that their child is a reluctant reader and are at a loss for how to motivate and encourage them to read for school, let alone for pleasure.

Here are seven easy and inexpensive things that parents can do to raise enthusiastic, eager readers.

1. Get library cards for the whole family, if you don’t already have them. Let your child know that this is a big deal and that taking on this responsibility is a sign that he or she is maturing. Look for fun events at the library, such as story times, to get your child excited at the prospect of going to the library. Having library cards will allow you to provide a wide variety of books for your child without going broke buying them.

2. Find out your child’s current interests and look for books that match them. It can be something ongoing, such as a fascination with dinosaurs or fairies, or something triggered by a recent event, such as worms after a rainfall or outer space after learning about stars at school. The children’s librarian at your public library can help you find engaging books that are suitable for your child’s reading level. Read the books with your child and afterwards talk with him or her about everything you learned.

3. Make reading out-loud together a part of your family’s routine. Of course, you’ll want to read to your child, but let them read to you, too. Even toddlers who can’t read yet can tell you a story based on the pictures and what they remember of the story. Reading out loud will help your child become a more fluent reader, which in turn will help raise his or her enthusiasm for reading. Many children do not enjoy reading simply because it is such a laborious task for them. The more practice they can get to help them become fluent, the better.

4. Reward your child’s efforts. If your child is one of those for whom reading is intrinsically pleasurable, great. If not, don’t be afraid to dangle a few carrots to get them reading. A sticker chart to show their progress with a reward once they’ve met their goals is perfect. Let your child know that the reward is for their continued effort and hard work and that you are proud of them for doing their best to become a master reader.

5. Don’t be too picky about what books your child reads. Do avoid material that is unsuitable for small children such as violent and sexually explicit comics meant for older readers, but unlike junk food, “junk” books often lead to a richer, more edifying reading diet later in life. Do encourage your child to branch out, but if they want to read gross-out books, or books based on one-dimensional cartoon characters or princess everything, let them. You can help diversify your child’s reading experience by choosing better literature to read out loud together as a family.

6. Don’t try to push your child too hard, too fast. Reading isn’t a race! Don’t constantly choose books that are too difficult for your child to read. This will only frustrate them and make them dislike reading. If you want to expose your child to books that are too difficult to read, read them to your child at bedtime or get them on audio to listen to during car rides. Don’t be so quick to push your child from picture books to chapter books either. Many chapter books are written with a rich vocabulary and complex themes with illustrations that enhance the story. While you’ll eventually want your child to be able to sustain the attention necessary to read and absorb a chapter book, they aren’t necessarily better than picture books when it comes to teaching and reinforcing reading skills.

7. Set a good example. Children whose parents read for pleasure are much more likely to do it themselves! It’s very easy to get into the habit of turning on the tv and zoning out after a busy day, but make the effort to read instead. It will do you some good and give your children a wonderful example. Incorporate trips to the library into your weekly family routine. Let your children hear you talking to other adults about wonderful books and books series. Instead of music on every car trip, try listening to child-friendly books on tape.

Children understand what’s really important to us adults by observing what we do, not what we say. Let your child see firsthand how rewarding reading is by seeing you do it. As a bonus, it’s almost certain that you’ll fall in love with reading all over again!

Getting a Fair Price When Selling Your Unwanted Gold and Silver

by Gina Blitstein · 0 comments

How much of what you own brings value and joy to your life — and how much of it sits, neglected or forgotten in some box, collecting dust?

Sometimes a good decluttering can lead to the discovery of some items of value to others, presenting an opportunity to turn your surplus or unwanted items into some extra cash. If you’ve ever had a garage sale to sell off unwanted items, you know it’s true that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Now that you’re thinking about your unused or unwanted items, direct your attention to your jewelry box: way down to the bottom where the broken and ‘way out of style’ items have sunk. Anything gold or silver down there? If so, you’ve got another opportunity to turn more of your clutter into cash.

