Personal finance writer covering budgeting, debt payoff, and insurance. Paid off $34K in credit card debt using the debt avalanche method. CFP candidate. Writing at Fintovia since 2021.
Tax & Financial Planning
Self-employed people in 2026 have five main retirement plan options: SEP-IRA (up to $72,000), Solo 401(k) (up to $70,000 combined), SIMPLE IRA (up to $16,500), Defined Benefit Plan (potentially $275,000+), and Roth IRA (up to $7,000). Each one reduces your taxable income — some dramatically.
Investing & Retirement
You can start investing in 2026 with as little as $1. Platforms like Fidelity, Schwab, and Public let you buy fractional shares with no account minimums. A consistent $50 per month invested in a broad index fund at a 7% average return grows to roughly $8,700 in 10 years.
Insurance
Most people need between 10 and 15 times their annual income in life insurance — but that generic rule ignores your actual debts, childcare costs, and how many years your family needs coverage. A 38-year-old with two kids, a mortgage, and $200k in assets needs a very different number than someone
Real Estate & Mortgages
The standard rule says keep your mortgage under 28% of gross income. In 2026, that's not enough. With 30-year fixed rates averaging around 6.8–7.1%, homeowner's insurance up 20–30% in many states since 2022, and property taxes rising in most metros, the real
You can realistically earn $50–$400 in a single weekend without quitting your job or learning anything new. The 11 methods below require zero special skills, most have $0–$50 startup costs, and several can put cash in your account by Sunday night. The key is picking one that fits
To pay off credit card debt fast, choose either the avalanche method (highest interest rate first) or snowball method (smallest balance first), then throw every extra dollar at it. Most people can cut payoff time by 30–50% by combining one of these methods with a balance transfer card offering
According to a study by the National Association for the Self-Employed, freelancers and independent contractors leave an estimated $1.6 billion in unclaimed deductions on the table every single year — averaging out to hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars per person. If you're self-employed and you're not
Best Index Funds for Beginners to Start Investing in 2026 I bought my first index fund in 2017. I was 29, freshly out of $34,000 in credit card debt, and terrified of the stock market. A coworker had been talking about index funds for months, and I finally sat
When you leave a traditional employer, that subsidized group plan disappears overnight. Suddenly you're staring down a list of marketplaces, health sharing ministries, association plans, and high-deductible options with no HR department to call. According to IRS Statistics of Income data cited by HealthPlusLife, over 12 million self-employed
According to a recent NerdWallet survey, more than half of Americans — 51% — think consumer prices for goods and services will get worse in 2026, and almost half (46%) plan on saving money for emergencies this year. If you are in that group trying to figure out how to actually make