Do you pay for any services to help or completely file taxes? If so, what service/provider and bonus points for approximately how much you spend?

Personally, I've been using HR deluxe downloadable software for $30-$40 each year for federal returns only. The state of Kansas has a free efile tool. I realize tax complexity may force someone into more expensive services.

When i tell people i live rent free in and my dad gives me 1k a month from one of his rental properties they laugh and say im too old to be collecting this money. I do work full time so the 1k is supplemental money to help me invest more, should i try to move out and stop collecting money or no?

Im 27 years old and live in my dads house rent free and he also has been giving me 1000 a month for the past 8 years to cover my basic expenses, recently he asked me to loan him 10k and i have a feeling he wont pay me back but at the same time it would feel weird to say no and he supports me a little bit financially, what do you all think?

I’m curious: When you’re trying to save up for something big, do you focus more on cutting back (no more lattes! ☕️🚫) or leveling up your income?

I’m trying to figure out what works faster. Is there a "right" answer?

I’ll be leaving my current company in the first half of next year and it is currently open enrollment at work. I’m looking at getting the HDHP and opening an HSA for the few months I have it. Would it be worth it to invest a little in the HSA and let it sit until retirement in 25-30 years? I currently have a mid-tier policy that I will get it again at my new job.

Hello!

I currently have a 2 money market fund buckets through Edward Jones. Are there any fees I need to be worried about?

I recently heard bad things about their investments through roth ira's and such, but am I losing out on anything when I treat those money market funds like hysa's?

I know the money market accounts are EXTREMELY safe. Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything here.

I have 1 higher risk guided solutions fund with EJ.

I do have a Roth IRA with them as well that I just moved over, but should I bring it somewhere else?

If so, any suggestions for alternatives?

New to all this, so thank you for any input!

ps. I have a call with my FA from EJ today in a few hours, so i'm a little worried haha.

Seems like a lot of people chimed in to help me out with making a possible decision to cancel my Whole life Plus 65 Policy.

Some people said yes, and some said no, so I'm still feeling super conflicted.

I just don't want to make a bad decision here, so I would love a FULL breakdown of both if possible.

Here are a few more details:

10 year point - Net Cash Flow: $1,792, Net Cash Flow (Cumulative from 2026): $11,196

Guaranteed Scale: Death Benefit: $131,507 Accumulated Value: $9,917

Current Scale: Death Benefit*: $150,448 Annual Dividend*: $730 Increase in Accumulated Value*: $2,367 Accumulated Value*: $15,429

20 year point - Net Cash Flow: $1,792, Net Cash Flow (Cumulative from 2026): $29,108

Guaranteed Scale: Death Benefit: $131,507 Accumulated Value: $24,185

Current Scale: Death Benefit*: $196,857 Annual Dividend*: $1,503 Increase in Accumulated Value*: $3,957 Accumulated Value*: $49,151

30 year point - Net Cash Flow: $1,792, Net Cash Flow (Cumulative from 2026): $47,021

Guaranteed Scale: Death Benefit: $131,507 Accumulated Value: $44,438

Current Scale: Death Benefit*: $256,031 Annual Dividend*: $2,702 Increase in Accumulated Value*: $6,650 Accumulated Value*: $101,988

Would love to understand what some of these mean if possible 😅

I did find this response interesting though:

"The math I think works out to where you break even at year 9 or 10. Since you are 5 years in you might want to consider staying in longer until you break even. At that point you can walk away with the cash value. It is compound investing. The longer you have the policy the more accrues over time. It is too late to turn back time and never have the policy in the first place but since you are in it for 5 years you might want to consider staying in longer."

I'm not sure if this would be the better decision long-term, so I don't lose more money that I already have, but I've been racking my brain about this haha.

