Saving
How to Rebuild Your Emergency Fund After You Have Used It
Using the fund is the fund working. Rebuilding it is a separate plan with its own order, and it should start before the next paycheck lands.
6 min read
The library
20 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 & Renting
The One Percent Home Maintenance Rule Tested Against Costs
The one percent rule fails older houses and overshoots new ones. Learn how property age, major mechanical systems and sinking funds set an accurate budget.
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
Money Foundations
Turning Money Goals Into a Monthly Number You Can Hit Now
A goal without a dated monthly number is just a wish. Calculate exact savings targets, sequence competing priorities and adjust timelines to fit cash flow.
6 min read
Editor's pick
Money FoundationsGuide
The Financial Order of Operations for Every Next Dollar
A disciplined hierarchy for every surplus dollar. From emergency reserves and 401(k) match to eliminating toxic debt and maximizing tax-sheltered accounts.
11 min read
Saving
The 52 Week Savings Challenge and a Version That Works
The standard 52-week challenge saves $1,378 by loading its heaviest deposits into December. Reversing or flattening the schedule fixes the behavioral flaw.
4 min read
Insurance
Raising Your Deductible and When the Lower Premium Pays
Raising your deductible transfers minor risk to your emergency fund in exchange for lower premiums. Here is how to calculate the exact break-even period before adjusting limits.
4 min read
Money Tools
The Emergency Fund Calculator That Sizes Your Own Number
Two inputs determine your cash reserve: essential monthly expenses and income stability. Here is the formula that turns generic advice into an exact dollar target.
4 min read
Banking
Treasury Bills vs a Savings Account
Treasury bill interest is exempt from state income tax, which is worth nothing in Texas and a good deal in California. The comparison, done properly, at three state rates.
5 min read
Banking
CD Ladders, Explained
A ladder buys the longer rate while keeping a rung maturing every year. On the rates available now it earns nothing over a good savings account, and here is the arithmetic that shows when it would.
6 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
Saving
Saving for a House Deposit
The deposit is not the number you need. Closing costs, reserves and a move-in buffer add more than half again to it at 10% down, and that is where buyers get caught.
6 min read
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