There is a market for your unwanted gold and silver. Although there are various places to sell your gold and silver, you probably became aware that you could make some money selling it from the ubiquitous TV advertisements. Sounds like a great an opportunity to get money for something that is currently bringing no value or joy to your life.

You can sell intact jewelry or broken pieces of gold and silver jewelry. Like any monetary transaction, it’s best to go into it with your eyes wide open. Here are some basic considerations when selling gold and silver:

Where can you sell your gold and silver?

Refiners: These are the online outfits to which you mail your gold and silver directly and they send a check for the amount they deem the metals are worth.
In-person gold buyers: These are independent appraisers who are invited to “gold parties” where folks bring their unwanted gold and silver to trade for cash.
Jewelers: They can either weigh your gold and silver to pay you by the ounce of raw material or they may be interested in purchasing the pieces intact for their artistry, which may add to their value.
Pawn shops: Pawn shops have jewelry experts on staff who can appraise your pieces for their raw or resale value.
Online auctions (like eBay): Choose this route if you want to be certain you’ll get a particular price for your gold and silver because you can set the minimum selling price.

How do you know that you’re getting a fair deal?

It takes a little research on your part to ensure that you’re getting what your precious metals are worth. It’s recommended that you start by having your gold and silver weighed and/or appraised at two separate, independent jewelers.

Once you have a basic idea of what your metals are worth, you are prepared to decide whether you want to sell for scrap or resale and estimate what constitutes a fair offer.

For scrap (broken bits and mismatched jewelry that will be melted down):

Gold and silver are commodities and as such their value changes continually.
Multiply the weight of your metals by that per-ounce value.
Calculate 70% to 90% of that amount as a fair return.

For resale (as a piece of jewelry as-is), half the appraised value is considered a fair price.

How do you know when to sell?

Should you sell your gold and silver now or hold onto it, in hopes its value may rise? It depends upon how anxious you are to get some value out of what’s sitting in your jewelry box.

How much extra money is sitting in your jewelry box?

Income Diversity for Uncertain Times

by Miranda Marquit · 0 comments

The Federal Reserve just downgraded the economic outlook for the U.S., and started another round of quantitative easing, dubbed “Operation Twist.” The financial markets have been in upheaval as European stocks and U.S. stocks alike plunge, and even gold is losing ground fast (although some think it will pick right up again). If the economic outlook is really as dark as some seem to think, it means that maybe it’s time to consider your situation.

Yes, you can prepare for the future by reducing your spending and paying down debt. In fact, these are wise ideas if you want to whip your finances into shape and avoid obligations that can make an already difficult personal economic situation even harder. But you should also consider that earning a little income can also be a good idea.

Income Diversity

One of the principles of financial preparation is income diversity. Income diversity requires that you cultivate different revenue streams in order to prevent you from becoming too reliant on one source of income. Consider: If you rely entirely on your employer for your income, if your hours are cut, or if you lose your job, you are in big trouble.

Income diversity allows you to have something of a safety net. In many cases, your alternate sources of income probably won’t make up for a full time day job. However, other income sources can ease the burden, and help your emergency fund stretch a little bit more.

Building Up Income Sources

For the most part, if you want instant income diversity, you will need to find another job, or find a side hustle that allows you to earn money quickly, such as a yard care business, or selling items online. It is possible, though, to build up alternative income streams with some planning and time. The time involved is one of the reasons that it is a good idea to start as soon as you can, so that you have some cash flow in the event that something happens to your main source of income.

Some ways that others start building alternative sources of income include:

Web sites: If you have the time and patience to build up web traffic, you can monetize a web site to provide you with a little extra income. However, it can take months — or years — to build a successful web site. You need to be prepared for that.
Investing: Others like to use investments as a way to build income. Bonds, P2P lending and dividend stocks can provide income. Interest on bonds and P2P loans are always being paid, so you can receive income that way — even when the stock market is down. Additionally, dividend stocks continue to make payouts — even if the market is in turmoil.
Royalties: Some people generate income from their creativity, selling ebooks, or earning money on stock photography sites when others use their work. And, of course, if you have written a book or recorded music you can earn royalties.

