Target Date Funds Are a Good Default
Choosing individual investments in a workplace 401k can overwhelm new employees. Target Date Funds provide an automated, professionally managed allocation in…
Net Worth Reading
Overdraft Fees Are an Industry Not an Accident
Bank overdraft fees are frequently presented as accidental charges for administrative convenience. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau data demonstrates tha…
Your 401k Fee Disclosure and How to Read It
Workplace 401k fees are deducted directly from account balances, making them invisible without reviewing annual statements. Federal law mandates full fee tra…
What an Expense Ratio Costs You Over Thirty Years
Fund expense ratios appear minor when reviewing fund prospectuses. Comparing a low-cost index fund against an expensive active mutual fund reveals dramatic c…
What a One Percent Advisor Fee Costs Over Thirty Years
A one percent annual financial advisor fee sounds small on a monthly statement. Compounded over a full career, that single percentage point consumes a massiv…
The Order to Fill Your Accounts In From Match to Taxable
Funding investment accounts in the wrong order costs thousands in unnecessary taxes. A systematic priority waterfall maximizes tax efficiency at every income…
The Self Employment Tax Nobody Budgets For Until It Is Due
New freelancers are often shocked by their first self-employment tax bill. Employees see only half of payroll taxes on payslips, while self-employed individu…
Most People Should Stop Saving Paper Receipts
Hoarding paper receipts in shoeboxes is a financial habit that offers zero benefit for most W-2 taxpayers. Post-TCJA tax law made tracking personal expense r…
Filing Taxes Is Harder in the US Than in Most Rich Countries
Automatically pre-filled returns or manual annual filing: which system would you prefer?
Free Tax Filing Options Most Households Never Use
Millions of taxpayers pay commercial software fees every year for returns that qualify for free filing. Federal tax programs provide zero-cost filing routes …