Articles by

Andy

Andy has run Saving to Invest since 2008, covering personal finance topics around tax credits & refunds, retirement accounts, and government payments/benefits. Every figure and deadline here is sourced from primary data -- the IRS, SSA, USDA, and Department of Labor -- and re-verified before each update. Questions or corrections are always welcome.

Pros and Cons of Reverse Mortgages – Is This The Right Option and Factors to Consider

Reverse mortgages are becoming an increasingly popular financing offering with our aging baby boomer population, looking for ways to unlock the value from their homes. Simply defined, reverse mortgages are a special type of home loan that lets a homeowner convert a portion of the equity in his or her…

21 Signs You’re Losing Interest in Your Job (and What to Do About It)

We've all hit that wall — a stretch where work feels more like a chore than anything close to engaging. Feeling uninterested for a few days is normal. It becomes worth paying attention to when it drags on for weeks and starts showing up in your actual behavior. Here are…

The A to Z of Good Personal Finance: My Saving and Investing Philosophy

I wrote the first version of this list back in 2008 — which tells you something: the fundamentals of good personal finance don't change much. What changes is the context around them. Interest rates, tax rules, available tools. But the underlying principles? Still the same. A — Avoid paying credit…

Paying off Your Mortgage Early- What Would You Do With The Spare Cash

Not having to pay rent or a mortgage is one of the key steps to financial freedom. It frees up what is most likely your biggest expense and allows you to channel that money to other wealth building pursuits. I currently pay about $3500 a month in rent (including taxes), and have…

Teaching Kids to Invest in 2026 — From Piggy Banks to Trump Accounts

Teaching a child to save doesn't start with a lecture about the stock market — it starts with a goal they actually want and real money they control. Here's a practical, step-by-step approach, plus a genuinely new tool: the federal Trump Accounts program that launched July 4, 2026. Step 1:…

Gas Prices in July 2026: What’s Driving the Increase and How to Cut Your Fuel Costs

The national average for a gallon of regular gas hit $3.94 on July 16, 2026 — up 10 cents in a single week, and up from $3.83 just two weeks earlier on July 2, according to AAA's daily fuel price tracker. This page tracks what's driving prices each month and…

My Tipping Philosophy for 2026: What to Tip After the Post-COVID Tipping Surge

Are you a generous tipper or do you give the bare minimum? Do you tip extra for great service, or nothing at all for bad service? Do you tip the same for a to-go order as you would for a table you sat at for two hours? I first wrote…

Portfolio Diversification in 2026 — How Much Is Actually Enough?

Diversification won't stop you from losing money, and it won't guarantee a profit either. What it does is limit how much damage any single stock, sector, or asset class can do to your overall portfolio when things go wrong — and something always eventually goes wrong somewhere. Here's how to…

Taxes and my Paycheck Withholdings

When I moved here a long time ago one of the financial mysteries for me was the taxes on my paycheck. This included what would be deducted from my pay check and more importantly how much should I withhold to meet my tax obligations. I learned the importance of understanding…

Seven Ways to Avoid Banks Taking Your Money in Fees and Charges

We have all read about and surely experienced the ever increasing fees and charges that banks and other financial institutions charge us. Bank fees add up to billions of dollars in revenue for banks every year, and late fees, over-the-limit charges and overdraft fees make up a large share of…

401(k) Basics — How Your Plan Works, 2026 Limits, and Getting Every Dollar of the Match

The 401(k) is the workhorse of American retirement saving — and for 2026, you can contribute up to $24,500 of your own pay, more if you're 50 or older. Yet the number that matters most for most people isn't the maximum. It's whatever percentage unlocks your full employer match, because…