Being financially literate is one of those skills you need to ;earn before your adulthood and the earlier, the better. Many young people enter college or workplaces without completely understanding saving, budgeting, or other essential financial lessons and concepts, making them vulnerable to challenges and crises later in future. Whether you’re starting college, looking to […]

Fall is one of the coziest, most colorful seasons of the year and it also happens to be my most favorite time of year! It’s also the perfect time to slow down and enjoy quality moments with your loved ones. And you know what the best part is? You don’t need to spend a lot to make it special. With a little creativity, these frugal fall activities for families will help you celebrate the season’s magic without […]

Spending money has become the norm. Everywhere you look, there’s another ad telling you what you need to buy. It’s not easy to pay off debt and save money for travel when we’re constantly being told to “buy this, buy that,” and that if we don’t, we won’t be happy. Back when I was working… Read More The post I Stopped Buying These Everyday Things and Saved Over $5,000 appeared first on FinSavvy Panda.

Before the article, check out the latest on my podcast, Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors: On Apple Podcasts On Spotify On YouTube Now, here’s today’s article: Niki wrote in and asked: For the last several years, I’ve been able to save $80,000 pretax dollars (401k) per year as a business owner. But now I’m worried my pre-tax bucket is getting too large. I might have opportunities for Roth conversions later, but I’m wondering if it would be worthwhile to pay some tax now and save some of that money in a brokerage account. Because brokerage accounts are taxed at capital gains rates, doesn’t it make more sense? There’s some complicated math here that I may not be seeing, so any insight into this would be helpful!  This is an interesting and common question. 401(k) accounts are ubiquitous. Between their large annual maximums, employer-matches, and the past ~15 years of bull market stock growth, it’s common to see large 401k balances. But is there such a thing as “too big” a pre-tax bucket? Definitely. Let’s dig into the details. Fixing the Premise First, I want to clarify part of Niki’s question. She wrote: “Because brokerage accounts are taxed at capital gains rates, doesn’t it make more sense?” The money going into a brokerage account is first taxed as income. Then, any growth in the account will then be taxed at capital gains rates. And any dividends and interest along the way are also taxed on an annual basis (some as income, some at capital gains rates). There are three possible layers of tax. All else equal, you will pay more tax on the dollars in a taxable brokerage account than on the dollars in qualified accounts (401k, IRA, etc). The article below shares some similar comparisons. It’s difficult to conceive a scenario where a taxable brokerage has better tax outcomes than a qualified account: Should I Use My 401(k) Without a Match? But It Still Might Be Worth It Sure, it’s unlikely the taxable brokerage will ever provide better tax advantages. That’s ok.  Taxable brokerage accounts offer the critical, hard-to-quantify benefits of flexibility and liquidity.  I think it’s fine to sacrifice some tax advantage as a trade-off for more flexibility. One reasonable example:  Niki is currently contributing $80K per year into her Solo 401k. Perhaps she could dial that down, choosing to “only” contribute $50K per year into the Solo 401k. The other $30K goes to Niki as income. Of that, ~$8K will be paid as income tax. Niki could take the remaining $22K and invest it in a taxable brokerage.  She’s still saving a lot of money, though not quite as much as before. But now, approximately 1/3 of her savings are flexible and liquid. One problem, though? I’ve been totally subjective so far. Why’d we split $80K into 50K + 30K (minus taxes)? Can we be a bit more rigorous and objective here?

Welcome To Bankeronwheels.com This article is FREE — but only for humans. We don’t train future AI overlords 🤖🚫 👉 Log in or register (it’s fast & free): Continue with FacebookContinue with GoogleContinue with X .mh-wrapper{ padding;0px; } .nsl-button{ display: none !important; } .custom-social-buttons { display: flex; justify-content: center; gap: 15px; } .custom-button { padding: 6px 20px; border-radius: 10px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 40px; border: 1px solid #ddd; } .custom-google-button { display:flex; background-color: #ffffff; color: #db4437; align-items: center; justify-content: center; } .custom-social-buttons .custom-button { border-radius: 8px; transition: background-color 0.3s ease, transform 0.3s ease; transition-delay: 0.1s; /* Adds a slight delay before the hover effect starts */ } .custom-facebook-button { display:flex; color: #ffffff; align-items: center; justify-content: center; } .custom-twitter-button { display:flex; color: #ffffff; align-items: center; justify-content: center; } .custom-google-button:hover { background-color: #D93F2B; transform: scale(1.05); /* Adds a subtle zoom effect */ } .custom-facebook-button:hover { background-color: #365899; transform: scale(1.05); } .custom-twitter-button:hover { background-color: black; transform: scale(1.05); } .custom-button:hover svg path { fill: #FFFFFF; transition: fill 0.3s ease; transition-delay: 0.15s; /* Icon color change happens slightly after the background */ } .mepr-share-button:hover{ background-color: #bd3d59!important; } jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $(“.custom-google-button”).on(“click”, function() { var $googleButton = $(“.nsl-button.nsl-button-default.nsl-button-google”); if ($googleButton.length) { $googleButton.trigger(“click”); } else { console.error(“Google login button not found.”); } }); $(“.custom-facebook-button”).on(“click”, function() { var $facebookButton = $(“.nsl-button.nsl-button-default.nsl-button-facebook”); if ($facebookButton.length) { $facebookButton.trigger(“click”); } else { console.error(“Facebook login button not found.”); } }); $(“.custom-twitter-button”).on(“click”, function() { var $twitterButton = $(“.nsl-button.nsl-button-default.nsl-button-twitter”); if ($twitterButton.length) { $twitterButton.trigger(“click”); } else { console.error(“Twitter login button not found.”); } }); }); OR

Penny for your thoughts? Not if you’re learning how to live frugally! Frugal people don’t just pinch pennies. They put them through bootcamp! I’m amazed how they save without giving up their lifestyle. Lucky for us, I know the secret, and it isn’t abstaining from your spending habits! It all boils down to spending wisely…. Read More The post 20 Things Frugal People Never Spend Money On appeared first on FinSavvy Panda.

Here’s a list of 50 frugal fall recipes that are budget-friendly and perfect for enjoying the season. I have tried to find recipes that are close to what I make at home. I have only included recipes my family would actually eat. I am not a recipe blogger and usually adjust all recipes for what … Read More about 50 Frugal Fall Recipe Ideas The post 50 Frugal Fall Recipe Ideas appeared first on Budgets Made Easy.

Bit late with this one as concurrently working on another post which should be ready soon-ish. Anyway, July was a great month which had me enjoying the sport on TV (Women’s Euros – Get in, England! – and Wimbledon) and … Continue reading → The post July 2025 Savings, plus other updates appeared first on Quietly Saving.