math

Please stop with the “girl math”

Posted by on | Featured

The viral trend of “girl math”, in which women justify purchases that they can’t afford, needs to die, even if it’s in jest. Many of you may remember—or have heard about—the talking Barbie doll that said (among other things), “Math … Read More … Read More

Tags: , , , ,

How much math skills do you need to be good with money?

Posted by on | Featured

Fear or distaste for math doesn’t need to prevent you from being good with money, because you don’t need that much in the way of math skills. … Read More

Tags: , ,

Is it really better to wait to claim Social Security until you turn 70?

Posted by on | Featured

I challenge the conventional wisdom that you should wait until age 70 to claim Social Security benefits in order to get the most out of it. According to US News, the average monthly Social Security benefit as of 2022 is … Read More … Read More

Tags: , ,

How a children’s TV show taught me about compound interest

Posted by on | Featured

I discuss a skit from Square One Television involving a doubling allowance to show how our brains can’t grasp how compound interest works. There are some random things that stick in a kid’s brain. I remember a movie called The … Read More … Read More

Tags: , , ,
Queue ticket

How do you figure out how much money you need in retirement?

Posted by on | Featured

I had a little fun with our fictitious shopping trip on the luxury eBay. While I enjoy toys as much as anyone, I think the desire for ultra-rich luxuries seems less about desire for luxuries and more of a need … Read More … Read More

Tags: ,
72

Why I love the Rule of 72

Posted by on | Featured

WARNING: This post contains math. (But you knew this with a title like that.) How long will it take an investment to double? It’s a good question. And while doubling itself isn’t the most important aspect of an investment, it’s a … Read More … Read More

Tags: , , ,
Plant Spiral

Is there someone at the IRS who’s a math lover?

Posted by on | Featured

WARNING: This post contains math. I love math. You know this. I think math is one of our world’s ways of expressing beauty. To me, there are few things more pleasing to the eye than a elegant mathematical statement. (People … Read More … Read More

Tags: , , , ,
Diving board

How to calculate your true account balance at the end of the month

Posted by on | Featured

WARNING: This post contains math. How much float do you need? Well, optimally you’d have enough float such that you could cover your entire month’s expenses on day 1, just to be safe. But in general you want to have … Read More … Read More

Tags: , ,
15 ball

Why to use the 15% rule for saving for retirement

Posted by on | Featured

WARNING: This post contains math. Last time, when I talked about saving for retirement, I mentioned that I put away at least 15% of my income away in retirement. It occurred to me that some readers may feel like I’ve … Read More … Read More

Tags: ,
Man lying down

Just making sure: Mortgage interest isn’t a reason to hold on to a mortgage

Posted by on | Featured

WARNING: This post contains math. “When you have a mortgage, you get a tax deduction for all the mortgage interest you pay. So you shouldn’t pay down your mortgage early, because you’ll lose the tax deduction.” This is one of the … Read More … Read More

Tags: , , ,