July 23, 2026 · 6 min read
Build your own pension: buy the income, or build it yourself?
A $900,000 annuity pays $5,146 a month for life. Whether that is a good deal comes down to one thing you cannot know: how long you live. Here is the real math on guaranteed income, and how to choose between buying an income floor and building one with bonds.
June 29, 2026 · 4 min read
What happens to your money when you die: the step-up in basis
Sell appreciated investments and you owe capital gains tax. Die holding them and your heirs owe nothing. How the step-up in basis works, why it treats your brokerage, IRA, and Roth completely differently, and how to plan around it.
June 25, 2026 · 3 min read
How much should you convert to Roth?
You know a Roth conversion can pay off. The hard part is how much. Modeled four ways, the plan that saves the most tax is not the one that leaves you the most money, and the right amount depends on what you are optimizing for.
June 25, 2026 · 5 min read
The 4% rule isn't your number
The 4% rule gives you a number calculated in a vacuum. It ignores your income, your taxes, your healthcare, and how long your money has to last. Across four real households, Confidence Spend came out 18% to 37% higher.
June 15, 2026 · 4 min read
How much do you need to make work optional?
It's the wrong question, and it quietly keeps you working. The better one: how much can you actually spend each year, and what does retiring sooner cost you? One couple, two very different lives.
June 9, 2026 · 5 min read
Can you really spend your Confidence Spend™ every year?
Your Confidence Spend number tells you the most you can safely spend each year. Here are the four conditions that make it real, including the cash and bond reserve your number is already built on.
June 4, 2026 · 4 min read
What is a withdrawal strategy, and why is it worth real money?
A withdrawal strategy is the plan for how much you pull from your portfolio each year and which account you tap. Get the order and timing right and it can be worth hundreds of thousands over a retirement.
May 28, 2026 · 6 min read
The retirement number you can act on
The old Confidence Spend told you the most you could spend in retirement, but it was built on a smooth projection markets never deliver. Here's how it was rebuilt on a conservative floor, plus a second number you can act on: Money Lasts.
May 20, 2026 · 2 min read
The withdrawal-order mistake that costs early retirees $10K–$20K a year
Retire before 65 and the order you tap your accounts decides your ACA subsidy. Here's why drawing from the wrong account first quietly costs five figures a year.
May 14, 2026 · 3 min read
How much tax will you actually pay in retirement?
Most people overestimate their retirement tax bill by two to three times, confusing the marginal bracket with the effective rate. Here's what a couple actually pays, by account mix and state.
