All guides
82 guides in three sections: foundations, investing and earning more. Where the rules differ, a guide covers the US and Germany separately; switch region in the top bar.
Start hereBudgeting MethodsFour budgeting systems, from 50/30/20 to zero-based budgeting. The useful question is not which one is best, but which one survives a difficult month.Showing 82 guides
Foundations
Emergency fund
Three to six months of essential costs, kept in cash. How to size the fund and what belongs outside it.
7 minFoundations
Net worth tracking
Assets minus debts gives one number to check each month. Here is what to include and what to leave out.
6 minInvesting
Compound Interest
Returns earning returns change the shape of long-term saving. A worked example shows why the final years do most of the work.
6 minInvesting
Stock market basics
What a share is, where stocks trade, and why costs usually matter more than stock picking.
6 minInvesting
Index fund investing
One fund can hold a whole market. This covers weighting, diversification, cost and the risks that remain.
6 minInvesting
ETFs and Mutual Funds
Same index, two wrappers. The real ETF advantage is tax in a taxable US account; the big money question is index versus active.
7 minInvesting
Dollar-cost averaging
Investing a fixed amount on a fixed schedule removes the timing decision. The tradeoff is cash drag while the money waits.
6 minPremiumInvesting
Asset allocation
How much stock, bond and cash exposure fits your timeline, obligations and tolerance for losses.
6 minMembersInvesting
Target-date funds
One fund that changes its stock-and-bond mix over time. What the glide path does, what it costs and when it is enough.
5 min401(k) basics
Contribution limits, employer matches, tax treatment and the order in which to use the plan.
8 minPremiumInvesting
Traditional IRA or Roth IRA
The choice is mostly about when you pay tax. Compare income limits, deductions, withdrawals and required minimum distributions.
6 minMembersPremiumFoundations
Financial independence number
Multiply annual spending by 25 for a rough target, then test the assumptions before treating it as a plan.
7 minMembersPremiumInvesting
The 4% rule
A 4% first-year withdrawal, adjusted for inflation, is a planning benchmark rather than a guarantee. Here is where it breaks.
6 minMembersPremiumFoundations
Negotiating your salary
A higher base pay changes future raises, bonuses and retirement contributions. Prepare the number and the case before the meeting.
8 minMembersFinding your market rate with real salary data
Four hours of salary research can be worth 48,000 € over a decade. The four data sources, their biases, and how to turn them into a number.
7 minMembersPremiumEarning more
Setting a freelance rate so the work actually pays
A 62,50 € hourly rate can leave you earning what an employee earns, minus the protections. How to calculate a rate that actually pays.
7 minMembersEarning more
Side hustles
A comparison of service work, selling and audience-based income by startup cost, pay rate and time required.
8 minAsset location: which investment belongs in which account
The same bond fund is worth $9,859 more in a Roth than in a taxable account. Which asset belongs in which wrapper, and why it pays.
7 minMembersPremiumFoundations
Automation and Systems
Standing orders beat willpower. Which transfers to automate on payday, in what order, and the few decisions that should stay manual.
5 minMembersInvesting
Behavioral Finance
Loss aversion, recency and overconfidence cost investors more than fees do. The biases that show up in real portfolios, and the rules that blunt them.
8 minPremiumInvesting
Bond Investing
A bond is a loan with a fixed schedule. How yield, duration and credit risk work, and what bonds are actually for in a normal portfolio.
9 minMembersFoundations
Book Recommendations Finance
A short, opinionated reading list, sorted by where you are: getting out of debt, starting to invest, or planning the long run.
7 minEarning more
Career Growth on a Median Income
Saving 20% of a bigger salary compounds faster than any fund choice. The career moves that raise pay without a second job.
6 minCommon Financial Mistakes
The expensive mistakes rarely look like mistakes at the time: the bank-sold fund, the car loan, the unused match. What each one costs, in numbers.
5 min