The Financial Order of Operations: What to Do With Your Next Dollar
Most money questions are really ordering questions. Get the order right and the individual products matter far less.
Money guides
The order you do things in matters more than the products you pick. These guides cover budgeting, debt, credit and the decisions that keep everything else steady.
The 50/30/20 Budget: A Starting Frame, Not a Rule
Three categories instead of thirty. That is the whole advantage, and it is a large one.
Zero-Based Budgeting: Giving Every Dollar a Job
Income minus allocations equals zero. Not zero in the account — zero unassigned.
Cutting Fixed Costs: Where the Real Savings Are
Fixed costs are decided once and paid every month. That is what makes them worth attacking.
Budgeting on Irregular Income
Turn a variable income into a fixed one by putting a buffer account in between.
Avalanche vs Snowball: Which Debt Payoff Method Wins
One method is mathematically better. The other is the one more people finish.
Credit Scores Explained: What Moves Them and What Does Not
Two factors account for roughly two-thirds of the score. Most of the anxiety attaches to the other third.
Tracking Net Worth: The One Number Worth Watching
Income tells you what came in. Net worth tells you what you kept.
Getting Out of Credit Card Debt
At 23% APR the minimum payment is a repayment schedule designed to last decades.
Balance Transfer Cards: Doing the Arithmetic First
A balance transfer is a deadline, not a solution.
Student Loan Repayment: Choosing a Plan
Refinancing a federal loan privately is a one-way door. Know what is behind it before you walk through.
Building Credit From Scratch
The first six months are the hardest. After that it compounds on its own.
Freezing Your Credit: Free Protection Most People Skip
The most effective anti-fraud step available costs nothing and takes one evening.
What to Do With Your First Real Paycheck
The habits set in the first three months tend to persist for a decade.
Money After Marriage: The Conversations to Have Early
Most financial conflict in marriage is about unspoken assumptions, not about money.
Financial Checklist for a New Baby
A new dependant changes the insurance answer more than the budget answer.