How can I find out my family tree free and easy?

Question:

How can I find out my family tree free and easy?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Asking your family is generally free and usually easy. From there, nothing is free about this hobby except the public library, your state archive and the National Archives. I spent $35,000 over 20 years on one line of a tree in order to get records from behind the Iron Curtain before we knew that communism would fall. There are costs for the documents, the postage, the translators. There's travel from one state to another to look up records that are obscure but offer your only hope of finding the next generation. You've got telephone calls, processing charges for films at the LDS family history centers, and the occasional trip home to sweet talk Grandma into giving up more information that she forgot she ever knew.

Be smart, don't look at the price tag, look at the result. Take it slowly. The beauty of researching dead people is that they patiently stay put for us until we find them. You might find some free websites that are helpful, but they only point you in the right direction. Take nothing that they post as literal truth until you find the documents that prove their veracity.

In the meantime, trek down to your local library and start by using their resources...those really are free...and more comprehensive than you'll ever know.