Money Explained

Most people use whatever bank account they opened when they first needed one — their parents’ bank, the one with a branch on campus, the … Read more

A credit score is a three-digit number between 300 and 850 that represents your creditworthiness — how likely you are, based on your history, to … Read more

A 401k is a retirement savings account offered through an employer that provides significant tax advantages and, in many cases, free matching contributions from your … Read more

Diversification is one of the few genuinely free lunches in investing. By spreading investments across multiple assets that do not all move in the same … Read more

Net worth is the single most useful number in personal finance. Not your income, not your savings balance, not your credit score — your net … Read more

A Health Savings Account is one of the most tax-efficient accounts available in the US financial system, and it is consistently underused by the people … Read more

A Roth IRA is a retirement savings account with a specific and powerful tax structure: you contribute money you have already paid income tax on, … Read more

An emergency fund is cash held specifically to cover unexpected expenses — a job loss, a medical bill, a car breakdown, a home repair — … Read more

Index funds are one of the most important financial innovations of the last 50 years, and most people who own them do not fully understand … Read more

Paying less tax on your investments is not a loophole or a trick reserved for the wealthy. It is the predictable result of using the … Read more