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In a recent session with clients, I helped them review their household spending to ensure their financial choices aligned with their priorities. As we worked through their spending, we noticed several streaming services they hadn't used in months. We found a productivity app that one of them had downloaded during a free trial, and a cloud storage subscription they no longer needed. $15 here and $10 there adds up. ​ If that experience sounds familiar, you're not alone. Researc

Practical Systems for Dual Career Couples Who Want More Peace and Less Stress Marriage is work and requires the same attention you give to managing a small business. Like any small business, it needs a budget you build and follow. Making time to sit down as a couple to create and maintain a budget can feel overwhelming. Maybe you don’t have the time or hate talking about money, even though thoughtful money talks reduce anxiety. Yet my own experiences, research, and conversa

Social media has a talent for giving familiar habits new names. The latest example in personal finance is Moneymaxxing, a trend built around getting more value from the money you earn, save, spend, and invest. Despite the trendy name, Moneymaxxing is not a revolutionary financial strategy. It is a new way of presenting traditional habits such as budgeting, paying off debt, earning more interest on savings, using credit card rewards thoughtfully, and investing for the future.

The above image is the first of a two page Budgeting as a Couple Checklist. Download the full checklist below: A successful budget reflects how well you and your partner communicate, collaborate, and plan for the future. The strongest financial partnerships are built on shared financial goals, honest conversations, mutual trust, and systems that make managing money easier. Whether you are creating your first budget together or looking to improve the one you already have, this

By July, the year feels like it is moving fast. Summer plans are in full swing, routines are looser, and money decisions often shift to autopilot. That is exactly why this moment matters. The halfway point of the year is the perfect time for couples to pause and check in. Not to criticize or panic. Not to relive every purchase since January. Just to ask one simple question together: How are you actually doing? Think of this as your couple’s money midterm. A chance to review w

Many Americans are feeling significant financial stress. The war with Iran has pushed energy prices higher and increased concerns about inflation. Rising gasoline prices have strained household budgets, while higher transportation costs have driven up the prices of food and other everyday necessities. The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to historic lows and personal savings rates have declined by 50% since Trump took office. My child is non-binary an

Have you ever purchased something that you saw on sale just a short time later? I have had a few times when the excitement I felt about what I purchased turned into frustration, regret, and the feeling that I had lost money. Research in behavioral psychology explains why this happens. Anticipating shopping often creates more excitement than owning the item. Once prices drop after purchase, our brains focus more on the money we could have saved than the value we received. That

Memorial Day weekend has quietly become one of the biggest shopping moments of the year. For couples, it can feel like a tempting opportunity to “upgrade everything at once” including appliances, mattresses, patio sets, and grills, all wrapped in red white and blue sale banners. But not all Memorial Day deals are created equal. Some categories truly shine this weekend. Others look good on paper but are actually better buys later in the year. Knowing the difference can save co

Table of Contents Taxes Aren’t High by Historical Standards The U.S. Is a Low-Tax Country Compared to Its Peers Other Countries Pay More in Taxes—but Far Less Out of Pocket Why Americans Feel Broke Despite “Low Taxes” Deficits Today Are a Tax Increase Tomorrow The Real Scam Is Framing Taxes as the Enemy Affordability Is a Policy Choice If you listen to political debates, cable news, or social media long enough, you’ll hear the same warning repeated over and over: Americans ar

Let’s get to the point. Straight talk about the taxes we paid this year. Not the political spin. Not the sound bites. The money you actually spent. If your household made less than about $361,400 in 2025, there’s a strong chance you paid more in total taxes this year than last year. That could be true even if you saw a slight drop in your income tax rate on paper. And the main reason is something that doesn't show up directly on your tax return: tariffs. According to the In

Original Post: 11/28/23; Updated on 4/6/26 For many households, a tax refund is one of the largest single deposits they will see all year. And yet, when it arrives, the question often feels surprisingly unclear: What should we actually do with this money? Is it a chance to finally get ahead, or an opportunity to enjoy something you have been putting off? The answer is more important than it might seem. Research shows that about two-thirds of taxpayers say their refund plays a

At the end of a long day, convenience feels like relief. Dinner gets ordered with a few taps. A free trial quietly rolls into a paid subscription. A purchase is split into four smaller payments so it barely registers. No argument. No spreadsheet. No stress, at least not in the moment. For many couples, this is how money decisions happen now. Quietly. Automatically. Individually. The problem is not that convenience exists. The problem is that convenience spending has shifted f

Table of Contents Safer Options Than Mailing at the Last Minute Getting Organized Without Feeling Overwhelmed How Much Does a Tax Preparer Cost and When Should You Hire One? What Credentials Should a Tax Preparer Have? Wrapping It Up Many taxpayers have dropped their tax returns in a mailbox on the due date. And until now, you were fine. The postmark would reflect that date, even if the envelope moved slowly through the system. You can’t do that anymore. The USPS recently add

Filing taxes can feel like just another thing on your never-ending to-do list—but it's too important to ignore. When done right, you can lower your tax bill, maximize your refund, and stay on track with long-term goals like paying off student loans or saving for a home. Here’s a simple, practical guide to walk you through the process. ✅ Step 1: Gather Your Documents Before you file, collect everything you need in one place. Here are the essentials: W-2s from employers 1099s f

I just finished reading " When unpaid cooking, cleaning, and child care get a dollar value, income inequality in the US shrinks, but the gap has grown since 1965 ," written by Leila Gautham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Leeds, and Nancy Folbre, Professor Emerita of Economics, UMass Amherst. The authors argue that traditional measures of income inequality miss a major part of the economy: unpaid household work such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare. For context, belo

For decades, the default advice for couples was simple: open a joint bank account and combine everything: one household, one pot of money. But a growing number of couples are moving away from that model, and it is not because they are less committed. According to 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation , the share of couples without any joint bank accounts rose by more than half, from 15% in 1996 to 23% in 2023. The shift is especia

Every January, social media is filled with bold promises of resetting your finances with "No Spend January." Undo the damage of the holidays. Take control. You cannot “No Spend” your way out of child care, rent, health insurance, groceries, or medical bills. Those costs do not pause just because the calendar flipped. This isn't news to the millions of folks who are rolling their eyes at the $1,000 Trump account news , while the cost to live is so high that women are leaving t

Subscription-based services spiked over the past few years, largely due to COVID keeping some of us hostage in our homes. Statistics have shown that “Growth in new subscriptions immediately increased during the first few weeks of the COVID period, ranging from 20%-40% higher than the pre-COVID timeframe.” Now that the world has returned to normal (well, sort of), it’s time to hunt down the subscriptions secretly sucking money out of our pockets. Pro Hack for Couples: Review

Table of Contents What a Tax Bracket Actually Means (Not What People Think) Step One: Start With Your Filing Status Step Two: Subtract the Deduction First Step Three: Find Where Your Taxable Income Falls A Calculator to Help You Plan Instead of React Tax Filing Support A surprisingly common Google search every year is: “How do I figure out my tax bracket?” It usually pops up after a raise, a bonus, RSUs vesting, a side hustle taking off, or a second income finally ramping up.

On Sunday night, January 11th, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell just announced that he is under investigation by Trump's Department of Justice. Trump is trying to coerce the Federal Reserve into lowering interest rates, and he's using any means necessary to do it. Click here to listen to a statement from Chairman Powell, which I copied and pasted below. "Good evening. On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a crim