Guides
Free financial education, one topic at a time.
Each guide is the full version, with the numbers, the edge cases and the tools. The free 10-day course is the short version, one step a day by email.
Saving and cash
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The Playbook
What to do with extra money after paying your billsThe order that makes each dollar count: cover the basics, get your 401(k) match, pay off credit cards, then build an emergency fund, an IRA and more.
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The Playbook
Your emergency fund: how much to keep and where to keep itNo credit card debt? Start with one month of essentials, then build to three to six months, in an insured savings account at a different bank.
Investing
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The Playbook
The Bogleheads three-fund portfolio: investing with three index fundsHow the Bogleheads three-fund portfolio works, what Warren Buffett's bet against hedge funds showed, what fees cost, and how to pick your stock and bond mix.
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Nobody Told Me
Growth on top of growth, explained with the 401(k) mistake I made right out of collegeHow growth on top of growth works, why your first years of saving count most, and the 401(k) match mistake I made right out of undergrad.
Retirement accounts
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Nobody Told Me
What a 401(k) match is, with real numbersHow a 401(k) match works, in plain words: find where your match stops growing, put in at least that much, and check when it becomes yours.
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Nobody Told Me
Roth vs traditional: pay the tax now or laterRoth or traditional? When you pay the tax on each, a $1,000 example, the 2026 limits, the employer match and taking money out early, in plain English.
Paycheck and benefits
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The Playbook
Your first real paycheck: do these five things in this orderWhy your first paycheck is smaller than you expected, and what to do with it, in order: your pay stub, your bills, your 401(k) match, your credit cards, then savings.
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Nobody Told Me
How raises get decided, and how to find out what your job paysHow raise budgets work, what helps a raise request get approved, and free ways to look up what your job pays where you live.
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The Playbook
A birthday present for future you: your annual money checkupOnce a year, around your birthday, give your money one hour: a simple annual financial checkup of your pay, match, debt, credit, savings and investments.
Credit and debt
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The Playbook
Which debt to pay off firstWhich debt to pay off first: the highest rate, once your minimums and full 401(k) match are covered. A worked example, plus the snowball.
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Nobody Told Me
Credit from zero: how to build a score when nobody can co-signHow to build a credit score from nothing with no co-signer: what the score measures, a one-card setup, how long it takes, and the mistakes that cost the most.
Housing
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The Playbook
West Los Angeles or the Valley? What it costs to give up a low mortgage rateA West LA condo at 3.1% or a bigger house in the Valley: the real payment, Prop 13, fire insurance, the 405, and how not to become house poor.
Family money
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Family Money
Sending money home without sinking your own futureHow to help your family every month and still get your 401(k) match, pay off your cards and save.
