(MONEY Magazine) – Q. My father died recently, leaving my healthy, active 72-year-old mother with homes in New York and Florida, 10,000 shares of Philip Morris stock worth about $472,500, and $1.3 million in tax-free bonds yielding $93,000 a year. Even though she travels back and forth between the homes frequently, she needs only $3,000 to $4,000 a month to meet expenses, so she has plenty of income. Still, she must determine what to liquidate in order to pay $600,000 in estate-related bills and inheritance taxes. And she wants to know whether to sell one house in order to avoid having to manage two. What do you advise? Name withheld by request East Syracuse A. We should all have such problems. The financial planners we consulted -- Mark Bass of Lubbock, Texas and Chris Croft of Palo Alto (both specialize in advising retired people, widows and divorced women) -- had similar recommendations, thank heaven. They agreed that your mom should not hurry to sell either house, since making a hasty, emotional decision could cause her to settle for less than the property is worth. Bass and Croft also say she should unload a mixture of bonds and stock to pay the $600,000 and diversify her remaining holdings to reduce risk and improve earnings. Some specifics: To cover the $600,000, Bass suggests that she sell $200,000 worth of Philip Morris stock and $400,000 in bonds, particularly those rated A or lower and those with maturities of more than 10 years. "When interest rates rise," he explains, "they'll be the bonds that will fall most in value." After that, he says, find a good money manager to help redeploy her dough. Eventually, Croft advises, she should have about 40% of her money in municipal bonds rated AA or better, 30% in stocks (but no more than 5% in any single stock, including Philip Morris), 10% in international no-load mutual funds, 10% in no-load real estate investment trusts and 10% in money-market funds or short-term municipal bond funds. That should see her through the next 72 years.

Q. I have taken out a General Motors credit card that gives me a rebate equal to 5% of my purchases, up to $500 a year, that I can use to buy a new GM car. Will I have to pay taxes on my rebate when I cash it in? And does the manufacturer report it as income to the IRS?

Clark Shoening Sioux Falls, S.D. A. No and no. The IRS considers it a reduction in price, not income. If we all paid taxes on discounts, rebates and cents-off coupons, the government would probably have a surplus instead of a deficit.

Q. TWA this summer offered a "buy one, get one free" ticket deal to celebrate its emergence from bankruptcy. Several other carriers quickly followed suit. When I called USAir and Continental, they quoted me a round-trip fare from New York to Minneapolis of $226. When I asked about the two-for-one deal, though, I was told the fare would be $413. What gives? Charles J. Pellett Brooklyn A. Here is a case where you really needed to read the fine print in those newspaper ads. Had you done so, you would have noticed that the deal was based on the so-called K fare (at least in TWA terminology; each airline classifies its fares by its own arbitrary system of letters), which happened to cost $359 at the time. The offer was not available with the cheapo fare, known as the T class, which cost $226. The fine print also explained that there had to be K- class seats available on your flight. If they were sold out, the airline could give you its next best fare -- probably the Q class, which cost $413. (Just be thankful they didn't try to charge you a full coach, or Y fare, which was $431 one way!) If this ever happens again, go ahead and reserve your seat. But before you buy the ticket, you should call the airline back several times to see if cheaper seats have become available.

Q. I am considering paying a company called Treat Vendor Inc. of Phoenix $5,000 to buy 20 countertop candy vending machines and another $800 to install them in busy grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants. I would stock and service the machines and pocket all proceeds. Treat says I would recoup my investment in a year. The Phoenix Better Business Bureau, however, says there have been problems with the company. Where else can I get information? Laura Demmons Helena, Ala. A. What more would you want to know? The Better Business Bureau's nix would be enough for me -- especially given the list of complaints that the BBB has on file about Treat and other companies run by its owners. Among the allegations: that the companies misrepresented the terms of their offerings, exaggerated the quality of machines and locations, and overstated expected earnings. Treat senior manager Jerry Adams refused to discuss any of this with MONEY. "I talk to investors directly," he said. "I don't want to go through a middleman." (Moi a "middleman"? Harrumph!) But Elliot Maras, editor of the trade magazine Automatic Merchandiser, advises caution. In similar package deals from other firms, he says, the companies have sometimes failed to install all ! the promised machines or have put them in unprofitable locations. Maras says you should read the free booklet Tips on Automatic Vending Machines published by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and available through your local BBB or from the National Automatic Merchandising Association in Chicago (312-346-0370). Then, if you still hanker to own vending machines, buy them -- and place them -- yourself. Schiro Vending Supply in suburban New Orleans (504-361-8181) will charge you only $87 to $100 for devices that dispense candy, gum, nuts and other tooth killers (for comparison, Treat's price comes to $250 a unit). But be prepared to sweet-talk store owners into accommodating your machines by offering them about 10% of your take. And plan on servicing each location as often as once a week. In other words, the vending biz is no easy road to riches but downright (ugh) hard work.

Q. Why do stocks split? What are the pros and cons for the investor? I own shares in Textron, which split a few years ago. Now the share price has climbed to nearly its pre-split level. Ray Scarcello Canyon Country, Calif. A. A company divides its stock to make it cheaper and thus more attractive to individual investors -- usually after the price has risen sharply and may go even higher. While he gets more shares, the shareholder doesn't benefit immediately, since each share's value declines proportionately. Still, investors regard a split as a sign of good times to come. (Conversely, when a company does a reverse split -- combining shares to prevent their price from falling into penny-stock land -- that is seen as a bad omen.) Textron cost about $58 a share before a two-for-one split in May 1987 dropped its price to just $29. Today, though, the stock is back up to $56.75. That's an average annual return of 10.8%, which ain't half bad.