File your taxes jointly with your spouse or file them separately?

What to Do: Married couples should almost always file jointly. They will typically be eligible for a lower tax rate. The rare scenario in which it might make sense to file separately: When there is a significant difference in both income and deductions between the spouses (for example, if the lower wage earner also had very high medical bills). If you still aren’t sure, ask a tax preparer to calculate your return both ways to see which is more beneficial.

Give savings bonds for a child’s education or contribute to a 529 (educational savings) plan ?

What to Do: Make a 529 contribution. If the money is truly intended for education, then there’s no comparison. Savings bonds, the traditional gift, typically have relatively low fixed rates of return, and they’re not likely to keep pace with the rate of college-tuition inflation, which was between 5.9 and 7.1 percent for the 2005 school year. The 529 plans, however, generally allow you a lot of flexibility in selecting a diverse portfolio to maximize your return over time.

Buy whole- life insurance or purchase term life insurance?

What to Do: Buy term life. It is inexpensive when you’re young and is a simple way of providing for your dependents if you die. Whole-life insurance has an investment component, but there are better ways to invest. Best of all is a level term policy, “because it locks in a rate for a specific period of time, as opposed to a regular term policy, which increases yearly,” says Dave Evans, a senior vice president for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.