These paths, of course, require time and patience. But, if you start building now, you can progress to a point where your diverse income might be of help to you in tough times.

Computer Backups – How Much is Your Precious Data Worth?

by Gina Blitstein · 0 comments

If you’re a person who’s embraced current technology, everything – I mean everything – is on your computer! From financial information, photos, documents, schedules…every detail and communication is stored on, run by and chronicled in that little box. It’s a great convenience to be able to rely on computers to make life more productive and convenient and help us communicate, work and play, but could you actually put a value on all that is contained on your computer? Incalculable, priceless, inestimable…

Now, consider the consequences of the loss of the data contained on your computer. Devastating doesn’t begin to describe it. Imagine, losing videos of your children, their school projects and beloved movies and music files, your banking and investment information and your precious collection of Grandma’s recipes? It would be as significant a loss to your personal property as a house fire or burglary.

It’s as important to safeguard that precious data as it is any other valuable possession you would insure. There are solutions available to keep your computer’s data secure. They do cost some money, but this is an instance where spending a little can save you a lot.

Data loss can occur from any of the following:

Computer crash
Virus
Destruction (by fire, flood, earthquake, etc.)
Breakage
Theft

Even if an external occurrence doesn’t claim your computer’s data, those in the know say that it isn’t a matter of, “if” your hard drive will fail, but, “when.” That alone is reason enough to take the issue of computer backups seriously.

Backing up data is as simple as making a copy of your files. While it’s true that you can backup your data yourself to a cd, dvd or external hard drive, it’s recommended that backups are performed regularly, and for security reasons, stored in a different location than the computer itself. The most reliable way to ensure that backups are performed regularly and stored securely is to subscribe to a service that backs up your data and stores it offsite.

Some of the services that provide data backup and restoration services are Mozy, Carbonite and Backblaze. They offer data backup for as little as $5 – $10 per month.

While that sounds like a real bargain – and a load off your mind – do keep this scenario in mind:

Say you accidentally deleted your checkbook program. You could simply download a backed up version of that file to restore your data relatively quickly and at no additional cost.

On the other hand, say your computer was completely destroyed by a flood and all of your files were obliterated. In this case, you need to restore all your data onto a new computer from the backups available through the service you use. A whole computer’s-worth of data, however, might literally take weeks to download. The more efficient and desirable, yet costly, solution is to have your backup service send you all your data on either a cd or external hard drive. This option is available at an additional cost of $100 – $200, depending upon the format you choose.

While it’s true that technology can cause us some extra expenses, it may be useful to think of computer backups in the same terms as any insurance coverage: The monthly charge for your data backup is like the premium, which you pay no matter what. The extra charge for quick data restoration is like the deductible which applies only when you incur a loss.

It’s not a big expense to do the responsible thing and have your computer’s data securely backed up. It’s a wise – and ultimately frugal – investment.

How much is your data worth?

Is National Coupon Month: Are You Using Your Coupons Effectively?

by Miranda Marquit · 0 comments

September is National Coupon Month. Now is a great time to consider you coupon use, and what you can do to improve the effectiveness of coupons. Even though you probably know how to use coupons to your advantage, living better on less, it can help to have reminders every now and again. So, as National Coupon Month draws to a close, consider whether or not you are using coupons as effectively as possible, with these reminders:

Clip Coupons ONLY for Items You Would Buy Anyway

The number one rule for effective coupon use is to clip coupons only for items you would buy anyway. Don’t clip a coupon as an excuse to buy something that you would normally leave alone. That’s just spending more money. The point is to save money on your regular purchases.

