Peak Stuff
Maren O'Neill2025-05-03T15:21:50-06:00Stuff is everywhere. Do you have enough? Too much? Is it time to declare “Peak Stuff?”
Top 10 Tax Day Fails (Haiku Edition)
Maren O'Neill2025-04-13T17:32:33-06:00Tax day is here. Some will fail, all will pay.
Buckets of Cash: Turning Your Nest Egg Into a Paycheck
Maren O'Neill2025-04-05T14:52:11-06:00Can a bucket save you from the stock market?
Depreciation for Dummies
Maren O'Neill2025-03-30T15:04:42-06:00Appreciation grows the price of your rental home, Depreciation shrinks the cost of your taxes. Here’s what you need to know about Depreciation.
Are You Skinny Dipping?
Maren O'Neill2025-03-23T14:08:21-06:00When the tide goes out, you can tell who’s been skinny dipping… do you want to get caught?
What If Your Kids are Average?
Maren O'Neill2025-03-02T11:30:09-06:00We all know our kids are above average, but what if average was excellent?
A Series of Unusual Months
Maren O'Neill2025-02-22T16:44:21-06:00Does your budget work, except in Unusual Months? Let’s fix that!
Do You Have Real Wealth?
Maren O'Neill2025-02-08T13:41:07-06:00What is wealth and how do you know if you have it?
Risky Business
Maren O'Neill2025-02-01T06:59:28-06:00There is almost no end to the risks we endure in military service. But how do we face up to investment risk?
Are you GAH or FAB?
Maren O'Neill2025-01-12T09:46:24-06:00Are you getting ahead or falling behind? How would you know?
What’s the Best College Account–529 or UTMA?
Maren O'Neill2024-12-28T17:04:58-06:00It’s time to save for college, but where should you start? A 529? A UTMA? Something else?
Back to Basics: Account Types
Maren O'Neill2024-12-15T00:11:34-06:00Investing and personal finance has too much jargon. Let’s just focus on the basics of account types!
TSP In-Plan Roth Conversions Are Coming!
Maren O'Neill2024-11-30T09:31:35-06:00TSP will allow Roth Conversions inside the plan in 2026—here’s what you need to know!
Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program Update
Maren O'Neill2024-11-23T13:07:42-06:00If you wanted Long-term Care insurance for Christmas, you may have to wait until 2026…
Logical Conclusions
Maren O'Neill2024-11-02T05:24:57-06:00Does the rule of law matter to your TSP? Probably so…
Do Fighter Pilots Need Healthcare FSAs?
Maren O'Neill2024-10-12T08:16:32-06:00Do you need a healthcare FSA? If you dislike taxes, maybe so…
Thank Your Parents for that Tax Bill
Maren O'Neill2024-10-06T13:53:07-06:00Your parents may be conspiring to inflate your tax bill! What can you do?
One Simple Credit Card Hack to Rule Them All
Maren O'Neill2024-09-21T11:28:03-06:00Could there really be one simple credit card hack that’s better than all of the others?
Top 10 Business Mistakes Fighter Pilots Make
Maren O'Neill2024-08-31T08:43:52-06:00If you already walk on water, how hard can running a business be? Read on to find out!
Part 6: Tax Planning –What Does Financial Planning Look Like?
Maren O'Neill2024-08-24T13:41:01-06:00Tax Planning is both a long-range and short-range exercise to help suppress your lifetime tax bill—no tips for the tax man!
Part 5: Retirement Analysis Deep Dive — What Does Financial Planning Look Like?
Maren O'Neill2024-08-16T20:45:03-06:00How do we plan for life insurance needs? What if returns are lower? We can plan for that.
Part 4: Retirement Analysis Introduction–What Does Financial Planning Look Like?
Maren O'Neill2024-08-10T18:49:52-06:00Time to look at the good stuff! Turning assumptions into actionable analysis!
Part 3: What Does Financial Planning Look Like? Net Worth and Goals
Maren O'Neill2024-08-03T16:16:24-06:00Financial planning is all about goals, but how do we distill goals for accurate planning?
(PART 2) What does Financial Planning Look Like?
Maren O'Neill2024-07-27T13:34:20-06:00Saving doesn't have to be complicated... or does it?
Kid-Span and the Spans
Maren O'Neill2024-06-30T13:08:01-06:00You get maybe 85 laps around the sun. How do you optimize the Wealth, Health, and Kid time during your Lifespan?
