Guides by Asim Ahmad
Research, definitions, and tools
Research report
Travel Chargebacks 2026: What Credit Card Disputes and Refund Complaints Reveal
Public data show substantial card-dispute activity and travel refund friction, but not that chargebacks are becoming a first resort. This version adds current federal airline-refund rules, a source-reconciled comparison of refund complaint shares by organization type, and an evidence path that keeps merchant refunds, billing errors, unauthorized use and network disputes distinct.
Research report
The Down-Payment Clock: 50 U.S. Metro Areas
Under one standardized scenario, the estimated savings clock ranges from 3.5 years in Pittsburgh to 12.1 years in Los Angeles. These are comparisons built from published Zillow inputs, not forecasts or individualized home-buying timelines.
Research report
Housing Affordability and Mortgage Lock-In: 2026 Report
The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.55% on July 16, 2026. FHFA research found that rate lock-in materially reduced fixed-rate home sales in 2022–2023, but its estimates are historical—not forecasts for today or an individual homeowner.
Research report
Banking Friction Report 2026: Access, Overdraft Risk and Account Control
Banking access is widespread but not equal. In the Federal Reserve 2025 survey, 94% of adults had a bank account, yet 12% of banked adults reported paying an overdraft fee. The reported share was 25% among Black banked adults and 8% among White banked adults. Separately, the FDIC estimated that 4.2% of U.S. households were unbanked and 14.2% were underbanked in 2023. This report keeps those populations separate, adds current evidence on financial resilience and digital access, and turns the findings into a seven-setting account-control audit.
Research report
Cost of Living in America: 2026 Regional Prices and Budget Pressure Report
BEA data show 2024 state price levels ranging from 86.9 in Arkansas to 110.7 in California. BLS found housing and transportation absorbed 50.4% of average 2024 spending, while 58% of adults told the Federal Reserve that price changes worsened their finances in 2025.
Research report
Emergency Savings in America: 2026 Financial Resilience Report
In 2025, 63% of U.S. adults said they could cover a $400 emergency with cash or its equivalent, while 55% had three months of expenses set aside and 30% could not cover three months by any means.
Research report
Average Cost of Raising a Child in the US: 2026 Report ($331,000+)
The USDA stopped publishing its landmark 'Cost of Raising a Child' report in 2017. Since then, parents have been left piecing together data from dozens of fragmented sources. This report consolidates the latest figures from the USDA baseline, Brookings Institution updates, BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, Care.com, Child Care Aware of America, and the College Board to deliver the most complete picture of what it actually costs to raise a child in America today.
Research report
The State of American Retirement Readiness: 2026 Report
Only 35% of non-retirees said their retirement plan was on track in the Federal Reserve 2025 survey. BLS found 72% of private-industry workers had access to retirement benefits in March 2025, while 53% participated.
Research report
The American Tax Burden: Who Pays What in 2026 Report
The 2026 tax filing season is underway, with more than 150 million individual returns expected. This report examines who actually pays federal income taxes, how effective rates differ from marginal rates, which deductions and credits matter most, how state taxes create winners and losers, and why the IRS estimates $688 billion in taxes go uncollected each year. Data from the IRS, Tax Foundation, CBO, and Joint Committee on Taxation.
Research report
2026 Home Sale Capital Gains & Primary Residence Exclusion Report
Home values surged more than 47% nationally since 2020 according to FHFA data, pushing millions of long-term homeowners closer to exceeding the $250,000 capital gains exclusion. This report analyzes who is most at risk, how the exclusion works, and what the real tax implications look like when you sell.
Research report
The State of U.S. Household Debt in 2026
U.S. household debt totaled $18.794 trillion in Q1 2026, up $18 billion from the previous quarter and $591 billion from a year earlier. Credit-card balances declined seasonally to $1.252 trillion but remained $70 billion higher year over year, while 4.8% of total debt was in some stage of delinquency and the share of student-loan balances 90 or more days past due rose to 10.3%.
Glossary definition
ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund)
An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment fund that trades on stock exchanges throughout the day, similar to individual stocks. Most ETFs track a market index, sector, or asset class, providing instant diversification at very low costs. ETFs have become the most popular investment vehicle for both individual and institutional investors.
Glossary definition
Diversification
Diversification is an investment risk management strategy that involves spreading your money across different types of investments, industries, and geographic regions. The goal is to reduce the impact of any single investment's poor performance on your overall portfolio, because different assets often perform differently under the same market conditions.
