Just when you think there is insurance for everything, Commemorative Life Insurance has come out with, "AfterThoughts Birthday Insurance" which will provide birthday cards and cash to your lovely little grandchildren even after you have left this world. The program is a whole life insurance policy with premiums ranging from $141 to $725 depending on age and tobacco use. While the thought of providing a birthday greeting for the rest of your grandkid's life may be appealing, providing them a gift directly is likely to make more financial sense.

Imagine for a minute that you are a 60-year-old non-smoking female and you want to make sure your grandchild receives a $100 check and a birthday card for the rest of his life beginning when you die. If you live another 20 years and pay in $141.26 each year you will have paid AfterThoughts just shy of $3,000. At a payout rate of $100 per year for his life your grandson the investment wouldn't pay out any profit until his 49th birthday, assuming you bought the insurance the day he was born.

This post is part of a series about real-life signs we're in a recession.

Does the thought of moving to a new city after graduation, as the economy heads towards a recession, frighten you? If so, you may want to do what some whippersnappers are doing: move in with grandma and grandpa in order to save money on rent. While this may induce thoughts of plastic-covered furniture and conservative talk radio blaring from the living room, many families are making it work. Living with your grandparents can also provide benefits to the entire family. They can rest easy knowing someone is around to help out around the house and be a point of contact in case of emergencies.

CNN recently provided a set of tips for living with your grandparents. It includes laying down ground rules and having separate spaces. Moving in with "Oma" and "Pop Pop", in their two bedroom efficiency in Manhattan, may not work out for any of the involved parties. If you are lucky enough to have grandparents near your new job, moving in with them could insulate you from the rising cost of living which has come in the form of gas and food price increases. Having a support system in place is another "value add" in the event your new position gets cut during a recession. One example is Jennifer Blankenship, who lives with her grandparents to save money as rent in her town approaches $1,500 per month!

As I spoke with friends from college I didn't find anyone who was living with their grandparents but several did express concern about what they would do if a recession brought layoffs. Several friends mentioned that their grandparent's houses could provide a place close to work which would allow them to maintain their jobs and friends even during a recession. If we were in a boom period I doubt we would see young adults moving in with grandparents just to save on rent. When times get tough, the tough go to grandma's!

So I was interviewing this author today, for a magazine article, and we started talking about his grandkids. That was to be expected, considering Doug Hewitt recently wrote a book called The Practical Guide to Grandparenting: 101 Activities to Help Nurture and Bond With Your Grandchildren . I mentioned WalletPop to Hewitt and asked if he had anything in the book about making money, while emotionally connecting with your grandkids. I was thinking maybe grandparents and grandkids could bond over stocks and bonds?

Well, no, but he did say that his book tells grandparents how to start a lemonade stand with your grandkids. He says that he also gives the advice in the book (and did to his own kids) that if you want to teach a boy or girl about money, get them not one piggy bank, but three. One piggy bank should be for saving, another for spending, and another for giving. "You can both keep a running tab of what's in all three piggy banks," says Hewitt, "and that will help them see where the money goes."