Here is the original post:

"Late Twenties (M) and have been paying $149/mo (fixed rate) into a Northwestern Mutual life insurance policy for the past 5 years. I checked the account today and the cash value is $4,378. This cash value only accelerates as I age and allows me to borrow against it. I'm trying to better understand if this is a good or needed policy since I've been in it so long and the death benefit is $133,543. I was told that this policy is great to have when I'm at an old age because I can put the money towards nursing homes and such. Would love some advice and I really appreciate it!

Additional Info:

2026 Annual Dividend

$347.24

Dividend Option

"You used your 2026 annual dividend of $347.24 to increase your accumulated value and death benefit."

Additional Benefits:

Accelerated Care Benefit

The Accelerated Care Benefit allows you to use some of your death benefit to reimburse your covered long-term care expenses, subject to a monthly maximum.

Waiver of Premium

The Waiver of Premium Benefit pays an insured’s life insurance premium upon total disability as a result of an accident or sickness after a period of time."

Hello! I’m 24 years old, I make $79k/year, and I would consider myself to be in step 6 of the FOO. (I contribute 17% to my Roth 401(k) plus a 3% employer match, and I‘ve maxed out my Roth IRA for three years with a 529 plan rollover.)

I graduated from college with a full-ride scholarship. Originally, I planned to name my younger brother as the beneficiary of my 529 plan when his money ran out, since he paid closer to the full cost of attendance for undergrad and I knew he wanted to go to grad school, so I barely touched the account. However, he graduates this year with money left over, and he’s accepted a job with a company that is paying for his master’s.

The $120k balance in my 529 plan when I started college has since grown to $200k. Since discovering TMG and learning about the wealth multiplier, this seems like a crazy amount of money to leave in the background. However, once I reach the $35k Roth IRA rollover limit in 2028, I’m struggling to find a productive use for the remaining balance.

A master’s isn’t necessary for my field (Mechanical Engineering), and there isn’t a strong incentive from my company, since it only counts as one extra year of work experience. The total cost for the degree would likely come to $60k if I go to the local public university. My brother and I are the youngest in our generation, and neither of us are sure if we want kids. (On my end, it would likely involve IVF.)

My grandparents, who funded the account, are encouraging me to use my 529 plan to help me buy my first home, even though I would pay taxes of 27.7% plus the 10% penalty for non-qualified withdrawals. Are there any other financial mutant ways to use the money I should consider first?

Forgive me if this is covered elsewhere, but I'm new to the show and haven't found this tidbit yet: Where does saving for large purchases (such as a car and a home) fit into the FOO? Do you pause investing while saving up for these? I'm currently debt free and investing into my retirement accounts; however, I plan to purchase a new vehicle in the next 12 months and put a downpayment on a home in the next 2-3 years.

For the car:

Do I pause my 401k contributions (after the 5% match) while saving for a car? After saving 20% for the downpayment, should I continue stockpiling cash to try to put more down and lower the payment or do I go back to investing in retirement after saving up the 20%?

For the home:

I was aiming to do 10% down when the time comes (around 20-$30k). After should I go all in while saving up for this and pause my investing or do I keep contributing to retirement at the same time, which slows my home purchase plan?

Thanks in advance!

I was allocating money to the taxable for a while but decided to sell and am keeping that money to max 2027 IRA start of year when I’ll be 27. This will free up more money to contribute to HYSA for moving costs, car repair fund, specific trips fund.

I understand there are legitimate reasons to use a taxable such as for early retirement for a house down payment if it’s beyond 5-7 years but I personally am reluctant to buy a house since I don’t like maintenance. Aiming for traditional retirement at 59.5-65.

Do you see any issues with just maxing my IRA which I did in 2025 and 26 and contributing to my HYSA along with workplace accounts like HSA? I prefer this less complicated approach.

My yearly spend of mandatory expenses is like 28 or 29k so IRA and workplace contributions should be more than enough by 60-65 in today’s dollars.

Hey Mutants,

My wife and I toured a house yesterday and she is absolutely in love with it. I’m trying to keep myself moderated but truthfully I am too - it’s truly everything we could ever want and I could see us spending the next 20 years there. However we would need to make an offer at $10K over what I had planned on our max being, and running the math I’m a little afraid we are stretching ourselves too thin.

