Simplifying finance for everyone!
Budgeting does not need dozens of categories, a complicated spreadsheet, or an app that makes you account for every cup of coffee. The Simple Finance Budget uses one clear rule: 50% of your take-home pay goes to Needs, 30% goes to Wants, and 20% goes to Savings & Investing. That is the starting point, and … Read more
Gas prices are already hitting household budgets harder. Now borrowing costs are moving in the wrong direction too. On September 16, the Federal Reserve raised its target range for the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage point, to 3.75%–4.00%. If you saw the headline and wondered what the Fed interest rate hike means for your … Read more
Knowing how to avoid financial scams is becoming more important as Americans lose more money to fraud each year. The Federal Trade Commission says consumers reported losing $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025 across 3 million fraud reports, with imposter scams alone generating more than 1 million reports. The scams keep changing. One week it … Read more
The new iPhone is here, and no, you probably do not need one. Apple just announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, starting at $1,199 and $1,299. They bring real improvements, including a new 48MP Fusion Main camera with variable aperture, the A20 Pro chip, and battery-life gains. That still does not … Read more
Sinking funds are a great idea in theory. You know an expense is coming, so instead of waiting for the bill and scrambling to pay it, you save a little money ahead of time. The problem is what happens next. Car repairs get a sinking fund. Holidays get another. Then come home maintenance, annual bills, … Read more
Free checking accounts should do more than avoid a monthly fee. I have personally used every institution in this comparison, including PenFed, Navy Federal, First Tech/DCU, Alliant, Capital One, Ally, Schwab, and Fidelity. Some are still part of my financial system today. Others are accounts I have used in the past. My first recommendation for … Read more
You are not imagining it. Your paycheck used to stretch further. The same grocery order costs more. The same night out costs more. And yet you keep hearing that the economy is doing fine. Here is the piece nobody explains clearly: the economy actually is doing fine, just not for everyone at the same time. … Read more
The Fidelity Rewards Visa is easy to recommend to someone who wants one main card without turning rewards into a hobby. It earns unlimited 2% cash back on eligible purchases when rewards are deposited into an eligible Fidelity account. There is no annual fee, no foreign transaction fee, and no rotating category calendar. Fidelity is … Read more
MVNO family plans can cut a phone bill by hundreds of dollars a year, but the cheapest plan is not always the best value. The better approach is to right-size each line and compare the full 12-month cost. One person may need unlimited data. Another may be fine with a few gigabytes. A backup phone … Read more
Your checking account balance should be large enough to make normal life easy without becoming the place where all your cash piles up. My rule is simple: Aim to keep one full month of your normal expenses in checking. Not one month of income. One month of what you actually spend. If your household normally … Read more