Pre-Tax vs Post-Tax Deductions on Your Pay Stub
Two deductions of the same size can change your take-home pay by different amounts. Here is what the order does, and which taxes each bucket skips.
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Gross vs Net Pay: Where the Difference Goes
Take-home pay is smaller than your salary for four or five specific reasons. Here is each destination, and which of that money is still yours.
How to Read Your Pay Stub, Line by Line
A plain guide to every block on a US pay stub, the two columns most people ignore, and a ninety-second check that says whether it adds up.
How to Plan for Seasonal Expenses in Your Own Budget
Seasonal spikes are not bills. Here is how to find your own spike months in twelve months of records, and fund them before they arrive.
How Amortization Front-Loads the Interest on a Loan
Nothing is front-loaded on purpose. Interest is charged on the balance, the balance starts large, and a level payment does the rest. Here is the sum, month by month.
Compounding Frequency: Why Daily, Monthly and Yearly Differ
Same rate, three frequencies, three answers. The arithmetic, why the gap is smaller than people expect, and the one disclosed figure that has already done the sum for you.
Simple vs Compound Interest, With the Arithmetic Shown
One formula multiplies and the other stacks. Here is the sum side by side, and the regulation that decides which of the two words is on any figure you are shown.
Cash Advances: Why There Is No Grace Period
The grace period disclosure in Regulation Z is written about purchases. A cash advance is a separate balance with its own rate and its own fee, and the rules say where to find both.
Average Daily Balance: The Number Your Interest Is Really Based On
You paid it down mid-month and the charge barely moved. Here is the arithmetic that explains why, and the two rules that require your issuer to tell you which method it uses.
APR vs APY: Which Describes Borrowing and Which Describes Earning
Two nearly identical words defined in two different regulations. One ignores compounding by design and the other exists to include it. The definitions settle it.