Retire to It, Not From It
Maren O'Neill2024-06-21T11:34:11-06:00Retirement has many choices. Choosing to retire may be the easiest one…
All the Single Killers…
Maren O'Neill2024-06-15T11:52:01-06:00Should you get married to pay less taxes? Probably not…
Depreciation for Dummies
Maren O'Neill2024-06-08T10:04:01-06:00Appreciation grows the price of your rental home, Depreciation shrinks the cost of your taxes. Here’s what you need to know about Depreciation.
In Memoriam
Maren O'Neill2024-05-25T14:02:00-06:00Memorial Day gives us a chance to reflect on our mission—perfecting the Union others died to preserve.
When is PAWing Okay?
Maren O'Neill2024-05-18T20:04:24-06:00Is your net worth on course, on glidepath? How much net worth should you have for your age?
Commanding Money
Maren O'Neill2024-05-12T07:26:46-06:00Commanders are busy, but they’re responsible for financial readiness too. This toolkit makes it easy to lead with money!
How Much is Mom Worth?
Maren O'Neill2024-05-05T12:57:17-06:00Mother’s day is just a few days away. Do you know how much your Mom is worth? Of course she’s priceless, but let’s peel that back a bit!
The Haiku Financial Plan
Maren O'Neill2024-04-20T04:45:29-06:00You’ve heard of one-page financial plans, note card financial plans, but what about Haiku?
Getting Real About College Again… Part 2
Maren O'Neill2024-03-23T18:51:10-06:00Hangovers are part of College, but how long should they last and do parents get them too?
Getting Real About College Again… Part 1
Maren O'Neill2024-03-14T18:31:25-06:00What is College Really For?
College SOTU (State of the Union)
Maren O'Neill2024-03-10T19:04:29-06:00College decision season is in full afterburner for seniors… what’s coming up for juniors?
The Power of Mental Accounting
Maren O'Neill2024-02-25T18:36:39-06:00If you could have a superpower, wouldn’t you want it to be mental accounting? Maybe you’re in luck…
Smooth Versus Creep
Maren O'Neill2024-02-18T08:12:10-06:00Lifestyle creep isn’t inherently bad, and consumption smoothing is definitely hard. What path should you choose?
Digital Assets—Like Stocks, but with Additional Risks
Maren O'Neill2024-02-11T18:06:19-06:00Crypto comes in ETF flavors now—is it time to buy?
Top Ten Insurance Mistakes that Fighter Pilots Make
Maren O'Neill2025-02-09T13:39:32-06:00Insurance is like Goldilocks, too much and too little are probably not the right answer…
Single Stocks—An Uncompensated Risk
Maren O'Neill2025-02-09T13:40:25-06:00Investing in single stocks can pay off big (early Apple), result in disaster (Enron), be a long-slow decline (GE), or be a roller coaster (most companies over time).
YNARB
Maren O'Neill2025-02-09T13:41:04-06:00Budgets stink. Maybe there’s another way to make your money behave… YNARB
Diversification: Always Saying You’re Sorry
Maren O'Neill2024-01-14T09:25:43-06:00It’s rare to hear that you shouldn’t diversify your investments, but really, should you?
How to Trust
Maren O'Neill2024-01-07T14:51:18-06:00You’ve decided to get a Revocable Living Trust, but what do you do now?
Short, Sweet, to the Point: 10 Quick End-of-Year Steps You Can Still Take to Max-Perform Your Money
Maren O'Neill2025-02-09T13:45:59-06:00It’s almost the end of the year, but there’s still time to max-perform your money!
Should Grandparents have 529’s?
Maren O'Neill2025-02-09T13:49:02-06:00Giving to grandkids feels good, paying for their education pays for your Social Security...so what’s the downside of a Grandparent-owned 529?
Don’t Close the Backdoor (Roth IRA)
Maren O'Neill2025-02-09T13:50:06-06:00Backdoor Roth season is in full swing. You'll need to maneuver before December 31st, so here's what you need to know about Backdoor Roth IRAs!
How Fighter Pilots Save for College
Maren O'Neill2023-09-23T15:24:06-06:00College is expensive, but there are a lot of ways to save for college. Read on to arm yourself with the best tactics!
The Premium or the Pain
Maren O'Neill2023-09-15T08:03:07-06:00We all like our cards. They provide a lot of convenience. But what do we trade for that convenience?
When is the Best Time for Roth Conversions?
Maren O'Neill2023-09-08T10:59:13-06:00Roth Conversions are mysterious until they're not. They can lower your lifetime tax bill, which is the bill you should be worrying about!
Peak Stuff
Maren O'Neill2025-02-09T13:53:30-06:00Stuff is everywhere. Do you have enough? Too much? Is it time to declare “Peak Stuff?”