Editor's pick
RetirementGuide
The 4% Rule, Examined
The 4% rule originated in a 1994 historical study of 30-year retirements. Here is what it actually proved, what critics get right, and how dynamic guardrails work.
8 min read
The library
31 plain-English reads on budgeting, saving, investing, debt, credit and taxes. Newest first unless you say otherwise.
EverythingBudgetingSavingInvestingDebt PayoffBankingCreditTaxesRetirementCollege SavingsPassive IncomeMoney FoundationsEveryday SpendingInsuranceSocial Security & MedicareHousing & RentingStudent LoansMoney MindsetSide IncomeCareer & SalaryFinancial IndependenceEstate PlanningFamily FinancesLife EventsSmall BusinessFraud & Consumer ProtectionHealthcare CostsTravel & RewardsCars & TransportInflation & the EconomyMoney ToolsGiving
Retirement
Catch-Up Contributions After 50
Catch-up rules allow extra retirement contributions from the year you turn 50, with a higher tier for ages 60 to 63. Here are the 2026 limits and contribution order.
6 min read
College Savings
How Much to Actually Save for College
Full funding is not the default. A newborn example compares 25%, 50% and 100% targets, then prices the retirement trade-off.
4 min read
TaxesGuide
The HSA Triple Tax Advantage
Deductible going in, untaxed while invested and untaxed for qualified medical costs, with a 2026 limit and an eligibility test people skip.
5 min read
Taxes
The Saver's Credit Almost Nobody Claims
A 2026 credit worth up to $1,000 for retirement saving you were already doing, with income cliffs that can make $300 of earnings cost $600.
4 min read
College Savings
529 to Roth IRA Rollovers
The 2026 IRA limit is $7,500 for under-50s, but a 529 rollover also faces a $35,000 lifetime cap, ageing rules and available contribution room.
5 min read
College Savings
What If Your Child Does Not Go to College?
On a $42,000 529 with $12,000 of earnings, the extra 10% federal tax is $1,200, not $4,200. Compare six routes for unused money.
5 min read
Editor's pick
Saving
How Much Should You Have Saved by 30, 40 and 50?
The salary-multiple rules assume a career shape most people do not have. Here they are anyway, beside what people at each age actually hold.
6 min read
RetirementGuide
What to Do With an Old 401(k)
Four options, and the default of leaving it is rarely the best one. The fee comparison that decides it, and the rollover mistake that triggers a tax bill.
6 min read
Investing
Asset Allocation by Age: The Table and Its Limits
"110 minus your age" is a starting point that ignores the two things that actually matter: when you need the money, and what you did last time it fell 30%.
6 min read
RetirementGuide
Roth or Traditional: The Decision Rule
It is one comparison: your marginal rate now against your expected rate in retirement. Everything else is a tiebreak, and at equal rates the two are identical to the dollar.
7 min read
Retirement
The 401(k) True-Up: How Front-Loading Costs You Match
Most employers match per pay period. Hit the annual limit in September and you get no match for the rest of the year, unless your plan has a provision most people have never heard of.
6 min read
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