Don’t Get a Brand Name Just Because You have a Coupon

Remember that having a coupon doesn’t let you off the hook when it comes to price comparisons. You still need to make sure that you are getting the best deal when you use a coupon. If you normally buy a generic, but have a coupon for the name brand, don’t automatically assume that you will save money. Double check the prices. It might be that, even with the coupon, the name brand product is still more expensive.

Plan Your Meals around Your Coupons

As you putting together your frugal meal plan, make sure that you remember to use your coupons. You will get better use out of your coupons, and create a less expensive meal plan, if you take the time to look through your coupons for mealtime ingredients. Then, create menus for for your week with the help of what you already know to be on sale. This will help you create cost effective meal plans, and get good use out of your coupons.

Coordinate Coupons with Sales

You can also coordinate your coupons with sales at the store. Match up items that are on sale with coupons that you have. You can get bigger savings as you get multiple items and take advantage of coupons to get a lower price on an already discounted item. Be careful, though: Not all stores will let you stack coupons, or use coupons on sale items. But if it works out for you, and you understand the fine print, you can do a great deal with coupons.

A Few Interesting Stats About Coupons

Also, in honor of National Coupon Month, here are a few statistics about coupons, from I Love Coupon Month:

$485 billion worth of coupons were distributed in 2010.
Consumers saved $3.7 billion using coupons in 2010.
92.5 million adults will use coupons in 2012.
The average coupon expires in 10.1 weeks.
74% of consumers search multiple sources for coupons each week.
Women who are moms are twice as likely to look for coupons as other categories of women.
78.3% of consumers reported using coupons in 2010, representing an increase of 14.7% over levels reported prior to the recession.

How will you celebrate National Coupon Month?

Three Ways that Better Time Management Helps You Save Money

by Tracy · 0 comments

Being disorganized doesn’t only increase the stress in your life, it can also hamper your efforts to spend less and save more. You can make an enormous difference in the quality of your life by learning better time management skills. Don’t believe me? Consider this:

1. People who lack strong time management skills often forget to pay bills by the due date, forget to return library books and rented dvds on time and don’t remember to renew their car registration until getting pulled over. All of this adds up to big bucks not to mention a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety.

Instead of trying to rely on your memory, get in the habit of keeping a calender to remind you of due dates and deadlines. You don’t have to get too fancy with this, Google’s free calender or the one that comes with your email reader or cell phone should work just fine.

Automatic bill pay is also an option. Check to see if your bank will allow you to schedule bills to be paid in advance. That way, you can schedule your bills as soon as you get them even if the money won’t be in your account until pay day. It’s best to schedule payment for a few days before the final due date on the bill to avoid mishaps. Using your banks automatic payment is preferable to using each individual merchant’s system as it’s easier to cancel or discontinue payments and it’s less likely that you’ll forget about payments going out as they’ll all be recorded in one place.

2. People who are good at managing their time and staying organized will find it much easier to eat meals at home. Planning meals, doing the shopping and allowing plenty of time for prep are all skills that can be learned. By becoming more disciplined in this area, not only will you save money, you will almost always be eating healthier foods.

Many people who are new to meal planning find it helpful to subscribe to a meal planning service. These services provide subscribers with a list of 5-7 meals each week, including a grocery list. Some go beyond that and also coordinate the lists by what’s on sale in your region or specialize in meals for various diets, such as vegan, low-carb and child-friendly.

Eating healthy, nourishing meals should be up near the top of your lists of priorities. If you find yourself constantly having to go through drive-throughs or order delivery because you don’t have time to prepare meals for yourself and your family, it’s time to reevaluate and look for a solution. Having family dinners at home is not only cheaper and usually more nutritious, it’s also been shown to have a positive effect on children’s performance in school and ability to resist peer pressure.

That doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself. Part of being a good time manager is learning how and what to delegate. Get your entire family involved in meal planning, prep and clean up so that nobody has to shoulder the burden alone.
3. Being good at time management and organization helps you feel in control and on top of things. This means less stress and less temptation to go out for some “retail therapy” or “comfort eating”. It’s easier to make better decisions when you have a good handle on what’s going on in your life.

This in not something that happens overnight. In fact, it’s better to start small rather than trying to do too much at once and becoming overwhelmed and frustrated. Pick one thing that you can improve and master that before moving on to something else. You can try:

Making a habit out of filing bills, warranties, receipts and other papers that need to be saved immediately after opening them.
De-clutter and organize your house one room or closet at a time.
Packing your lunch every day.
Drinking water during the day instead of sodas or expensive coffee drinks.
Being on time for work and all appointments.
Keeping and using a grocery list.
Going to bed on time every night.
Getting outdoors for some free exercise three times a week.

Every positive new habit you make will help you feel more in charge of your life and allow you to see yourself as a person who is able to make priorities, honor commitments and manage their time wisely. This in turn makes it easier to make better decisions when it comes to personal finances.

Staying in Fashion While Staying on a Budget

by Gina Blitstein · 0 comments

There’s no denying, clothing fashion is more important to some than to others. If it’s important to you to embrace the current trends, you know it can be pricey because staying in fashion requires adding new pieces to your wardrobe. How can you stay in fashion while staying on a budget? Here are some basic attitude adjustments to adopt:

You don’t have to wear all the new items to be in style. Choose pieces for maximum effect and versatility.

Buy only pieces that fit your body style. Buying clothing just because it’s in style and not because it suits you is a sure reason for rarely wearing it or never feeling good wearing it. In either case, you’ve wasted your money.

Invest in a few quality pieces as the foundation of your wardrobe. Add accessories and other, less expensive pieces to round out your wardrobe to incorporate the current trends.

Investigate alternative fashion sources that will help stretch your clothing budget. Consult the Internet for new places to shop and a plethora of information and tips to help you attain more fashion for less money.

Seriously – set a clothing budget. If you’re a “fashionista” it’s all too easy to be tempted by something stylish without taking the price into consideration.

Realize that fashions change very quickly. Choose items that are more mainstream and less on the cutting-edge of fashion. Items with a touch of the trend stay in style longer.

Locating fashion bargains

Where are some good places to find fashionable clothing at reasonable prices? That has a lot to do with the type of fashion you’re looking for, your size and body style. The usual suspects – big discount retailers like Target, WalMart and K-Mart are always affordable sources for current styles, as are Marshalls, TJ Maxx, brand name outlets and other discount fashion stores. Specialty clothing stores like Old Navy, Filene’s and the Gap, and department stores like Sears, JC Penney and Kohl’s are also great, when you take advantage of their frequent sales and clearance racks. Online shopping can be a fruitful place to find fashion bargains. Amazon.com carries a huge selection of clothing and accessories and stylish and affordable shoes and bags can be found at Zappos.com.

The best sales on clothing are generally found at the end of the season, so if you can wait a few months, you’ll be able to pick up some items (that may not necessarily be season-specific, like t-shirts, blouses and accessories) at a significant discount.

Some out-of-the-box ideas for finding affordable clothing are consignment and resale shops – especially for those quality wardrobe anchors, like coats, shoes, jackets, pants/jeans. Consider the other side of the coin, too. You can sell your unwanted clothing to a resale shop, providing you some extra cash to buy something new for your wardrobe.

Remember these two fashion truisms: 1.) Fashions often don’t last as long as the clothes that represent them. 2.) Fashions inevitably come back around every few years. An authentic version of a “new” fashion may be sitting in a vintage boutique for cheap. You may even be able to find vintage clothing at garage sales for pennies on the dollar. For that matter, ask older relatives and friends if you can raid their attics for vintage clothing – they’ll thank you for helping them liquidate!

