Money

Earn more, keep more, and stop making the expensive mistakes nobody warned you about.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

Do's & Don'ts: At Work

← Newer articlesPage 2 of 198

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

The second income is smaller than the paycheck says

Before one parent comes home, do the subtraction that tells you what that job is actually adding to your family.

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

The phone call that empties a family's savings

It starts polite, it starts urgent, and it ends with somebody at a Walgreens buying $500 gift cards. The defense takes four minutes.

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

Ask it

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

The side income tax bill nobody sets money aside for

You cleared $11,000 detailing cars on Saturdays. Roughly a third of it was never yours. Do the arithmetic now, not in April.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

PartnerShirts.com

6 min read

Retirement accounts and the one question that sorts them

401(k), IRA, Roth, HSA, SEP. Strip the alphabet soup and it comes down to who taxes the money and when.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

$The rent versus buy math nobody runs before they sign$

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

The rent versus buy math nobody runs before they sign

A $350,000 house, an $1,850 rent, and five years of arithmetic that doesn't flatter either side.

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

Negotiate your raise with a page of evidence, not nerve

Courage doesn't move a budget line. A one-page file with numbers, dates and a market range does, and you can build it in a few evenings.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

The family tax breaks that are worth the paperwork

A credit cuts your bill dollar for dollar. A deduction cuts it by your tax rate. Once you see the difference, the rest of the form gets simpler.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

What each college savings account actually does with your money

529, Coverdell, custodial, Roth, plain brokerage, I bonds. The real differences, the tax math, and which one deserves your first $200 a month.

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

Read the medical bill line by line before you pay a dollar

The first piece of paper the hospital sends you isn't a bill. It's an opening offer, and it's usually wrong in their favor.

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

Ask it

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

Your Beneficiary Form Beats Your Will

Most of what you own won't pass through your will at all, and the paperwork that actually controls it takes twenty minutes to fix.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

When to do your own taxes and when to pay somebody

The test isn't how smart you are. It's whether your return contains judgment calls, and how many Saturdays you're willing to burn finding out.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

Run the monthly money check in forty-five minutes

Same day, same order, same folder. Statements, bills, transfers, goals, plus one annual job you rotate in so nothing ambushes you in March.

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

When your bank closes your account and won't say why

The letter gives you two months and no explanation. What to do in the first week, in the right order, before your direct debits start failing.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 22, 20265 min

How to work out your life insurance number and stop there

The arithmetic takes twenty minutes. The hard part is refusing the upsell that comes after it.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

5 min

An index fund is a list and a machine that buys the list

6 min

Do the arithmetic on your mortgage before you sign

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

Ask it

GuideJosh HalloranSep 22, 20266 min

Giving when the month is already tight

Pick the number on a calm day, write down the order of operations, and decide in advance what you'll do when the car breaks.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

PartnerCancerDefying.com

6 min read

Teach your kids money before an app does it for you

Your children are learning about money right now, from you or from a screen. A practical plan by age, with the arithmetic written out.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

Older articles

Older Money stories