The Best $50 I’ve Ever Spent as a Genealogist — updated for 2023

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Most genealogists, myself included, cannot afford to purchase every item on our genealogy wish list. If we could – wow – my mind can barely list the possibilities fast enough: DNA tests, including Y and mitochondrial DNA kits going out to cousins around the globe. . .  subscriptions sites? Sign me up for ALL of them. . . . Record retrieval services in repositories around the world?. . . .maybe . . . or would I prefer to spend my time traveling the world, going from repository to repository, obtaining those records for myself? And then there’s books. So. many. books. . . . Continuing education, genealogy institutes and conferences, etc. etc. To quote the song by Queen, “I want it all!”

Ok, back to reality – because that’s never going to happen.

No, we all have to pick and choose how we spend our genealogy dollars with the hope that we receive the greatest return on our investment. As a professional, I have naturally invested in my education, my library, and I pay for several genealogy subscriptions. The exact subscriptions I purchase vary depending on my current research topic(s). I often pay for records from government agencies or courthouses when they cannot be obtained any other way. I have to say, of all the investment I put into my genealogy, both personally and professionally, I think I know where I find the greatest return on my investment. I am basing that judgement on the following criteria:

1)      Overall cost in relation to its benefits.

2)      Exclusivity of benefits. What I mean by this is, “Am I able to obtain this same information elsewhere for less?” For example, many institutions offer “library subscriptions” of genealogy websites to patrons. Patrons of that institute may be able to access that subscription site for free, all be it often with fewer bells and whistles, or at a cost to the patron’s personal convenience. If I am unable to access the information elsewhere, I consider that benefit more valuable.

3)      The range of its value to my genealogy research. In other words, will this help me solve just one research problem, or can I use this for multiple research projects?

And the winner is? Legacy Family Tree Webinars. As of this writing, there are 1,915 different genealogy related webinars available on this site.[1] A $49.95 annual subscription allows you access to not only every single webinar video in the entire library, but also to each webinar’s handout as well. The handout can be downloaded and saved to your computer to refer back to later.[2]

Wherever in the world your current research is taking you, there’s probably a webinar for that. Wanting to learn more about methodology, organization or technology for genealogy? Look no further. Will DNA help you solve your genealogical mystery? There’s a whole series of webinars covering the topic of DNA. Whether you are new to genealogy or consider yourself an expert, there are webinars here to fit your needs. The presenters include some of the most highly regarded in the profession.[3]

New webinars go live every Wednesday and are available to watch for free for seven days. These new webinars do not require a subscription, except to access the handout. If you watch live, you also have a chance to ask questions and sometimes to win a door prize after the presentation.[4]

Now, there is just one caveat. In order to receive the return on this investment, you have to use it. These webinars are not podcasts and don’t really allow for you to listen to the audio while you work simultaneously on another browser, although you probably could find a way to make them work that way. Most webinars last an hour to ninety minutes, so you have to be honest about whether you will carve out the time to invest in your genealogy education this way.[5] My favorite time to watch is during my morning run on the treadmill. But to be honest, you might also find me watching a webinar in that hour after my kids are in bed – the time most people use to binge watch their favorite TV show. I binge watch TV shows too, don’t get me wrong – but some of these webinars are seriously interesting (disclaimer – I’m a big nerd about this stuff, so I might be weird in this regard)!

Bottom line, if you’ve reached a point in your research or education where you feel like you are not moving forward, I highly recommend giving Legacy Family Tree Webinars a try. You will be amazed at how much you can learn!

[1] “Webinar Library,” Legacy Family Tree Webinars (familytreewebinars.com : accessed 28 January 2021)

[2] “Webinar Memberships,” Legacy Family Tree Webinars (https://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/memberships-c11.php : accessed 28 January 2021).

[3] Webinar Library, Legacy Family Tree Webinars. Also, Personal knowledge of the author, Laura Scalzitti [historyrunner17@gmail.com].

[4] “Other Frequently Ask Questions,” Legacy Family Tree Webinars (https://familytreewebinars.com/innerpage.php?id=MTA= : accessed 28 January 2021).

[5] For length of presentations, Ibid.