Andy | Saving to Invest

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): 2026 Age Rules, Deadlines, and Penalties

If you turn 73 or 75 this year (depending on when you were born), the IRS wants you to start pulling money out of your traditional retirement accounts — whether you need it or not. Skip it, and the penalty is steep: 25% of whatever you should have withdrawn. This…

Best Job Prospects for 2026 and Beyond: What the Latest BLS Data Shows Is Actually Growing

The national unemployment rate was 4.2% in June 2026, and the economy added just 57,000 jobs that month — well below expectations, with leisure and hospitality actually losing jobs while healthcare and professional services kept growing. It's a mixed, uneven labor market, and it makes the question of where the…

How to Get Out of Debt in 2026 — The Avalanche and Snowball Methods, Compared

Debt rarely shows up as just one thing. It's a credit card balance, plus a car loan, plus maybe a medical bill or a personal loan — each with its own rate, minimum, and due date. Average credit card APRs are running near 19.6% in 2026, but the real challenge…

No Tax Refund or Status After 21 days? Tips On Contacting the IRS For Payment and Processing Updates

As the IRS notes, 9 out of 10 filers get their refund within 21 days of an accepted e-filed return. But that also means roughly 1 in 10 filers — over 15 million people in a typical season — wait longer than that. If you're past 21 days (or 6…

The Personal Exemption Is Gone for Good — What Replaced It on Your 2026 Tax Return

Quick answer for anyone searching: the personal exemption is permanently gone. The $4,050-per-person deduction last existed on 2017 returns, was suspended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) from 2018 through 2025, and Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made the elimination permanent in 2025. It's not coming…

2026-2027 Roth IRA Contribution and Income Limits — Plus Catch-Up and Conversion Rules

The Roth IRA contribution limit for 2026 is $7,500 — up from $7,000 in 2025. If you're 50 or older, you can add a $1,100 catch-up contribution (now indexed for inflation under SECURE 2.0), bringing your total to $8,600. The income phase-out ranges have also shifted up slightly for 2026.…

Couples and Money: How to Set Expectations and Avoid Financial Disagreements

"What's hers is hers, and what's mine is hers — that's how we share our money!" That joke lands because most couples never actually spell out how they handle money. Each partner just assumes the other shares their views, and that assumption is usually wrong. Money is one of the…

Does Your IRS Tax Transcript Show Your Refund and Direct Deposit Date? What N/A Really Means

Reviewing your free IRS tax transcript is a technique a lot of filers use to get an update on their return processing and refund status, particularly when Where's My Refund (WMR) or the IRS2Go app isn't showing much beyond "still processing." While the IRS's official line is that a tax…

Should I Refinance My Mortgage in 2026? Rates, Requirements, and the Breakeven Math

The average 30-year mortgage refinance rate is 7.43% as of September 28, 2026, up nearly half a point over the past two weeks after the Fed's September rate hike. That's the opposite of the "rates just cut" story you may have heard — refinance rates have been climbing for three…

Can a Taxpayer Advocate Help Get My Delayed Refund Released? 2026 Update

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that helps filers with tax problems they can't resolve through normal channels, or who've exhausted standard IRS contact options without a real answer. Every state has at least one local TAS office, independent of the regular IRS office.…

What to Expect This Tax Season — Answers to the 7 Questions I Get Asked Most

Every year I get the same handful of questions from readers gearing up for the next filing season: when can I file, how do I file for free, how much will I get back, and why does the IRS take so long to pay it. This year's answers lean forward…

Why is My Tax Refund So Low Compared to Last Year?

If your refund feels smaller than you expected, you're not imagining it being out of step with the news — average refunds are actually up this filing season, which can make an unchanged or lower refund of your own feel especially confusing. Nationally, the average federal refund reached $3,397 as…

Who Can I Claim as a Dependent in 2026? Qualifying Child vs. Qualifying Relative Rules

There's no dollar amount tied to claiming a dependent anymore. That surprises a lot of filers who remember the old personal exemption, so it's worth saying clearly up front: the OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act), signed in 2025, made permanent what used to be a temporary suspension — personal…

Using Your Credit or Debit Card to Pay Taxes in 2026 — Costs, Convenience, and Other Factors to Consider

If you owe the IRS or your state after filing, paying by card costs you a convenience fee of roughly 1.75% to 2.89%, depending on the processor and card type. That's the number that should drive this decision, not the rewards points. Cash flow gets tight for a lot of…