529 plans, a year-end check for US families: many states give a state tax deduction only for contributions that arrive by December 31 (a few allow until the April filing deadline). Two other things worth checking now: take this year's withdrawals in the same year as the tuition bills they pay, and don't count the same expenses for both a tax-free 529 withdrawal and the American Opportunity credit.
Smart Budget Sheets
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Black Friday is close. One trick that cuts impulse buys: see prices as hours of your own work. If you take home $20 an hour, a $180 gadget is 9 hours of work; that framing makes 'do I really want this?' much easier.
We built a free Chrome extension that does this on shopping pages (no account, runs locally): smartbudgetsheets.surge.sh/ext…
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US open enrollment, a quick way to compare health plans: work out two numbers for each.
Healthy year = your annual premium minus any employer HSA contribution.
Bad year = annual premium + out-of-pocket maximum, minus employer HSA money.Example: $260/paycheck plan with a $4,000 OOP max: $6,760 / $10,760. $160/paycheck HDHP with a $7,000 OOP max and $750 employer HSA money: $3,410 / $10,410. Sometimes the cheaper-looking plan wins both, sometimes not; seeing both side by side makes it obvious.
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Sinking funds turn December into a monthly line: amount / months until due. Gifts $900, annual car insurance $1,200, holiday travel $600, car repairs $720 = $285 a month instead of $3,420 landing at once. #personalfinance #budgeting #savings
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Hello, Fediverse. Smart Budget Sheets here: plain-number personal finance notes on budgeting, debt payoff, saving and mortgages. One example to start, refinance break-even: closing costs / monthly saving = months to recover. $5,000 in costs and $124/month saved is about 40 months. Expect to move sooner, or restarting a 30-year term? It may not pay. #personalfinance #budgeting #mortgage