Personal Finance Archives

Why Buy Stocks When T-Bills Pay 5%? Jim Cramer’s Blunt Answer

A caller on the June 29 episode of Mad Money laid out the trade that has been eating at retail investors for two years. “If I can get a guaranteed interest rate of over…

Omor Ibne Ehsan · 2 months ago

A man with a beard and a plaid shirt sits on a beige couch, looking stressed with his hand on his forehead, while a woman with long red hair and a light-colored sweater sits next to him, holding bills and a credit card. A silver laptop is open between them, and papers are scattered. They are focused on the documents, with a window in the background.

Dave Ramsey Is Baffled by a Debt-Free Couple Making $100,000 Who Can’t Save a Dollar: ‘I Just Can’t Fill Up All the $1,000 Holes’

When a debt-free household earning six figures cannot save a dollar, the math should still add up somewhere. On a recent episode of The Ramsey Show, Dave Ramsey could not make it work. After…

Michael Williams · 2 months ago

A large, weathered industrial building with the faded words 'UNION ELECTRIC' on its facade stands prominently beside a concrete wall and a body of water. The building features arched windows on its lower levels, multiple dark, rusty industrial structures on its roof, and a tall white smokestack on the left. The sky is overcast, and the overall scene conveys an established, robust, and historic industrial presence.

Union Electricians Risk Leaving Pension Money on the Table, Here’s the Fix

Union electricians sit on one of the richest retirement stacks in the American workforce: a multiemployer defined-benefit pension, a separate national benefit fund, a defined-contribution annuity, and in many locals a 401(k) on top.…

Michael Williams · 2 months ago

A pink ceramic piggy bank sits on the left. In the center, a roll of U.S. hundred-dollar bills, featuring Benjamin Franklin, is neatly tied with natural twine. To the right, a small rectangular wooden sign reads 'RETIREMENT FUND' in bold white capital letters. All items are placed on a solid dark grey surface.

The Solo 401(k): A Side hustle lets you shelter $70,000+ a year the way big earners do

If you have a side hustle, freelance gig, or 1099 income, you already own the vehicle high earners use to shelter huge chunks of paycheck from the IRS: the Solo 401(k). And in 2026,…

Michael Williams · 2 months ago

A close-up of an older woman with short light brown hair and bright blue eyes, smiling gently. To her left, the words 'RETIREMENT PLAN' are visible on a white notepad. A black scientific calculator is partially visible to her right. She is wearing a blue top.

$200,000 at 65 Triggers $7,547 in Annual Withdrawals. Here’s What That Actually Covers

Roughly $200,000 is the figure that turns up repeatedly when researchers describe what a typical American household has set aside for retirement at age 65. It sits in the middle of the road, a…

David Beren · 2 months ago

A bald man with a gray beard and glasses, wearing a dark suit and light blue shirt, sits in a recording studio. He is speaking into a silver microphone on a stand, with his right hand raised in a gesturing motion. In the background, a TV screen displays 'THE RAMSEY SHOW' in yellow text on a blue background. Acoustic panels are visible on the beige wall behind him, and a sound mixer board is on the desk to his right.

Dave Ramsey Says the ‘Actual Inappropriate One’ Is the Fiancé Who Wants Her to Stop Gifting Her Late Partner’s Family

On a recent episode of The Ramsey Show, Dave Ramsey heard from a woman whose late common-law partner died about four years ago, leaving her roughly $1.6 million through life insurance, a house, savings,…

Michael Williams · 2 months ago

Teachers: The 457(b) Trick That Lets You Double Your Tax-Advantaged Savings

Most retirement articles treat the 457(b) as a footnote. For public school teachers, it is the single most underused lever in the tax code. If your district offers both a 403(b) and a governmental…

Michael Williams · 2 months ago

A person's hands are visible on a wooden desk, one holding a smartphone and the other operating a calculator. An open spiral notebook and a black pen lie next to the calculator. On the right, a yellow piggy bank sits behind ascending stacks of gold coins. A large bright green arrow points upwards and to the right, overlaying the scene, flanked by floating white percentage symbols and small white upward arrows, indicating financial growth. A warm light flare appears near the center of the image.

