Articles
Your budget can be right and still leave you overdrawn
A budget tells you whether you can afford the month. It does not tell you whether you can afford the 1st day. Why bills and paydays landing in the wrong order causes overdraft fees, and five things that help.
What a Financial Coach Is, and What One Isn't
A coach teaches the mechanics and holds you to the plan. An adviser manages money and recommends products. Which one you need depends on whether you have reached the starting line.
Pay With Points at Checkout: What It Actually Costs
Paying with points at Amazon or PayPal feels like a discount. The covered part of the order never touches your card, so it never earns anything — and the points were worth the same cent either way.
Federal vs. Private Student Loans: What Actually Differs
Subsidized, unsubsidized and private are three different products. A private loan can match an unsubsidized one. It can never match a subsidized one.
Every debt calculator asks a question you can't answer yet
How much can you actually put toward debt each month? Here is how to find the real number from ninety days of bank statements, and the three mistakes that make it wrong.
Goodbye, Mint: What We Tried and Where We Landed
Mint shut down in March 2024. We tried YNAB and EveryDollar before landing on Monarch — the same zero-based budgeting, without categorizing every transaction by hand.
How I Paid Off $85,000 in Student Debt
I graduated owing $84,964.45, most of it private. Here are the seven things that actually moved the number, including the one I'd do differently.
Debt Snowball vs. Avalanche: What the Difference Actually Costs
The avalanche is cheaper and the snowball gets a win sooner. Here is how to find out what that trade is worth for your debts.