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
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
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
Social Security & Medicare
What the Social Security Fairness Act Changed for Pensions
WEP and GPO penalties historically slashed benefits for public servants. How statutory reform restores full retirement and spousal checks to pensioners.
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
Social Security & MedicareGuide
How Medicare Works and the Deadlines You Cannot Miss
Four parts, three enrollment windows and penalties that last for life. What each part covers and costs, and the dates that decide whether you pay extra.
11 min read
Social Security & MedicareGuide
When to Claim Social Security and What Waiting Is Worth
Claiming at 62 locks in a permanently smaller check than claiming at 70. How the reduction and the delay credit work, and which household each age suits.
10 min read
Retirement
Retirement Contribution Limits and What Changed This Year
Complete retirement contribution limits for 401k plans, IRAs, and HSAs in one reference table. Learn how to adjust your January payroll deductions smoothly.
5 min read
Editor's pick
Money Foundations
The January Money Checkup in Five Steps That Take an Evening
Five essential personal finance checks to complete every January in ninety minutes. Update tax withholdings, capture 401k matches, and eliminate hidden fee drag.
9 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
Retirement
Roth IRA Income Limits, and What to Do Above Them
Earning above IRS income limits restricts direct Roth IRA contributions. Here are the 2026 phase-out bands, how to execute a backdoor Roth, and how to avoid the pro-rata tax trap.
7 min read
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