HYSA vs a CD, and Which One Wins as the Fed Cuts

A high yield savings account and a certificate of deposit both pay you to park cash, but they answer opposite questions. A HYSA keeps your money liquid and its rate floats with the market.…

Austin Smith · 2 months ago

Senior woman sitting at wooden table using laptop, working remotely from home, with an apple and a cup of coffee next to her

Up to 85% of Your Social Security Benefit Could Be Taxable Because of This Flawed Rule

When you pay taxes to earn Social Security benefits in the future, you may not realize you could be taxed on those benefits when you receive them in retirement. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what is…

Christy Bieber · 2 months ago

An older Caucasian man and woman sit together at a wooden table, focused on papers held by the woman. The man, on the left, wears a grey sweater over a blue collared shirt. The woman, on the right, has short white hair and wears a black polka-dot blouse. On the table, a light green mug, an open notebook, and papers displaying colorful bar charts are visible, suggesting financial review.

Your $700,000 401(k) Just Made 85% of Your Social Security Taxable

The combined income thresholds that decide how much of your Social Security check the IRS gets to tax were written into law in 1983 and last adjusted in 1993. They have never been indexed…

David Beren · 2 months ago

Drone View of Tourists Enjoying Los Muertos Beach, Romantic Zone at Sunset in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. Mexico.

Why Americans Are Retiring to a Pacific Beach Town in Mexico at 60 on $2,500 a Month

Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán have become two of Mexico’s most popular retirement destinations for Americans. Lower living costs, warm weather, and established expat communities make a $2,500 monthly budget sound surprisingly realistic. The question…

Drew Wood · 2 months ago

An older woman with gray hair and glasses, wearing a pink sweater, sits at a wooden table with her hand on her forehead, looking distressed. A calculator, a notebook, and a white laptop are on the table in front of her. The background is a brightly lit, blurred interior.

Why 78% is a Number That Should Scare Every Social Security Retiree

Millions of Americans depend on Social Security to help them cover costs in retirement. Anyone who is currently collecting Social Security, or who plans to in the future, has a number they should know:…

Christy Bieber · 2 months ago

A vibrant yellow background with a fan of US one-hundred dollar bills on the left, and a few scattered coins at the bottom. In the center, a white sticky note with "401K" written in bold black text within an oval. To the right, a black marker lies next to a hand-drawn upward-trending line graph on the yellow surface, symbolizing financial growth.

The Average Inherited 401(k) Is $267,900. The 10-Year Rule Will Cost You Thousands in Taxes.

The SECURE Act rewrote how inherited retirement accounts work, and the consequences are now landing on a generation of heirs. For most non-spouse beneficiaries who inherited a 401(k) on or after January 1, 2020,…

David Beren · 2 months ago

Sunset at Badlands National Park in South Dakota

Here’s How You Can Retire to South Dakota at 62 on $900,000 and Pay No Income Tax

South Dakota has become increasingly attractive to retirees for one simple reason: it has no state income tax. Social Security benefits, pensions, IRA withdrawals, and investment income all escape state taxation. The question is…

Drew Wood · 2 months ago

An African American man and woman, both smiling, sitting at a wooden table and looking at documents. The man wears a blue button-up shirt over a white t-shirt and has a pen in his hand, while the woman wears a colorful patterned short-sleeved shirt and holds several white papers. On the table are a pair of eyeglasses and a smartphone. The background shows a modern living space with large windows and plants, suggesting a comfortable home environment.

A 55-Year-Old With $1.4 Million in a 401(k) Can Retire Now Using This Roth Conversion Ladder Strategy

The pre-retiree forum question keeps appearing in different forms: a 54-year-old software engineer with $1.4 million in a 401(k) wants to stop working at 55 and bridge to Social Security at 67 without paying…

Marc Guberti · 2 months ago

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