https://steady-cents.pages.dev Plain-English personal finance guides for people who never got taught this stuff. Budgeting, debt, saving and investing, with real numbers and no upsells. en-US Fri, 14 Aug 2026 22:41:38 GMT https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/why-credit-score-dropped-after-paying-off-loan/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/why-credit-score-dropped-after-paying-off-loan/ Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Paying off debt and watching your credit score drop feels like a bug. It is not — three specific mechanics explain it, and the effect is temporary. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/lump-sum-vs-dollar-cost-averaging/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/lump-sum-vs-dollar-cost-averaging/ Thu, 13 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT You have $20,000 to invest. Dollar-cost averaging feels safer, and the historical evidence says something most people find uncomfortable. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/apr-vs-apy/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/apr-vs-apy/ Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT APR vs. APY looks like jargon and hides real money. What each measures, why they differ, and which one gets quoted when it flatters the seller. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/budgeting-on-an-irregular-income/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/budgeting-on-an-irregular-income/ Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Standard budgets assume a fixed monthly number. If you are freelance, on commission, or on shifts, here is a method built for an irregular income. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/why-take-home-pay-is-less-than-salary/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/why-take-home-pay-is-less-than-salary/ Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Your salary and your take-home pay are different numbers, sometimes by 35%. Every deduction between them, and the two worth checking for errors. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-much-should-you-have-saved-by-30/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-much-should-you-have-saved-by-30/ Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT How much should you have saved by 30? The usual age benchmarks rest on assumptions that fit almost nobody. Why they mislead, and a better measure. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/should-you-close-a-credit-card/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/should-you-close-a-credit-card/ Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT The decision to close a credit card feels tidy and usually costs you points. When it genuinely makes sense, when it does not, and what to do instead. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-to-split-bills-with-a-partner/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-to-split-bills-with-a-partner/ Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Splitting everything 50/50 sounds fair and often is not. Three ways to split bills with a partner, and how to pick the one that fits your situation. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-to-build-your-first-budget/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-to-build-your-first-budget/ Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Most first budgets fail for the same three reasons. A method built on what you actually spend, so your first budget survives a real month. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-big-should-your-emergency-fund-be/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-big-should-your-emergency-fund-be/ Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT Three to six months is too vague to act on. Size an emergency fund from your own job security, dependants and bare-bones monthly costs. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/debt-avalanche-vs-snowball/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/debt-avalanche-vs-snowball/ Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT One is mathematically optimal, the other is easier to stick to. A debt avalanche vs. snowball comparison on the same debts, with the real numbers. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/what-actually-moves-your-credit-score/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/what-actually-moves-your-credit-score/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT Five factors decide your credit score and two account for two-thirds of it. What each does, ranked by weight and by how fast it responds. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/50-30-20-rule-explained/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/50-30-20-rule-explained/ Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT The 50/30/20 rule is useful as a diagnostic and misleading as a target. Where the split works, where it breaks, and how to tell which you are doing. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/compound-interest-real-numbers/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/compound-interest-real-numbers/ Sun, 14 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT Everyone says compound interest is powerful; almost nobody shows the arithmetic. Here it is in tables, including where it works against you. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/index-funds-for-beginners/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/index-funds-for-beginners/ Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT What an index fund is, why the boring option beats most professionals, and the five things to check before buying one. No jargon left undefined. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-credit-card-interest-works/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/how-credit-card-interest-works/ Sat, 30 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT Why 22% APR does not mean you pay 22%, how credit card interest is calculated daily, and the one rule that decides whether you pay any at all. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/sinking-funds-explained/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/sinking-funds-explained/ Thu, 21 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT Most emergencies are not emergencies — they are costs you forgot to divide by twelve. How to set up a sinking fund, and which ones you need. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/audit-your-recurring-bills/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/audit-your-recurring-bills/ Sat, 09 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT Auditing your recurring bills is a one-afternoon job that typically frees $80 to $250 a month, permanently, without changing how you live. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/first-paycheck-checklist/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/first-paycheck-checklist/ Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT Your first paycheck sets defaults that quietly persist for a decade. The order to do things in, and what genuinely does not matter yet. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/good-debt-vs-bad-debt/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/good-debt-vs-bad-debt/ Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT Good debt vs. bad debt is too crude a split to be useful. Four questions that classify any borrowing correctly, whatever the product is called. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/saving-vs-investing/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/saving-vs-investing/ Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT Saving vs. investing is not a preference. One protects money, the other grows it, and the deciding factor is almost always when you need it back. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/lifestyle-inflation/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/lifestyle-inflation/ Fri, 20 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT You earn 40% more than five years ago and feel just as stretched. The mechanism behind lifestyle inflation, and the one habit that interrupts it. https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/money-mistakes-in-your-20s/ https://steady-cents.pages.dev/articles/money-mistakes-in-your-20s/ Fri, 06 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT Not the usual scolding about coffee. The money mistakes where the cost compounds quietly for two decades before it ever becomes visible.