Glossary definition
Tax Deduction
A tax deduction is an eligible amount that reduces income subject to tax under the applicable tax rules. Its effect on tax owed depends on the taxpayer’s facts, deduction type, marginal rates, limitations, and whether the standard or itemized deduction applies.
Glossary definition
Budget
A budget is a written plan for how income will be used across bills, everyday spending, debt payments, savings, and other goals during a set period. It helps compare what was planned with what actually happened so the next plan can be adjusted.
Glossary definition
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process through which a mortgage lender or servicer seeks to satisfy unpaid mortgage debt from the property securing the loan after the borrower fails to make required payments. The notices, timeline, court involvement, and available protections depend on federal and state law.
Glossary definition
ERISA
ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established retirement and health plans in private industry, including disclosure, fiduciary, claims, and participant-protection requirements.
Glossary definition
Pension
A pension is an employer- or union-sponsored retirement plan that provides retirement income. A traditional pension is a defined benefit plan that promises a benefit calculated under the plan’s formula, while the word pension can also refer more broadly to employer retirement plans.
Glossary definition
Medicare
Medicare is the federal health insurance program primarily for people age 65 or older and for certain younger people with disabilities or qualifying conditions. Coverage is organized into parts, and costs, provider access, drug coverage, enrollment timing, and supplemental options depend on the path selected.
Glossary definition
Financial Aid
Financial aid is money that helps a student pay education costs and can include grants, scholarships, work-study funds, and loans. Eligibility, terms, and repayment obligations differ by aid type, so an award amount should be evaluated alongside the school’s full cost and the conditions attached.
Glossary definition
Employer Match
An employer match is a contribution an employer makes to a workplace retirement account based on an employee’s own eligible contribution, according to the plan’s formula, limits, and vesting rules. Not every plan offers a match, and the formula can change by employer or plan type.
Glossary definition
Risk Tolerance
Risk tolerance is an investor’s willingness and ability to accept uncertainty and possible losses in exchange for the possibility of higher returns. It helps inform an asset mix, but it does not eliminate investment risk or guarantee that a portfolio will meet its goal.
Glossary definition
Time Value of Money
The time value of money is the principle that a dollar available today can be worth more than the same dollar received later because today’s dollar can be saved or invested, while inflation, risk, and waiting can reduce the value of a future payment.
Calculator
Debt Payoff Calculator
Compare debt avalanche and debt snowball payoff timelines with monthly interest, minimum payments, extra payments and payment rollover.
Calculator
Emergency Fund Calculator
Estimate an emergency-savings range from essential monthly expenses, income structure, job stability, current savings and monthly contributions.
Calculator
Net Worth Calculator
Build a point-in-time personal balance sheet by totaling assets and liabilities, with category summaries and an asset-to-debt ratio.
Calculator
2026 Federal Paycheck Calculator
Estimate 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare tax, pretax deductions and net pay before state and local taxes.
Calculator
Retirement Savings Calculator
Project retirement savings with monthly contributions and a constant-return scenario, then compare the result with a 4% first-year withdrawal planning target.
Calculator
50/30/20 Budget Calculator
Compare take-home income and actual spending with the flexible 50% needs, 30% wants and 20% savings or debt-payment rule of thumb.
Calculator
Compound Interest Calculator
Calculate how your money grows over time with compound interest -- model recurring contributions, compounding frequency, fees, and inflation to see your real future balance.
Calculator
FIRE Calculator
Calculate your FIRE number, savings rate, and path to financial independence. See how many years until you can retire early, based on the 4% rule and your own numbers.
Calculator
Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Estimate the federal tax from selling stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, or crypto -- and see how timing, losses, or spreading gains across years could change the result.
Calculator
Home Sale Tax Calculator
Estimate the federal tax on selling your home -- including the Section 121 exclusion of up to $250,000 ($500,000 married) of gain from tax.
Calculator
Rental Property Sale Tax Calculator
Estimate the federal tax on selling a rental property, including unrecaptured Section 1250 depreciation-recapture gain taxed at up to 25%.
Calculator
Checking Account Cost Calculator
Compare the modeled annual net cost of two checking accounts using service fees, waiver eligibility, ATM use, overdrafts, returned payments, other fees, average balance, and APY.