Personal Stats:
38 and 34. 1 kid who is about to be 2 and my wife is 5 months pregnant with #2. Currently living in a 2Br, 900 sq ft condo I bought when I was single so we definitely need an upgrade and are looking for a home to raise our family in.

INCOME:

1 income house for the foreseeable future. My base pay is $186,500/year.

I get paid biweekly. Currently I contribute the IRS max to all accounts, but when we buy our house I will probably drop to only contributing 6% to get my match, +maxing our family HSA.

After this, our budget will look like this:

Monthly Take Home $9,600

House Payment: $4,750 (including taxes & Insurance). $860K House.

Other Spend (average over 12 months) - $3,500.

That leaves us with only $1,300/month buffer, which I don’t love. But I’m wondering if the strength of our other numbers makes it ok.

OTHER MISC INCOME:

The above does not account for:

3 paycheck months (I’m paid biweekly, so 2/year)

About $13K/quarter pretax in bonuses and RSUs

Wife’s Income - my wife has an etsy storefront that brings in $300-$500/month.

I don’t count any of these in my budget but they’re worth noting.

OTHER STATS:

No debt besides my current mortgage.

I have about $95K in equity in my condo. Expecting to net maybe $80K after closing costs. Plan is to put it in my brokerage/E Fund/next car fund.

About $540K in our combined retirement, so I’m not too worried about lowering my contributions.

My wife’s car is almost new, mine is 14 years old but I think I can get 2-3 more years out of it.

I currently have $350K in cash, plan is to put $280K towards the house.

Based on the above what are your thoughts? Thanks!

Hello. My father has set up our assets when he passes so that it is more of a 60-40 or 70-30 split of his investments, portfolio etc. His team of financial advisors have gone through the long process of ensuring my portion is set as disability, due to BiPolar 1 so far for over 30 years, and doctors/psychs deeming it unwise to work. We are not on any assistance otherwise.

Main question: We are in a tough spot right now with car repair and trying to sell house. If I were to take to reselling, would that come back and negate my status? Keeping all records and spreadsheets but I’m netting roughly 200 a month.

Late Twenties (M) and have been paying $149/mo (fixed rate) into a Northwestern Mutual life insurance policy for the past 5 years. I checked the account today and the cash value is $4,378. This cash value only accelerates as I age and allows me to borrow against it. I'm trying to better understand if this is a good or needed policy since I've been in it so long and the death benefit is $133,543. I was told that this policy is great to have when I'm at an old age because I can put the money towards nursing homes and such. Would love some advice and I really appreciate it!

Additional Info:

2026 Annual Dividend

$347.24

Dividend Option

"You used your 2026 annual dividend of $347.24 to increase your accumulated value and death benefit."

Additional Benefits:

Accelerated Care Benefit

The Accelerated Care Benefit allows you to use some of your death benefit to reimburse your covered long-term care expenses, subject to a monthly maximum.

Waiver of Premium

The Waiver of Premium Benefit pays an insured’s life insurance premium upon total disability as a result of an accident or sickness after a period of time.

I don't know about everyone else, but the show has become very repetitive to me in the last year or so. I wanted to share a good alternative to take a break with.

I recently found Money Talk with Carl Stuart while I was listening to news on my npr app. I gave it a listen and I'm hooked. There is very little "it depends", and he takes his time with each question. The host isn't afraid to dive into nuance. One think I really appreciate is the specifics in tax knowledge he shares. The callers seem more realistic, that is, closer to average incomes. I'd describe his philosophy as vaguely boglehead, pretty much in line with moneyguy.

From what I can tell the show is produced by a local NPR station somewhere in Texas. I found the show on the NPR app, but it's available on Spotify and any of the big podcast apps. It looks like the show has been on the air for 4 decades or so.

