RetirementGuide
How Much to Save for Retirement Based on Your Actual Income
The fifteen percent rule fits some incomes and fails others. How to size your savings rate from your target, your start date and Social Security.
7 min read
The library
33 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
InvestingGuide
How to Start Investing When You Are Starting From Zero
Starting to invest is four decisions: which account, which fund, how much and how often. The order that avoids the usual mistakes from the first deposit.
11 min read
Housing & Renting
Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Early or Invest Instead
Prepaying a mortgage earns its rate with no risk and ties the money up. How the rate, taxes and liquidity decide where each spare dollar goes.
7 min read
Money Foundations
What a Financial Adviser Costs and How Advisory Fees Work
A one percent advisory fee looks small but compounds heavily over time. How percentage assets, flat fees and hourly rates compare across thirty years.
6 min read
Money FoundationsGuide
How to Check a Financial Adviser Before Handing Over Cash
Two free public databases show an adviser registrations and disciplinary record. How to search them, read Form ADV and ask the five key fiduciary questions.
6 min read
Money Foundations
Compound Interest Explained With Real Dollars and Examples
Compound interest is returns earning returns over extended time. Learn how exponential growth creates wealth in savings and compounds destructively on debt.
6 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
Editor's pick
Housing & RentingGuide
Rent vs Buy and the Assumptions Every Calculator Hides
Every rent versus buy answer rests on five assumptions most calculators bury. What they are, how each tips the result and the ratio that frames it first.
11 min read
Taxes
Year End Tax Moves Ranked by What Each One Saves You
Eleven year-end tax moves ranked by actual dollar savings. Here is which actions expire on December 31 and which can wait until the April tax filing deadline.
4 min read
Money Tools
The Expense Ratio Calculator That Shows Thirty Years of Fees
A small 0.85% expense ratio looks harmless on a fund prospectus. Over thirty years of investing, that fraction of a percent costs over $100,000 in lost wealth.
4 min read
Insurance
Term vs Whole Life Insurance and the Math Behind Each One
Whole life bundles insurance with an investment at six to ten times the cost. Unbundled, the same money buys far more protection and builds real wealth.
5 min read
Student Loans
Should You Pay Off Student Loans Early?
Federal student loans carry valuable safety nets that private refinancing destroys permanently. Here is how to weigh interest rates against option value and investing returns.
7 min read
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