How to Pick the Right Index Funds in Your 401(k)
Your 401(k) menu may list an S&P 500 index fund, a total-market fund and an international option. Here is how to see what each one holds, spot overlap, turn fees into dollars and review your choices step by step.
Index Fund vs. ETF: Can a Fund Be Both?
Index fund and ETF answer different questions. One describes how a fund invests, the other how its shares trade, so a single fund can be both. Here is how to compare two funds that follow the same index.
How to read an ETF before you buy it
Four checks to make in an ETF's own documents before you buy: its objective, its holdings, its ongoing expenses and its trading costs, worked through one simple example.
ETF vs mutual fund: what is actually different?
Compare ETFs and mutual funds for retirement: trading, pricing, fees, minimums and risk, plus four practical checks before choosing a fund.
How to Ask Your Credit Card Issuer for a Lower Rate
The exact words to open the call, the questions to ask about an offer, and what to do if the answer is no.
Debt Avalanche vs Debt Snowball: Run Your Own Numbers First
Compare debt avalanche and debt snowball using your balances, interest rates, monthly budget, and payoff dates.
Three Ways to Pay Off Your Mortgage Years Early Without Refinancing
It is the first of the month and no mortgage payment leaves your account. You did not refinance and your income never changed, and the house is paid off almost six years early.