Guides

What Is Debt-to-Income Ratio and How Lenders Use It to Size Your Loan
What is debt-to-income ratio? How lenders count your income and debts, the 28/36/43 thresholds, and a worked example turning $8,000 a month into a loan.
What Is a Routing Number and How Each Digit Is Assigned
What is a routing number? The nine digits explained: Federal Reserve district, institution identifier and check digit, the checksum, and ACH versus wire.
Savings Plan vs Investing: Where Should Your Monthly Money Go?
Savings plan vs investing: $500 a month at 4% in savings against 6 and 8% in the market over three, ten and twenty years, sorted by goal, risk and tax.
Reverse Sales Tax Calculation: Finding the Pre-Tax Price From a Receipt Total
Reverse sales tax calculation: divide the total by 1 plus the rate, why subtracting the percentage is wrong, and how bookkeepers and expense reports use it.
How Monthly Investment Returns Are Calculated: The Formula Behind the Projection
How monthly investment returns are calculated: the future value formula, $500 a month at 8% over ten years worked through, and why your statement differs.
Is Refinancing Worth It? Closing Costs, Break-Even and Traps
Is refinancing worth it? The break-even test on a $350,000 mortgage, when a small rate cut is not enough, the term-reset trap and no-closing-cost loans.
Increasing Contributions Each Year: What a 5% Raise Does to Your Balance
Increasing contributions each year: $500 a month with a 5% annual raise against a flat $500, over 10, 20 and 30 years at 8%, and how to set up auto-escalation.
How to Write a Check Amount in Words
How to write a check amount in words: the "and 50/100 Dollars" form, hyphens, zero cents, large amounts, filling the line, and when words and figures differ.
How to Verify an EIN: W-9s, IRS Tools and What to Do When It Doesn’t Match
How to verify an EIN: check the format, match it to a Form W-9, use IRS TIN Matching and the Tax Exempt Organization Search, and handle a mismatch.
How to Read a Mortgage Statement and Check Your Servicer’s Numbers
How to read a mortgage statement: what each section means, how to match it to an amortization schedule, and the four errors worth a complaint.