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
Tag
Comparison
44 posts
Budgeting
Weekly vs Monthly Budgeting
Bills arrive monthly. Spending happens weekly. Running one cadence for both is the mismatch behind most mid-month overspending, and the fix is a hybrid.
5 min read
Banking
Credit Union vs Bank
A credit union is owned by its members, which changes where the profit goes. What that is worth in a year, and where a bank genuinely wins.
6 min read
Investing
Rebalancing: How Often Is Enough?
Once a year, or when a holding drifts five points from target. More often costs tax and attention, and buys almost nothing over thirty years.
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
Budgeting
Envelopes and Cash Stuffing: What the Method Is Actually Doing
The method works, and not for the reason its advocates give. Understanding the actual mechanism tells you which categories to use it on and which to leave alone.
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
Editor's pick
BankingGuide
High-Yield Savings vs CDs vs Money Market
Three accounts, one question: how soon do you need it, and what does waiting pay? On $20,000 the spread between the best and worst place to put it is $774 a year.
7 min read
Credit
Hard vs Soft Credit Inquiries
A soft pull never touches your score. A hard pull costs most people under five points for a few months, and three mortgage applications in one fortnight count as one.
6 min read
Credit
Should You Close an Old Credit Card?
Closing it raises your utilisation the same day and shortens your average account age much later. Usually keep it. Here are the three cases where closing is the right call anyway.
7 min read