Insurance, investing, saving, budgeting, retirement and credit for a US audience — every figure dated, every source named.
A healthy 35-year-old buys $500,000 of coverage for about a dollar a day. In a county where the people left behind would be paying a $950,000 mortgage or $3,000 rent, most San Diego families need two or three times that,…
You are not trying to beat the market. You are trying to own it cheaply, keep California's tax on distributions low, and not interrupt it.
A quarter of San Diego's workforce has a pension with its own rules, the rest has a 401(k) or nothing, and California taxes every pre-tax withdrawal.…
A $20,000 emergency fund earns about $800 a year at today's rates and about $2 at a branch bank. For San Diegans in the 9.3% state…
The employer match pays 50% on the day. A credit card paid off pays 24%, guaranteed. A 2.75% mortgage prepaid pays 2.75%. The dollars have to…
In San Diego's price range, 40 points of credit score is worth a used car over the life of a mortgage. California's rules on screening fees,…
A $75,000 San Diegan keeps about 77% of pay before premiums. The rest is five separate taxes, each with a form, and the state's rules on…
Rules of thumb get you to the right order of magnitude. The survivors' actual San Diego budget gets you to the right number, and for most…
Same index, same stocks, same return. The wrapper decides how you buy, what you pay to trade, and whether California sends you a tax bill in…
California taxes retirement withdrawals at up to 9.3% or more. The Roth IRA is the one account that never pays it, whether you retire in Point…
Rent is the biggest line in any San Diego emergency, and the local economy cuts staff in waves. The fund has to be bigger here, and…
Half of a $75,000 San Diegan's take-home pay is $2,400, which is the median rent before a single bill. The rule still works here, as long…