Andy | Saving to Invest

2026-2027 Saver’s Tax Credit Income Limits and How to Claim It

The Saver's Credit gives lower- and moderate-income workers a direct tax credit — not just a deduction — for contributing to a retirement account. For 2026, the income limits increased across all filing statuses, so more people now qualify than in prior years. The IRS confirmed these thresholds in Notice…

529 Plan Rules for 2026: Contribution Limits, State Tax Deductions, and the New Roth IRA Rollover

Anyone can put up to $19,000 a year into a 529 plan for a single child without touching the federal gift tax exclusion — $38,000 for a married couple. Want to front-load it? You can "superfund" up to $95,000 in one year ($190,000 joint) by treating it as five years…

2026 Average IRS and State Tax Refund — $3,676 Nationally, All 50 States, and Processing Times

The average federal tax refund as of March 6, 2026 was $3,676 — up 10.6% from $3,324 at the same point in 2025. By early April the average settled to $3,462, still up 11.1% year-over-year. The IRS has paid out $241.7 billion in refunds through early April, compared to $211.1…

2026 Monthly Budget Comparison – Big City vs. Small Town

One of the biggest financial decisions many people face isn't about a specific purchase — it's about where to live. The gap between big-city and small-town costs of living can be enormous, and it's worth breaking down where that gap actually comes from before assuming one option is automatically "better."…

Pension Payout Choice in 2026 — Monthly Annuity or Lump Sum Rollover to an IRA?

If you're lucky enough to have a traditional pension — and fewer than one in five private-sector workers are these days — you'll eventually face one of the bigger money decisions of your life: take it as a monthly annuity for as long as you live, or take a lump…

SSI Maximum Payment Amounts for 2026, Plus the 2027 Outlook

The maximum federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment for 2026 is $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 a month for a couple, confirmed by the Social Security Administration's 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). That's up from $967 and $1,450 in 2025. Most people don't actually get the maximum. Your…

2026 Medical Expense Deduction: The 7.5% AGI Floor and What You Can Actually Write Off

I get asked about this deduction every tax season, usually from someone who just had a rough year medically and wants to know if any of it comes back at tax time. The honest answer: sometimes, but the bar is higher than most people assume. The rule itself is simple.…

3-Fund Portfolio in 2026: Vanguard vs Fidelity vs Schwab — Which Index Funds to Use

After a year of stock-picking and sector ETF trading that took more time than it was worth, I switched to a simple 3-fund index portfolio — and I haven't looked back. The strategy is straightforward: hold one US total market fund, one international fund, and one bond fund. Rebalance quarterly.…

Mortgage Rates and Home Prices in 2026: Why 6.5% Rates Haven’t Cooled the Market (Plus the 2027 Outlook)

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is running about 6.5%–6.7% as of late July 2026. The median existing home price is $440,600, up 1.8% from a year ago. Those two facts sitting next to each other confuse a lot of people — rates are more than double where they were…

2026–2027 ACA Marketplace Health Insurance Subsidies: The Enhanced Tax Credits Are Gone — Here’s What You Actually Pay Now

If you bought ACA marketplace coverage for 2026 and your premium jumped — sometimes by hundreds of dollars a month — you're not imagining it. The enhanced premium tax credits that made Obamacare coverage cheap for millions of people expired at the end of 2025, and Congress hasn't renewed them.…

How to Pay for College in 2026: Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Alternatives to a 529

A 529 plan is the best-known college savings tool, but it's rarely the whole answer. Between financial aid, scholarships, work-study, and a few savings vehicles most people overlook, there's usually more room to close the gap than families assume. I've written separately about choosing a 529 plan in detail, so…

Why Is It Taking So Long to Get My Tax Refund? 2026 IRS Delay Reasons and Data

The IRS says 9 out of 10 refunds go out within 21 days of an accepted e-filed return. But per the National Taxpayer Advocate's mid-year report to Congress (released June 24, 2026), more than 14 million returns were suspended for further review this filing season, and over 1 million taxpayers…

AGI vs. MAGI: The Income Number That Actually Decides Your Roth IRA and ACA Subsidy Eligibility

Your gross income, your adjusted gross income (AGI), and your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) are three different numbers — and mixing them up is one of the most common ways people miscalculate their own eligibility for a Roth IRA, an IRA deduction, or an ACA health insurance subsidy. Gross…

2026-2027 Retirement Plans: 401(k), IRA, and Roth IRA Contribution and Income Limits

The IRS officially raised retirement plan contribution limits for 2026 in IRS Notice IR-2025-111, announced in November 2025. Most of the increases are driven by COLA adjustments under SECURE 2.0. Here's the full rundown of what changed and what it means for your retirement savings this year. 2026 401(k), 403(b),…