Deductible Car Loan Interest in the New 2025 Trump Tax Law The 2025 Trump tax law made car loan interest deductible with many strings and only temporarily. See what qualifies and what does not.

Only new purchases, only new cars, only specific cars, with an income limit. No much an incentive when prices are high due to tariffs.

thefinancebuff.com/deductible-c...

Using an Independent Agent for Auto and Home Insurance Using an independent agent for auto and home insurance gives you a different channel for lower premiums. It's worth a try.

I sent a friend to my independent insurance agent. He saved $2,000 a year on homeowners insurance.

thefinancebuff.com/auto-home-in...

Spending Drops in Retirement, but Satisfaction Doesn't: Blanchett The PGIM researcher finds some good news for clients who may need to cut back.

Because a rich life in retirement isn't about spending money! I get huge satisfaction from reading a book on a park bench by the pond under a tree. How do you measure that financially?

> Spending Drops in Retirement, but Satisfaction Doesn't

www.thinkadvisor.com/2025/05/22/s...

Confessions of a Financial Planner: I Bought a House for Three Years | Kindness Financial Planning This is the fourth article in the “Confessions of a Financial Planner” series about how I bought a house for three years.

A buy-or-rent calculator implicitly assumes that homes of equal quality are equally abundant to either rent or buy. I only learned the real world doesn't work like that when I tried to rent.

> Confessions of a Financial Planner: I Bought a House for Three Years

kindnessfp.com/bought-a-hou...

Almost Every Financial Planning Decision Requires Judgment — Oblivious Investor Oblivious Investor

If planning feels difficult, it's usually because you want more certainty than you can ever have. Things become much easier when you stop wanting to "optimize."

> Almost Every Financial Planning Decision Requires Judgment

obliviousinvestor.com/almost-every...

We simply paid capital gains tax, both federal and state, when we moved from the home we had lived in for 20 years. Look at the bright side. The first $500k was tax-free.

asklizweston.com/qa-time-to-m...

What's the Best Withdrawal Strategy in Retirement? The 4% Rule is just the beginning. Here’s how to spend money in retirement without running out.

You will stop asking this question when you gain the superpower after realizing that a rich life in retirement isn't about spending money. Pursuing the five key 'good F words' (Family, Fulfillment, Fitness, Friends, and Fun) doesn't require maximum withdrawals.

ofdollarsanddata.com/whats-the-be...

"ReFire" Instead Of 'Just' Retire: Planning With Purpose For clients who are anxious or uncertain, instead of traditional retirement planning, advisors can use the "ReFire" framework to help plan with purpose.

ReFirement is great, but you don't need an advisor to ReFire. Experimenting with the five key 'good F words' (Family, Fulfillment, Fitness, Friends, and Fun) yourself is a key part of the journey.

www.kitces.com/blog/refirem...

Republicans’ 2025 Proposed Tax Bill: Analyzing Individual Tax Provisions Analysis of Republicans' 2025 proposed tax bill, which lays out specifics for extending (and adding to) the impending sunset of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

Extending the enhanced ACA subsidies isn't included in the bill, which means the 400% Federal Poverty Level cliff will return in 2026, regardless of whether this bill passes the Senate or not.

www.kitces.com/blog/republi...

Taxes are part of the prices you pay for your lifestyle. Being wealthy means you’re less influenced by prices. You prioritize the quality of life over the costs.

> Higher state taxes don't drive away wealthy residents

www.dontmesswithtaxes.com/2025/04/high...

eSIM for International Travel Mobile Data Roaming U.S. phone companies charge exorbitant prices for international mobile data roaming. Buying an eSIM for international travel costs under $10.

Some phone plans charge $12 per day when you use mobile data outside the U.S. I bought an eSIM for less than $2 for my one week international trip.

Why HSAs Aren’t Always Worth The 'Triple Tax Savings' While HSAs offer significant tax advantages, advisors can play a key role in helping clients weigh these benefits against the potentially higher costs of HDHPs.

Whether high deductible health insurance with HSA makes sense should be obvious. If it's borderline, paying an advisor to evaluate these tradeoffs will likely negate all the benenfits there may be.

www.kitces.com/blog/ben-dob...

A Packing List of Apps to Download Before You Travel (Gift Article) Your bags may be ready to go, but do you really have everything you need? Here are some apps that can make your travels smoother, safer and more fun.

I’m surprised it didn’t say anything about getting an eSIM for your phone.Also, you don’t need to buy VPN. Many home WiFi routers have one built in. Check the manual for yours.

Financial institutions want their own power of attorney forms. Choose the ones you’re going to stay with long-term and fill out their forms.

