Issue #184 · Published today

The money moves that actually work, from people who practice them.

Every Sunday, market analysis, retirement strategy and the psychology of money, written by CFPs and former analysts for Americans who manage their own money seriously — not finance beginners, not Wall Street pros.

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Issues published
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What you'll get

Six ways to actually understand your money

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Budgeting Basics

How to build a budget that survives contact with real life, and the three accounts worth automating before anything else.

Foundations · 4 min

This Week in Markets

The trades, earnings calls and Fed signals that actually moved your portfolio this week, explained, not just reported.

Markets · 5 min

The Retirement Endgame

401(k) matches, Roth conversions and the math nobody explains to you until it's too late to fix.

Retirement · 6 min

Money Experts

Conversations with CFPs, economists and fund managers about how they actually think, not just what they recommend.

Experts · 7 min

Money Psychology

Spending triggers, panic-selling and the behavioral gaps between what you know and what you actually do with your money.

Psychology · 5 min

Tax & Policy

Bracket changes, deductions and the fine print in new legislation that quietly changes what you owe.

Policy · 4 min

Deep analysis

We don't summarize. We diagnose.

Every trade, fund or account decision we cover gets broken down to the moment that actually mattered: where the math changed, and why. No hollow jargon, no "the algorithm says Buy" without explaining the reason.

We write for people who already have a brokerage account and want to start understanding the strategy behind it, not just the balance.

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Archive

The last five issues

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This week in markets

Three data points. Zero easy takes.

Every Sunday we break down three things that actually moved the market this week: a rate decision, an earnings beat, a policy shift, calibrated for people who manage their own portfolio, not day traders chasing headlines.

We show the reasoning, not just the conclusion, so you can apply it the next time the headline changes.

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Free guide

20 money moves, explained, not just listed

A PDF guide to twenty financial moves, from maxing an HSA to backdoor Roth conversions, reasoned out so you understand why each one works, not a checklist to follow blindly.

Community

28,400 readers who stopped guessing

Behind every issue is a reader channel where subscribers discuss the week's picks, share their own portfolio moves and fact-check each other with more rigor than most comment sections manage.

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What people already subscribed say

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No. We write for people who already have a checking account, a 401(k) or a brokerage account and want to understand what's actually happening with their money. We assume you're motivated, not that you already read Barron's.

Ten to fifteen minutes. We'd rather explain one idea well than skim ten.

A team of Certified Financial Planners and former equity analysts who still manage real portfolios, not just write about them.

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