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Every money decision an American faces, in one place.

From your first paycheck to your legacy — budgeting, debt, investing, taxes, insurance, retirement, estate planning. Written in plain English, built on verified 2026 numbers, and personalized to your life: kids or no kids, business owner or employee, single income or many.

9in-depth guides
7interactive calculators
40+official resources linked
2026figures verified

Start where you are

Money advice only works when it fits your life. Pick your stage — or take the 3-minute planner and get a plan built around your exact situation.

🌱

Just starting out (20s)

First job, maybe debt, no clue where to begin. The exact order of operations: emergency fund, 401(k) match, Roth, and killing high-interest debt.

Get my starter plan →
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Building a life (30s–40s)

Marriage, kids, a mortgage, competing goals. How to fund retirement and college, insure two incomes, and write the will.

Get my family plan →
🚀

Peak earning (40s–50s)

Catch-up contributions, college bills, aging parents, maybe a business. Tax-smart moves that matter most in your highest-income years.

Get my peak-years plan →
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Approaching / in retirement (55+)

Social Security timing, Medicare, RMDs, Roth conversions, and making the money last 30 years. The drawdown playbook.

Get my retirement plan →
💼

Self-employed / business owner

Solo 401(k) vs SEP, quarterly taxes, the QBI deduction, and separating business money from family money.

Read the owner’s guide →
👨‍👩‍👧

Multiple incomes, one household

Coordinating two 401(k)s, spousal IRAs, beneficiary planning, and insuring both earners — including the unpaid one.

Get my household plan →

The nine guides

Each one is a complete, plain-English deep dive — key numbers for 2026, step-by-step checklists, FAQs, and links to the official source for everything.

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Money Foundations

Budgeting that sticks, the emergency fund, avalanche vs snowball debt payoff, and building a credit score that saves you thousands.

Read guide →
📈

Investing

Every account explained — 401(k), IRA, Roth, HSA, 529, brokerage — with 2026 contribution limits, asset allocation, and index-fund basics.

Read guide →
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Taxes

2026 brackets, standard vs itemized, Roth vs traditional, capital gains, the SALT cap, and moves that legally lower your bill.

Read guide →
🛡️

Insurance

How much term life you actually need, disability insurance (the most underrated policy), umbrella coverage, and what to skip.

Read guide →
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Retirement

A decade-by-decade playbook, Social Security claiming strategy, Medicare at 65, RMDs, and the order to spend your accounts.

Read guide →
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Estate Planning

Wills, trusts, power of attorney, guardianship for minor kids, beneficiaries, and the $15M estate-tax exemption made permanent.

Read guide →
🎓

Kids & College

529 plans by state, FAFSA changes, the child tax credit, and teaching kids about money without the lectures.

Read guide →
🏢

Business Owners

Solo 401(k) vs SEP IRA vs SIMPLE, entity choice, quarterly estimated taxes, and the 20% QBI deduction.

Read guide →
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Homeownership

Buy vs rent math, mortgage types, down payments, PMI, points, and when refinancing actually pays.

Read guide →

How the personal planner works

Generic advice fails because lives differ. The planner asks about your age, income, family, debts, and goals — then builds a prioritized plan that adapts to your answers.

🎯 A financial health score

See exactly where you stand across emergency savings, debt, retirement progress, savings rate, and protection — and what moves the needle most.

📋 A prioritized action queue

Not a vague list — a numbered sequence with dollar amounts: capture the 401(k) match, kill the 24% card, fund the HSA, open the 529…

🔀 Scenario-aware branches

Kids? You get guardianship, 529s, and life-insurance math. Business owner? Solo 401(k) vs SEP and quarterly taxes. 55+? Catch-ups, Social Security timing, RMDs.

🖨️ Printable & private

Everything runs in your browser — your numbers never leave your device. Print or save the plan as a PDF for your records.

Start the 3-minute planner →

The order of operations

If you learn one thing here, learn this sequence. Do these in order — each step unlocks the next.

  1. Starter emergency fund: $1,000–2,000 in a high-yield savings account, separate from checking.
  2. Capture the 401(k) match: contribute enough to get 100% of your employer's match. It's an instant 50–100% return.
  3. Kill high-interest debt: anything above ~7% (credit cards first), highest rate first.
  4. Full emergency fund: 3–6 months of essential expenses.
  5. HSA (if eligible): the only triple-tax-advantaged account — up to $4,400 single / $8,750 family in 2026.
  6. IRA: $7,500 for 2026 ($8,600 if 50+). Roth if you're early-career or in a low bracket.
  7. Max the 401(k): $24,500 for 2026 ($32,500 if 50+; $35,750 at ages 60–63).
  8. Big goals: 529 for college, extra mortgage principal, then a taxable brokerage account.

Full breakdown with 2026 limits in the Investing guide.

Official sources, not opinions

Every number on this site traces back to a primary source. Start your own verification here.

🏛️ IRS.gov

Tax brackets, contribution limits, deductions, forms, and free filing options.

irs.gov →

👴 SSA.gov

Your earnings record, benefit estimates, and claiming rules at my Social Security.

ssa.gov →

🏥 Medicare.gov

Parts A/B/C/D explained, enrollment windows, and plan comparison tools.

medicare.gov →

📊 Investor.gov

The SEC's free investor education: fraud alerts, fee calculators, advisor background checks.

investor.gov →

See all 40+ official resources →