The Ultimate Guide to Fidelity’s Cash Management Account (CMA) - Frugal Professor I’ve used Fidelity’s Cash Management Account (CMA) as my primary “checking,” “savings,” and “cash management account” for over six years. I recommend this setup to my students. I recommend it to my…

Using the CMA as it's designed without any optimization is already quite good. Optimizing it earns an extra 0.25%. If you hold an average balance of $10k throughout the year, you lose $25 by not optimizing. I'll let Fidelity earn that $25.

frugalprofessor.com/the-ultimate...

Best Asset Location for TIPS Ladder: Taxable, Tax-Deferred, or Roth? If you are a DIY investor (or professional financial planner) that is looking to geek out on the intricacies of the tax treatment for holding Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), check o…

I hold a TIPS fund in a Traditional IRA.

PeerStreet Bankruptcy Update (March 2025): Why I Avoid Fractional Real Estate Now My last update on the PeerStreet bankruptcy was about a year and a half ago. PeerStreet marketed high-interest investment loans backed by real estate in $1,000 fractional increments. A few days ago…

Collecting bad debts costs money. You hold the bag when your middleman chooses not to collect bad debts for you.

www.mymoneyblog.com/peerstreet-b...

What happens when knowledge is commoditized? A few short thoughts on where the value accrues in a post-AI world.

Young people have human capital, but human capital isn’t that reliable. What used to be worth a lot can diminish fast.

www.youngmoney.co/p/what-happe...

This is a common misunderstanding. The 5-year clock on each Roth conversion goes away after 59-1/2 as long as you had your _first_ Roth IRA at least 5 years ago.

Sesame Telehealth Visit for $29 with Costco Discount - Frugal Professor Our oldest kid came back from school with a terrible earache today. Given the time of day, it was too late to get into our primary care physician. My wife scheduled an appointment at our local CVS Minute...

Telehealth is a great option when you have something simple.

The Cutthroat Game of Snagging a Pool Chair on Vacation Travelers wake up at 4, work in shifts to secure seating in prime locations without getting on the wrong side of the lounge-chair law

This doesn’t sound like a great vacation to me.

MSN | Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos Your customizable and curated collection of the best in trusted news plus coverage of sports, entertainment, money, weather, travel, health and lifestyle, combined with Outlook/Hotmail, Facebook,…

Tax loss harvesting works best when you make large ongoing investments. The benefits fade when your ongoing investments become small relative to the existing portfolio.

New 10-year TIPS gets real yield of 2.243%, highest for this term in 16 years By David Enna, Tipswatch.com The Treasury’s auction of $20 billion in a new 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Security — CUSIP 91282CML2 — generated a real yield to maturity of…

Long-term TIPS yields are almost double the I Bonds fixed rate now.

Social Security Fairness Act Repeals The WEP And GPO Planning considerations for Social Security Fairness Act, and the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).

Most people aren't affected by WEP or GPO or their repeal. If you were affected, your benefits will increase now. Re-run your claiming strategy with the Open Social Security calculator.

www.kitces.com/blog/social-security-fai...

Spending more during the lifetime will leave a lower ending balance, and vice versa. That's not surprising. If I'm equally happy with spending more or less, does it matter which way I go?

www.morningstar.com/retirement/best-flexible...

US Bank Smartly Visa Review: Good, Bad, and Setup Best Practice US Bank Smartly Visa offers 4% reward on every purchase. See what works well, the downsides, and the best practice to set it up.

4% rewards on every purchase with no annual fee and no special categories to remember or juggle is a game changer.

Help! Ryanair Won’t Send Money to a U.S. Bank Account. We Want What We’re Due for a Delay. After being grounded for 12 hours in Berlin, a mother and daughter were owed both compensation and a rebooked flight. All they got were nonsensical responses from customer service.

Wise can supply a virtual account with a proper IBAN to receive Euros.

One Man’s Attempt to Get a Perfect 850 Credit Score Steve Michell spent five years trying to crack the formula on his credit score. In doing so, he put an exclamation point on America’s growing obsession with the three-digit grade of financial health.

The efforts weren’t productive. Bank of America only reports the score from TransUnion. Seeing a 850 score from TrannsUnion doesn’t mean the scores from Experian and Equifax are also 850. Consumer scores are also different from lender scores and insurance scores.

Why Your Credit Score Is Not Your Adult GPA | White Coat Investor Your credit score doesn't necessarily tell you whether you're on the right financial track. Here's what it means—and what it doesn't.

You only need a "good" credit score to get the best terms in everything and everyone gets a "good" credit score by behaving naturally. A better credit score above "good" doesn't give you anything extra.

A great mystery: I Bond buying guide for 2025 By David Enna, Tipswatch.com I’m a big fan of all those Agatha Christie Poirot books, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlow, every episode of Columbo on TV. But even those great detectives would hav…

I'm not planning to buy any I Bonds in 2025. TIPS yields are much higher.