Topic
Budgeting
Budgeting doesn't have to mean tracking every coffee. It means knowing your savings rate, understanding where the big leaks are, and making intentional trade-offs instead of wondering where the money went. These posts cover savings rate as the lever that actually moves your FIRE timeline, the budgeting approaches that work for variable income, and which apps are worth using versus which ones you'll abandon in month two.
12 articles in this topic.
Featured posts
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Term Life and Disability Insurance
Your ability to earn is your biggest asset, and it's probably uninsured. What disability and term life you actually need, and the whole-life pitch to decline.
9 min read -
Mortgage Payoff vs Investing
Extra principal or invest the difference? Compare your mortgage rate to your after-tax return first, then let liquidity, taxes, and psychology break the tie.
9 min read -
HDHP vs PPO: Open Enrollment Math
Open enrollment math most people skip: comparing HDHP and PPO by worst-case totals, not premiums. The four numbers that decide it, and the HSA swing factor.
10 min read -
The Layoff Money Playbook
The first two weeks after a layoff decide the financial outcome. Severance, RSUs, options, COBRA, unemployment, and the 401k moves to make before you sign.
11 min read -
Where to Park Cash
Cash sitting in a big-bank checking account earning near nothing is the most common, most fixable money leak for high earners. Here's where it should go.
11 min read -
Rent vs Buy: The Actual Math
Renting isn't throwing money away. Most of an early mortgage payment is interest, which is money you never get back either. Here is the real rent-vs-buy math.
9 min read
All Budgeting articles
- Term Life and Disability Insurance
- Mortgage Payoff vs Investing
- HDHP vs PPO: Open Enrollment Math
- The Layoff Money Playbook
- Where to Park Cash
- Rent vs Buy: The Actual Math
- Emergency Fund: How Much Is Enough?
- Financial Order of Operations
- Monarch Money: The Best Mint Replacement?
- YNAB Review: Is $109/Year Worth It?
- The Budget That Doesn't Feel Like a Budget
- Savings Rate: The Only Lever That Matters