Personal Finance
Split-Year Backdoor Roth IRA in FreeTaxUSA, Year 2
[Updated on January 30, 2025 with screenshots from FreeTaxUSA for the 2024 tax year.] The previous post Split-Year Backdoor Roth IRA in FreeTaxUSA, Year 1 dealt with contributing to a Traditional IRA for the previous year and recharacterizing a previous year’s Roth IRA contribution as a Traditional IRA contribution. This post handles the conversion part in FreeTaxUSA. If […]
25+ Best Personal Finance Apps in 2025
There’s no shortage of programs designed to help you save and grow your hard-earned dollars. They include budgeting systems and financial education apps, lightweight money management apps, and apps that instantly find better prices on planned purchases. But it can be hard to make sense of the ever-expanding universe of money-saving apps on the market […]
All of the Tax Software Discounts & Promo Codes for 2025
This one’s for everyone looking for online tax software discount to help cut their tax filing costs. As you’re probably aware, the federal tax deadline is fast approaching (Tuesday, April 15, 2025). Unless you are filing an IRS tax extension or your income level does meet the threshold for filing taxes, you’ll need to submit […]
Your Money and Your Health
Health is similar to finances in that there are many overly-complex things people say you need to do, but there are just a few simple things that actually matter. What is the “spend less than you earn, invest in a diversified/low-fee portfolio, and leave it to grow/compound” of the health world? That’s what today’s post is […]
President Trump and the future of stock returns
Since last Wednesday, depending on your political leanings, you have been celebrating or in mourning. Or maybe you greeted the news with indifference. Now, as the dust settles, you might be wondering what this all means for your portfolio. Love him or loathe him, Mr. Trump is a disruptive force and Mr. Market hates […]
$656,000 of Frugal Things I Still Love Doing
– “I used to read Mr. Money Mustache”, some people say these days, “Until he got all rich and fancy so that he no longer understands the common person’s plight. Stash probably doesn’t even practice any of these money-saving things he preaches any more!” When I read things like this, I can’t help but laugh. […]
Protect Your Brokerage Accounts From ACATS Transfer Fraud
When you transfer investments in a brokerage account from one broker to another, it goes by a system called ACATS, which stands for Automated Customer Account Transfer Service. Some people call it ACAT. I’m going with the official name ACATS. ACATS transfers keep the holdings intact and don’t trigger taxes. I used ACATS when I […]
10 Best Budgeting Apps of May 2025: Money Crashers
Budgeting can be stressful when you handle everything manually, but with the help of the best budgeting apps, you can get back on track without all the work. Budgeting apps can automatically track your income and expenses, monitor your net worth, and help you make important financial decisions that help you reach your goals. There […]
$40 Cash Back (Through May 12)
Update: the limited-time $40 Rakuten referral welcome bonus detailed below is active for new users that sign up using our Rakuten referral link by May 12 and make $40+ in new purchases within 90 days. It bests the $30 Rakuten welcome bonus and a Rakuten cash back boost referral bonus that were previously available. A […]
The Best Advice from JL Collins
To celebrate the release of JL Collins’ new book, Pathfinders, I collected all the best advice from his Financial Independence Podcast interviews! JL has been on the show three times: First, back in 2012 (he was my second guest ever!) Second, when his hit book, The Simple Path to Wealth, was released Third, during the […]