How-To Guides

The costliest mistake: thinking “I didn’t make much, so I don’t need to file” The costliest mistake: thinking “I didn’t make much, so I don’t need to file.” I see this every single year. A part-time freelancer, rideshare driver, reseller, you name it, assumes the income is “too small to matter” and skips the return. That tiny decision can snowball: penalties if you owe self-employment tax, missed refundable credits that could’ve put real cash in your pocket, and no paper trail when you need a mortgage or even a decent car loan. I know, filing feels overkill when you made,…

What pros do in the first 48 hours CFO hat on. When income stops or gets shaky, the job in the first two days is simple: stabilize cash, buy time, and protect the roof over your head. Not perfect. Not pretty. Professional. If you’re searching how-to-pay-rent-during-unemployment, this is where the adults start. Quick context so we’re on the same page: the labor market this year is softer but not broken, BLS has the unemployment rate hovering in the low-4% range in 2025, and seasonal hiring into Q4 gives some temporary lift. Rents are mixed by city but generally flatter than…

The costly mistake: letting cash sit and quietly lose to 3% I still see the same #1 error, smart people leaving big balances in low-yield accounts that pay next to nothing while prices creep higher. If inflation runs at 3%, which is roughly where the CPI has hovered at points this year, per BLS releases, every uninvested $10,000 quietly loses about $300 of purchasing power over 12 months. That’s ~$25 a month just evaporating. Stretch it to three years at 3% and the real value slides by roughly $850-$900. It’s sneaky, and it’s avoidable. And here’s the kicker that bugs…