Resources
Guides that explain how a calculator works and the concept behind it, plus visual resources that make one idea click. Every figure comes from the same tested engine as the calculators, so the explanations and the tools always agree.
39 resources and growing.
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Visual Resources
One chart, one idea. The fastest way to make a concept click.
Visual The Power of $100 A single 100 dollar investment can grow to more than 9,000 dollars by age 65, or barely move, and the deciding factor is when you invest it. Visual The Cost of Waiting to Invest Invest the same 200 dollars a month but start at different ages. Waiting is not neutral. Each year of delay quietly removes the most powerful years of growth. Visual Where Your Mortgage Payment Goes Your mortgage payment is the same every month, but where it goes is not. For years it is mostly interest, and this chart shows exactly when that flips. Visual What $1 Million Actually Means A million dollars is not an income, it is a source of one. At a 4 percent withdrawal rate it supports about 40,000 dollars a year, and the rate matters more than the headline. Visual The Power of Your Savings Rate The percentage of your income you invest may be the single biggest lever on your future, larger than picking the perfect fund. This shows how much it moves the end result. Visual The Real Cost of a Daily Habit A few dollars a day feels like nothing. Invested instead of spent, that same small habit can grow into a six-figure sum over a working life. Visual Where Your Paycheck Actually Goes The salary you are offered is not the money you keep. This splits a paycheck into take-home, federal income tax, and FICA so you can see what actually lands in your account. Visual What Inflation Quietly Takes A portfolio can look like it grew enormously while its real buying power grew far less. This shows the gap between the number on paper and what it can actually buy. Visual What a 1% Fee Really Costs One percent a year sounds like nothing. Over decades it can quietly swallow a six-figure share of the same portfolio, and this chart shows how much. Visual Rent-to-Price Across the Market The 1 percent rule is the fastest screen in rental investing. This chart shows which prices clear the bar for a given rent, and how fast it slips away. Visual Stocks vs Bonds by Age A simple rule of thumb sets your stock share to a base number minus your age. Slide through the ages to watch the mix shift toward safety over time. Visual The Real Cost of Raising a Child The yearly cost of a child is manageable. The 18-year running total is a shock, and this chart shows it climbing year by year as prices rise. Visual Take-Home Pay Across the States The same salary is worth thousands more or less depending on where you live. This chart lines up the take-home across states, side by side. Visual How Social Security Gets Taxed Whether your Social Security is taxed, and how much, depends entirely on your other income. This chart shows the taxable portion climbing.
Guides
Plain-English explainers for the concept behind each calculator, with worked examples.
Guide The Compound Interest Guide Compound interest is growth earning its own growth. This guide shows exactly how it works, with a worked example you can reproduce in the calculator. Guide The Retirement Planning Guide A retirement number is just compound growth plus honest assumptions. This guide shows how the projection is built and where it quietly goes wrong. Guide The Mortgage Guide A mortgage is a long story about interest. This guide shows how amortization works, what your payment really covers, and how much the loan actually costs. Guide Traditional vs Roth 401(k) The choice comes down to one question. Is your tax rate higher now or in retirement? This guide shows why, with a worked example. Guide The RSU Tax Guide RSUs are taxed as ordinary income the day they vest, and the default withholding often is not enough. This guide shows the gap before it surprises you. Guide The Rent vs Buy Guide Renting is not throwing money away, and buying is not automatically building wealth. The honest comparison is which path leaves you with more, all costs counted. Guide The Roth Conversion Guide A Roth conversion moves money from pre-tax to tax-free by paying the tax now. Whether that is smart comes down to your tax rate today against your rate later. Guide The Backdoor Roth Guide A backdoor Roth lets high earners fund a Roth IRA through the side door. The catch is the pro-rata rule, which can tax a conversion you thought was tax-free. Guide The Capital Gains Tax Guide Holding an investment for a year can cut the tax on your gain roughly in half. This guide shows why, plus the surtax that catches higher earners. Guide The Federal Income Tax Guide A raise does not push all your income into a higher bracket. This guide shows how the brackets really stack, and why your effective rate is lower than you think. Guide The Social Security Timing Guide Claiming Social Security early shrinks every check for life. Waiting grows it. The right choice turns on how long you expect the checks to keep coming. Guide Pension vs Lump Sum A monthly pension and a one-time lump sum are hard to compare until you put them in the same units. Present value is how you do it. Guide Debt Snowball vs Avalanche The avalanche saves the most interest. The snowball builds the most momentum. The best method is the one you will actually stick with. Guide The Mega Backdoor Roth Guide If your 401(k) plan allows it, the mega backdoor Roth can move far more into a Roth each year than any other route. The catch is the plan features it requires. Guide The ISO and AMT Guide Exercising incentive stock options can create a tax on a gain you have not cashed in. That surprise is the alternative minimum tax, and it is worth planning around. Guide The ESPP Guide An employee stock purchase plan often advertises a 15 percent discount, but with a lookback the real return can be far larger. This guide shows why, and the tax that follows. Guide The Real Estate Investing Guide A rental only works if the numbers work. Here is how to read a deal the way investors do, from net operating income to cash-on-cash return. Guide The Fix and Flip Guide Flipping lives and dies on the buy price. Here is how the 70% rule protects your margin and which costs quietly eat a flipper profit. Guide The Self-Employed Retirement Guide Being your own boss unlocks the most generous retirement accounts in the tax code. Here is how to save the most and cut your tax bill. Guide The Insurance Decisions Guide Insurance is sold, not bought, which is why so much of it is the wrong kind. Here is how to see through the pitch on life insurance and health accounts. Guide The Paycheck and State Tax Guide The same salary is worth thousands more or less depending on the state. Here is what comes out of your paycheck and how to compare across the map. Guide The Self-Employed Business Owner Guide Working for yourself unlocks deductions and tax structures employees never see. Here is how to keep more of what you earn. Guide The Social Security and Early Withdrawals Guide Getting money out of retirement accounts, and Social Security, without overpaying tax takes planning. Here are the rules that decide the bill. Guide The Real Estate Tax Guide Real estate is one of the most tax-advantaged assets there is. Here is how investors use depreciation, exchanges, and structure to keep more. Guide The Family Tax Credits Guide Raising kids is expensive, and the tax code offsets part of it. Here is how the Child Tax Credit and childcare breaks work, and how to choose.