InsuranceGuide
How Much Life Insurance You Need and How to Calculate It
Ten times salary is a slogan. The real number is what your household would need to replace and pay off, minus what it already has.
7 min read
The library
164 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
Housing & RentingGuide
How to Read a Loan Estimate and Compare Mortgage Lenders
Every lender must give you the same three page form within three business days. Where to look to compare two offers, and the lines that hide the price.
7 min read
Social Security & MedicareGuide
Is Social Security Taxable and How Much of It Gets Taxed?
Up to most of your benefit can be taxable, depending on provisional income. The thresholds are not indexed, which is why more retirees cross them each year.
6 min read
Housing & Renting
Fixed Rate vs Adjustable Rate Mortgages and ARM Caps
An adjustable loan starts cheaper and can reset higher. How the index, margin and caps set the worst case, and the holding period where it wins.
7 min read
Social Security & Medicare
The Social Security Earnings Test for Working Retirees
Working while claiming early can pause some checks. They are not lost: the benefit is recalculated upward later, which almost nobody explains.
5 min read
Housing & Renting
Fifteen Year vs Thirty Year Mortgage Costs Compared
The shorter loan saves a lot of interest and locks in a higher payment. When that trade wins, and the middle path that keeps your flexibility.
6 min read
Social Security & Medicare
Social Security Survivor Benefits for Widows and Widowers
A surviving spouse keeps the larger of the two checks, not both. How the survivor amount is set, when it can start and why the higher earner's age matters.
7 min read
Housing & Renting
Mortgage Points and the Break Even Month for Buying Down
A point costs one percent of the loan and buys a lower rate. The break even month says whether it pays, and most buyers move or refinance before it.
6 min read
Social Security & Medicare
Social Security Spousal Benefits and the Half Benefit Rule
A spouse can receive up to half of the other's full benefit, but only once both have filed, and waiting past full retirement age adds nothing to it.
7 min read
Housing & Renting
Private Mortgage Insurance and the Fastest Way to Drop It
Mortgage insurance protects the lender, and federal law says when it must end. The two thresholds, the earlier request and what an appraisal can do.
6 min read
Social Security & MedicareGuide
How Your Social Security Benefit Is Actually Calculated
Your benefit comes from your top thirty five years of indexed earnings run through a formula that favors lower earners. What that means for working longer.
6 min read
Housing & RentingGuide
How Much House Can You Afford Using Your Real Budget
Lenders approve on ratios that ignore childcare, retirement saving and the rest of your life. How to size the payment from your spending plan instead.
7 min read
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