Status Quo Bias Financial Decisions: A Case Study in Paying for Doing Nothing
Here is a number that should bother you: in a well-known study of one company’s 401(k) plan, only 37% of eligible employees participated when they…
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Present Bias Retirement Contributions: Why “Save More Later” Fails
Almost everyone who isn’t saving enough for retirement says the same thing: “I’ll bump it up next year.” The pattern behind that sentence is called…
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How Much Should I Have Saved by 35 Making $60k? A Case Study
Saved by 35 making $60k: the most common benchmark says you should have about $120,000 sitting in retirement accounts, and the most common reality is…
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401(k) Choice Overload: Why More Fund Options Can Cost You
For every 10 funds an employer added to its 401(k) menu, participation dropped by 1.5 to 2 percentage points. That’s the headline finding from a…
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Roth 401k vs Traditional 401k: Which One Actually Wins in 2026?
A single $10,000 contribution, left alone for 25 years at a 7% return, can be worth $47,761 or $36,907 by the time you spend it….
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The Default Effect: How 401(k) Auto-Enrollment Saves You — and Quietly Shortchanges You
In 2001, economists Brigitte Madrian and Dennis Shea published a number that changed retirement policy in America: when one Fortune 500 company switched its 401(k)…
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Index Fund vs Target Date Fund: Which to Choose in 2026 (Real 30-Year Math on Fees, Glide Paths, and Control)
The Investment Company Institute’s 2024 Fact Book pegs target-date fund assets at more than $3.5 trillion, with roughly 60% of 401(k) participants holding at least…
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Present Bias Retirement Contributions: Why the ‘15% Rule’ Fails Most Savers (and What Actually Works in 2026)
Personal finance media loves a clean number: “Just save 15% of your income starting in your 20s and you’ll retire comfortably.” The math is real….
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Tax-Advantaged Accounts Order of Operations: Where Every Extra Dollar Should Go First in 2026
Every serious personal finance thread eventually stalls on the same fight: where does the next dollar go? 401(k) match, HSA, Roth IRA, back to the…