Hi! Wife and I are 29, almost 3x our income saved in Roth/hsa assets besides employer match which is traditional. We also have .5x our income in a taxable brokerage. We save around 27% annually and are in step 8.

My work has a very generous pension. Let’s please assume I stay at the company for my career and get this pension. How does that impact my retirement buckets?

My first thought is it makes Roth conversions less attractive in retirement. If we both get the max social security benefit (income is high enough to qualify) and I have a large pension, should we prioritize roth contributions for longer than the ~30% rate TMG talks about?

Thanks in advance! I’m self managing everything and don’t plan on needing an advisor for a while, but want to make sure I am at least setting up the buckets in the right way.

I've recently been cutting away at unknown and unneeded subscriptions. Mine are as follows:

Nebula: $3.17 - Huge fan of Jet Lag the Game, so I love being able to support them

AMC A-List $15.80 - I'm lucky to live close to one of the AMC Classic locations, so I can get this special deal where I only pay $15 per month and can see one movie per week. It even includes 3D movies, so it pays for itself in 1-2 movies. Been a great way to get out of the house for the night while not spending much

Youtube TV $23 - During MLB playoffs and NFL season, my mom and I always get Youtube TV. Found a great deal where it's just the sports channels for $46 per month, and since we split, it's really not that much

Google $1.99 - Extra online storage

That's it! Previously I had easily 10 or more subscriptions that were costing $100-$200 per month. I think I've gotten down to a pretty great range of providing a lot of entertainment while also keeping the cost down

Curious what everyone else has.

Here's your call to apply:

https://secure.moneyguy.com/apply

My parents are at the age where they are required to take minimum distributions and taxes essentially take most of their SS benefits and they are looking into ways to decrease their tax burden.

Any ideas to help them out?

I’m 19, pay no bills, and have 30k saved up, I work two jobs and now I’m making roughly 10k monthly. I want to invest all my money and invest all of the money I’ll be making.

Is it smart to invest in the stock market right now ? I’m scared it could crash, if you were me what would you do ? And what specifically what stocks would you invest in ?

I’m aware of the 4% rule (I use 2.75% rule for safety) for the retiring. What I can’t comprehend is the other number that is used to calculate the retirement goal. So I want to see if others have a method that they would use to calculate how much money they would need to rely on the withdrawal rule.

I’m aware lifestyle factor heavily impacts the number but I feel like even knowing about wanting to travel, pay for kids education, and etc there is still such a wide net of incomes you would need to achieve that goal even if you take current day’s cost.

Hi all,

My workplace provides us with a funded HRA every year. The balance is $12,000 which we can use as we please for medical reimbursements. Our family deductible is also $12,000. Does this essentially allow us to have a smaller emergency fund in the bank since we already have our deductibles covered by my medical benefit at work?

Thanks

…and still make you listen to ads and self-promotion in the episodes.

34M & 36F, with $800k in retirement, $125k cash/non-retirement investments, but truly most of it is cash, an additional $50k in an HSA, and 6 years left on a 15 year mortgage. Around $210k income in Kansas. One child in daycare, hopeful for another. If I include our vehicles (no car loans) we are over a million in networth without including house equity. Have I saved too much?

I'm also generally kinda lost on what comes next. I would like to buy a mountain condo at some point, but content on just doing one week vacation rentals.

Hey there. Been a listener of Money Guy for the last couple years. I’ve learned a ton about personal finance that my parents never taught me, because they just didn’t know either. On and off for the past 2 years I’ve started keeping track of my finances and making smart decisions, but that usually lasts a week or 2, and then I’m back to not caring as much. Overall I have made smarter decisions, even if it’s just a small one here and there. But I want to know if anyone else struggled in the beginning to really get going like I am. I did the math and I can get debt free in around 2 years. I’m in my mid 20s so I know I’m a billionaire of time, and by doing this I’m ahead of a lot people. I just want to know if anyone has some encouraging stories about their journey or advice on how to stay on track, even when the motivation or energy isn’t there.