Money Management

It’s one of the most frustrating feelings in finance. You deposit a check at Chase, see the money in your account, and then. BAM. Chase holds the check, and a 7-day hold appears. Your money is there, but it’s not yours to use. Plans are wrecked, bills are late,...

If you want to transfer a credit card balance, the basic process is straightforward: compare an offer, apply for the new card, request the transfer, keep paying the old card until the transfer posts, and then pay the new balance down before the promotional APR ends. The part that...

How to create a spending plan or bduget

Twenty-five years across the table from real people. Hundreds of them. I watched a 42-year-old engineer realize he'd been contributing to the wrong 401(k) option for 8 years, costing him $67,000 in lost growth. I celebrated with a 58-year-old teacher who retired three years early because she automated one...

If debt is the problem, don't start with the most famous money book. Start with the one that matches why you're stuck. Someone who needs a hard payoff plan needs a different book than someone who keeps falling back into debt after every raise, setback, or stressful month. After nearly...

If you want to improve your money mindset, start with the money problem you keep repeating—not the book with the loudest promise. The best money mindset books help you notice the beliefs, emotions, and habits behind your financial decisions, then give you a better way to respond. After 25+ years...

Short answer: The Wealthy Barber is still worth reading in 2026 if you want personal-finance fundamentals explained through a story instead of a textbook. Its strongest lessons are behavioral—save automatically, live below your means, protect the people who depend on you, and keep the plan simple. Its weakest parts...

Here's what you need to know about calculating your liquid net worth. I'm talking about the actual cash you can access right now, not your house or your 401(k). Your liquid net worth is the cash and cash-equivalent assets you can access right now—after subtracting your debts. Unlike total net...

Liquid net worth is the value of the assets you can turn into usable cash relatively quickly, minus your liabilities. That sounds simple until you get to the edge cases: Does a brokerage account count? What about a 401(k)? Your house? A CD with an early-withdrawal penalty? That is where...

Yes. Chime works with Cash App. You can connect your Chime debit card to Cash App or link your Chime account through Plaid, then move money between the two services. If you're trying to pay someone, add money to Cash App, or move your Cash App balance back to Chime,...