Investing, retirement and crypto
Rates, fees and the arithmetic behind them — index funds, savings bonds, IRA corrections, COLA, and where a stablecoin sits.
Investing
3 guides filed under this heading
- Index Funds and Dollar-Cost Averaging: What They Do — and Don't Do
Index funds remove the stock-picking problem and leave the cost problem. Dollar-cost averaging removes the timing problem; it does not raise expected returns.
4 min read - Reading Investment Returns: CAGR, Fees and the Trap in 'Average' Returns
A fund that gained 50% then lost 50% did not return 0%. How compounding, inflation and fees turn a headline number into the return you actually keep.
4 min read - Series I savings bonds: what a 5.51% rate locks in, and what resets in six months
I bonds issued from November 2026 through April 2027 pay 5.51%, including a 1.40% fixed rate. What that locks in, what resets, and the rules that decide fit.
9 min read
Retirement
3 guides filed under this heading
- The 2027 Social Security COLA Is Set: 3.6% — and Why Your Net Increase Still Isn't
Social Security confirmed a 3.6% COLA for 2027 on October 14. What the announcement changes, and why your net check still depends on a premium CMS has not set.
6 min read updated October 25, 2026 - Roth or traditional: you are choosing which marginal rate to pay, and when
The deduction saves your rate now; the withdrawal pays your rate later. The first you can know, the second you can only bound — and five things move it.
11 min read updated October 11, 2026 - The IRS's new IRA correction program: four mistakes it fixes, and what it costs
The IRS created the IRA Compliance Resolution System on October 22, 2026. It fixes four failures, three tied to provider error, for $3,500 from May 1, 2027.
10 min read
Crypto
3 guides filed under this heading
- Leverage and delivery: what the CFTC's crypto proposal actually says
The CFTC seeks comment on a federal regime for leveraged retail crypto trades — and says a purchase may stay regulated until it reaches your own wallet.
10 min read updated October 13, 2026 - What the OCC's stablecoin rule promises you, and what it does not
From January 18, 2027, a regulated dollar stablecoin carries a two-day redemption right and no interest. The fine print is where the safety ends.
11 min read - Five checks before you hold a stablecoin as cash
A dollar coin sits somewhere between a bank deposit and a voucher. Five questions, in order, decide how much of your money it can safely replace.
9 min read
Estate Planning
1 guide filed under this heading
- Estate planning basics: what a will controls, what passes outside probate, and when the federal estate tax starts
The core documents, the assets that pass by beneficiary designation instead of probate, and the federal filing threshold most estates never reach.
8 min read
Reference pages
Tables and lookups on the same filing, answered without reading around it
- Social Security COLA history: every adjustment since 1975
Every Social Security cost-of-living adjustment since 1975 in one table, plus the labeling trap that makes the yearly figures look inconsistent.
Other topics on Ledger
Every guide on this site is filed under one of these
Taxes, filing and deadlines
What the return asks of you, which deadlines are real, and the accounts that only pay off if you file the paperwork.
Household money and consumer rights
The bills that arrive every month: credit reports, student loans, a mortgage decision, fuel costs, and what to do when a charge is wrong.