It’s not difficult to keep looking fresh and fashionable on a budget. Approach fashion with a level head and take full advantage of the information and savings opportunities that exist to keep you looking sharp!

Where and how do you save on fashion?

10 Tips for Saving Money on Halloween

by Tracy · 0 comments

Halloween is just around the corner! Instead of spending a fortune on costumes, candy and decorations, try these tips for making sure you have a frugally frightful night.

1. If you have little ones, look for other parents interested in doing a costume swap. You can keep it simple and trade between two or three families or be more ambitious and invite the whole neighborhood!

2. For those with older kids who just “have” to have a certain costume, start shopping early for the best deals. Popular costumes sell out quickly and getting into a bidding war on eBay isn’t kind on the wallet. It’s perfectly fine to expect older children to pay for part of their costume if they insist on getting an expensive one. This will help them understand the price of following the trends in a concrete way.

3. Homemade costumes can be a good way to stretch a dollar but be aware of how quickly the price of materials can add up. Think about ways that you can incorporated recycled and re-purposed materials into your design such as using fabric from thrift store clothing.

4. If last year’s costumes are still in good condition and you don’t have anyone to swap with, try selling them on eBay or Craigslist and use your earnings towards this year’s celebration. Higher quality, deluxe costumes tend to keep their resale value much better, but you never know what people might be looking for!

5. A visit to the pumpkin patch is a time-honored tradition, but in many areas, supermarkets have the very best deals. If your budget is tight, consider buying one pumpkin from the patch and going to the grocery store for the rest.

6. Look online for ideas for making your own Halloween decorations on the cheap. If you prefer to buy ready made decorations, look at the dollar and discount stores instead of specialty boutiques and department stores. If you’re looking for higher quality decorations, try shopping after the holidays when they’ll be on clearance. It’s fun and frugal to build up your cache of holiday decorations this way.

7. Everything doesn’t need to be Halloween themed. There’s nothing wrong with using a plain bowl to pass out candy or wrapping goodies in plain wrap rather than wrap with a Halloween print. Don’t bust your budget buying holiday themed items if you have perfectly serviceable everyday versions that you can use.

8. Don’t make yourself crazy trying to do everything! It’s not only expensive to go to every event, it’s also stressful. Going to the haunted house, corn maze, pumpkin patch and multiple parties is overkill! Pick one or two things and leave the rest for next year.

9. There is no need to keep up with the Joneses when it comes to giving out Halloween goodies. Make a reasonable budget for Halloween candy and stick to it. The last thing you want to do is get caught up in a decades-long game of Halloween treats one-upsmanship with your neighbors!

10. Buying candy too far ahead often backfires unless you and your family don’t like candy and/or have excellent self-control. Stores run deals on candy right up until Halloween Day, so you usually won’t save too much buying a month or two in advance. Don’t wait until the very last minute though or you might find that stock has been picked over and all that is left is the less desirable choices.

Old Store, New Store: Learning the Ropes at a New Supermarket

by Gina Blitstein · 0 comments

Six weeks ago I visited my grocery store — yes, my grocery store — for my weekly shopping excursion. You know what I mean by ‘my’ store: the supermarket I shop regularly and loyally and, in this case, for 16 years (800+ visits). The store I know like the back of my hand and where I know the checkers and stockers because, after all these years, we are ‘store friends.’ This trip to my grocery store, however, was different because there were huge yellow signs with black lettering in the windows which read, “This store closing August 30.” What? I was flabbergasted. Stunned, actually. My store was closing!

This situation represented an enormous change in my shopping habits. My store was the place where I knew how to make wise purchases every week. Now that I needed to find a new grocery store, how would I parlay all that experience into frugal shopping at a different store? Adding to the difficulty, my store was less than a quarter mile from home, providing convenience which was as big a draw as the store itself. The goal then, was to find another nearby grocery store that I could grow to depend upon like I did upon my store.

