Simple money, explained simply.

Short guides on recurring costs, debt, savings, and building a few good habits, the kind of thing you can read in the time it takes coffee to brew.

Understanding Your Number

What "your number" actually means

One figure instead of a dozen charts, here's what goes into it and why that's the point.

~3 min read Understanding Your Number

Gross income vs. disposable income: what you can actually spend

Gross, net and disposable income are three different numbers, and only the last one tells you what is safe to spend. How to work out yours.

~3 min read Understanding Your Number

How to budget on an irregular income (freelance, hourly, commission)

Percentage-based budgets assume a fixed paycheque. Here is a baseline-first method that works when your income changes every month.

~3 min read Understanding Your Number

The monthly view: why weekly and annual costs lie to you

A $12/week habit and a $600/year subscription sound small in isolation, until you put them on the same clock.

~3 min read Recurring & Subscriptions

How much are your subscriptions really costing you a year?

Small monthly charges hide their real size. How to work out your true annual subscription total, and find the ones you forgot about.

~3 min read Recurring & Subscriptions

Finding subscriptions you forgot you had

Free trials that quietly converted, apps you stopped using, family plans you're still paying half of.

~3 min read Recurring & Subscriptions

Annual vs. monthly billing: the real cost comparison

Annual plans are often cheaper, but only if you're comparing the right numbers.

~3 min read Recurring & Subscriptions

Bills vs. subscriptions: why the distinction matters

They both leave your account on a schedule, but they behave very differently in a budget.

~3 min read Recurring & Subscriptions

A simple system for reviewing recurring charges every month

Not a deep audit, a five-minute pass that catches problems while they're still small.

~3 min read Debt

Debt basics: minimum payments vs. paying it down

What actually changes when you pay more than the minimum, and why the minimum exists in the first place.

~3 min read Debt

Debt snowball vs. debt avalanche: which payoff method fits you

The snowball targets your smallest balance first; the avalanche targets your highest interest rate. Here is what each one actually costs, and how to pick.

~3 min read Debt

How credit card interest compounds, and why minimum payments barely move the balance

Why paying the minimum can leave a balance almost unchanged for years, and what an extra payment actually does to it.

~3 min read Debt

Good debt vs. bad debt: what the labels actually mean

Mortgages and student loans get called good debt, credit cards bad. The distinction is real but leakier than it sounds, here is what it is actually pointing at.

~3 min read Debt

Debt-free vs. debt-managed: picking a realistic goal

Zero balance isn't the only version of "on top of it."

~3 min read Saving & Buckets

Sinking funds: why one savings account isn't enough

A sinking fund is money set aside for a specific known expense. Here is why splitting savings by purpose beats keeping one balance and doing the maths in your head.

~3 min read Saving & Buckets

How to set up sinking funds without overcomplicating it

One sinking fund per goal sounds tidy until you have fourteen of them. Where the useful line actually sits.

~3 min read Saving & Buckets

How much should an emergency fund be? A sizing walkthrough

Three to six months is the usual answer, but it is a range, not a rule. How to work out your own number from your actual essential expenses.

~3 min read Saving & Buckets

Saving for something specific vs. saving "in general"

Vague savings goals are easy to set and easy to abandon, specific ones tend to actually happen.

~3 min read Habits

Time is money: what your spending says about your time

Every dollar took some amount of your time to earn, a useful lens for weighing whether something's worth it.

~3 min read Habits

Budgeting for beginners: a simple system that actually sticks

Most budgeting for beginners fails because it asks for too much upkeep. A simple budget that survives contact with a real month.

~3 min read Habits

Why a few minutes a week is enough to stay on top of your money

You don't need an hour-long weekly budget session, a short, regular check does most of the work.

~3 min read Habits

Budget spreadsheet vs. budgeting app: cutting out the busywork

A budget spreadsheet gives you total control and a standing maintenance job. What you gain and lose by moving to an app.

~3 min read

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