Term Life Insurance: What It Costs and Who Actually Needs It
Term life is the default recommendation for most households with dependants, and the reason is arithmetic: you are buying pure coverage with nothing bolted on.
Mid-career
Whole Life Insurance: How the Cash Value Really Works
Whole life is sold far more often than it is needed. There are genuine uses for it, and most people being pitched one do not have them.
HDHP vs PPO: Which Plan Type Costs You Less?
The HSA is the real argument for a high-deductible plan, and it is a strong one — if you can fund it.
COBRA After Leaving a Job: Cost, Timing and the Alternatives
COBRA keeps your exact plan and your exact doctors. It also hands you the whole premium your employer used to share.
Auto Insurance Coverage: What Each Line on Your Policy Does
State minimum liability limits were set decades ago and have not kept up with the cost of a serious crash.
Homeowners Insurance: Replacement Cost, Exclusions and Getting the Limits Right
The most expensive mistake in a homeowners policy is insuring the market value of the house instead of the cost to rebuild it.
Umbrella Insurance: A Million Dollars of Liability for About $200 a Year
There is no other place in personal finance where a few hundred dollars buys a million dollars of protection.
Disability Insurance: Protecting the Asset That Funds Everything Else
Your ability to earn is the asset every other plan depends on. It is also the one most people leave uninsured.
Index Funds Explained: What You Own and What It Costs
You are not trying to beat the market. You are trying to own it cheaply and not interrupt it.
Target-Date Funds: One Fund That Rebalances Itself
For most people a single low-cost target-date fund beats a portfolio they built and stopped maintaining.