There is another grocery store less than a mile from home which I’d never shopped. It opened a year ago but it never crossed my mind to check out the “new guy.” The fact remained, however, that I needed to find a new place to buy groceries, so I decided to scope it out.

Rather than walk in and start shopping cold, I did some preparation for this new retail experience:

Store ad: I checked out the store’s ad which arrives in our mail weekly. Although it’s a less comprehensive advertisement than my store’s, they offer a “$10 off when you spend $75” coupon right in their weekly newspaper ad. Score!
Ask around: I inquired among friends and family, both in person and on Facebook, as to where they shopped and what they thought of the new store. I received useful feedback about pricing and the overall feel of the store.
Website: I visited their website to learn more. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that their parent store is a chain I regularly shopped in another state. I also discovered that they were indeed a full-service store which included a deli, butcher shop and pharmacy.
Loyalty card: Unlike my old store, the new store does not offer a loyalty card which provides discounted pricing and to which you can load coupons. They do, however, offer a gasoline discount card based on your purchases.
Coupon redemption policies: I’m an avid couponer so I asked at the courtesy desk about their coupon policies to learn about any differences from those of old store, such as limits or restrictions.

That information helped me shop new store for the first time with greater confidence. Upon shopping there, I discovered a couple more things:

The layout of the new store is completely different from the old store, so I need to organize my shopping list to fit new store’s layout.
Their produce and meat departments are massive compared to theold store! The produce is more ‘natural’ and less bagged and their meat selection and pricing is great! Those factors have helped me become considerably more loyal much sooner than I expected.

Yes, it is challenging to change stores, especially when it’s not your choice to do so. With a little planning and preparation, however, you can make a smooth transition and maybe even discover some serendipitous benefits.

How to Find a Good Attorney

by Tracy · 1 comment

Contrary to public opinion, attorneys are actually held to a very strict set of ethical, professional, and qualification standards. However, this doesn’t mean that some lawyers aren’t better than others. A good lawyer can mean the difference between you winning or losing a case or in how much that you collect as a result of your case.

While sometimes even the most skilled and successful attorneys are unable to get you the result that you most desire from your legal action, your chances of success can go up or down dramatically as a result of the quality of your attorney. But how can you tell a high quality attorney from a low quality one? And how can you find a good attorney? While there is no one way, there are some steps that you can take.

Decide what type of attorney that you will need. While in most states any attorney may practice any type of law, and many attorneys practice in multiple areas, most lawyers specialize in one area of the law or a few closely related ones. This is because the law is so complex that specialization is necessary in order to become adept in any one area. If you need a particular type of legal work done, the best attorneys will likely be those that regularly practice that type of legal work. Even the very best criminal attorney in the country may not be particularly useful in a personal injury case and vice versa.

As a general rule, anything involving divorce and custody proceedings will be handled by a family attorney, as will matters involving parentage and adoption. If you need help writing, defending, or attacking a will or trust, you will want to go to an estates and trusts attorney. Property attorneys handle all sorts of disputes involving land. If you are charged with a crime, you will want to be represented by a criminal attorney.

Most state bar associations will have lists of lawyers who practice in certain areas. If you are unsure of what are of the lawyer your particular legal action will require, you can either find out online or contact a lawyer in a field that sounds like what you will need. That lawyer will either be able to help you or point you in the right direction.

There are many other steps you can use to find a good lawyer. For example, while some young attorneys are the most talented, one of the surest signs of a quality attorney is their level of experience. Lawyers who have been practicing law the longest will typically be of the most assistance to you.

While every lawyer within each firm is different, the most reputable firms will only hire and keep the best attorneys. Typically, it is easier to check the reputation of a firm than those of individual attorneys as well. One of the most important ways to tell if a lawyer is going to be a good one is the level of comfort that you feel when meeting them. This person is going to be your counselor and confidant during some of the most difficult times you are likely to experience. Everything will be much easier if you are comfortable with and trust your attorney.

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