Dollar Mentor

Saving for Retirement

Why it's so hard to save for life's most important financial goal Sanjib Saha 29 June 2026 If you struggle to save up for a short-term financial goal - buying a new car in a couple of years or owning a home in five - wait until you think about retirement savings, arguably the most important financial goal in your life. In our early/mid-career years, we aren’t so good at picturizing “retirement”. Career, family and day-to-day challenges understandably grab all our attention. As such, I couldn’t even imagine a life without work until my 40s. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late…

A Better Home for your Short-term Cash Reserve

Bank Accounts and Certificates of Deposit are often not the best way to safekeep your cash Sanjib Saha 28 May 2026 I opened my first bank account in the US at a local credit union (CU) close to my workplace. The CU had several convenient offers for employees of our company. With minimal effort, I opened checking and savings accounts, got free checkbooks and a credit card despite having no credit history in the US. I was so pleased with the convenience that I handled all my banking needs through this CU for many years. That included direct deposit of…

Exchange Funds

An option to move away from individual stocks to diversified alternatives without immediate tax hit Sid Roy 28 March 2026 With stock valuations soaring over the past few years, investors holding significant positions in individual stocks face a dilemma: whether to keep their portfolios concentrated or diversify into the broader market. The decision isn’t easy. On one hand, concentrating on a few companies exposes you to substantial risk and the possibility of missing out on broader gains. On the other, shifting to a more diversified portfolio can trigger a significant tax liability if it requires selling existing holdings. As such,…

Income in early retirement

Building a practical retirement income strategy for the years before tapping social security Sid Roy 4 February 2026 Planning for retirement is not just about saving — it’s about turning those savings into a reliable stream of income that lasts. As people approach the transition from working years to retirement, many wonder: How do I ensure my money supports me for decades without running out? This article breaks down key ideas behind a practical, resilient retirement income plan with a focus on the first decade after retirement. Retirement happens in phases Retirement is often imagined as a single chapter, but…

Financial Freedom – how much to save?

You reach faster if you can save a bit more by trimming your living costs Sanjib Saha 21 Dec 2025 Last week I wrote about Financial Freedom, with a simple tool to map out your journey. Here is a companion tool using the same methodology to show how dialing your lifestyle cost up or down changes your path. Use the tool if your income covers your entire living costs even after saving a meaningful amount for the future. The previous post asserts: "The most reliable way to accelerate your journey to financial freedom is to maintain a high savings rate…

Financial Freedom Compass

Are you decades away from your Financial Freedom, or is it just around the corner? See for yourself. Sanjib Saha 14 Dec 2025 Wouldn’t it be nice if our financial habits could get us to a place where we’d no longer need any ongoing income to sustain our lifestyle going forward? That’s what Financial Freedom means. Once you’re there, you can choose to keep working and adding to your wealth, but you don’t have to. How to get there sooner rather than later? Earn a high income? Live a frugal lifestyle? Chase market-beating investment return? What if the answer is:…

Covered Call ETFs

High Income. Monthly Distribution. Growth Potential. Too Good to be True? Souvik Dey 25 November 2025 Over the last few months, I’ve noticed several friends getting excited about a newer breed of stock funds called Covered Call ETFs. These funds are also popular more broadly due to their appeal of regular high income. How high, you ask? High enough to turn curiosity into temptation - and temptation into trouble. A typical, well-diversified dividend stock fund typically yields less than 4%. CDs and Treasuries can get you a bit above, and investment-grade bond funds may reach 6% depending on duration and…

Inflation Bites

Inflation’s Hidden and Insidious Attack on the Purchasing Power of Americans Sanjib Saha 17 Nov 2025 This interactivechart uses the CPI-U data published by US Bureau of Labor Statistics to show the effect of inflation over time. Pick an amount for any year and see how much money was needed on a different year to maintain the same living standard. Keep in mind that the estimates are approximate, and every household has a different breakdown of their lifestyle expenses. Your mileage may vary. Still, you can use this chart to get rough answers to questions like: How much do I…

Financial Clarity: How

Steps to bring clarity to your future finances Sanjib Saha 31 October 2025 In the last post, we defined Financial Clarity as knowing, with reasonable accuracy, how much we’ll have in each future years of our lives. We also saw that such projection requires estimated annual income and expense for each future year ahead. Today, we’ll explore how to get such estimates. For that, we introduce a simple but powerful concept called Money Stream. Think of your finances like the water in a bucket in the picture above. Your income sources are like the supply pipes pouring water in, raising…

Financial Clarity: What & Why

What is Financial Clarity and Why should you care? Sanjib Saha 31 October 2025 If you’re wondering what “Financial Clarity” means, think of it as having a clear, long-term view of your future life, not just for a few years, but for as long as you live. It includes understanding what kind of lifestyles you want at different stages of life, what financial responsibilities you’ll fulfil for others, when and how you’ll handle retirement and post-retirement life, and how everything fits into one big picture. Financial Clarity means knowing how much money is coming in, where it’s going, the state…