Personal Finance
Whether you’re getting your finances in order, setting goals, or trying to stick to a budget—our investment specialists can help you create a plan of action that suits your needs. Explore our worksheets, portfolio tools, and articles.
Featured
Personal Finance Topics
Taxes
-
Be Aware of These New Rules for Inherited IRAs
-
How to Make a Tax-Free Donation From Your IRA
-
Morningstar’s Tax Guide and IRA Resources
-
Tax-Efficient Portfolio Makeovers May Be Less Painful Than You Think
-
This Bond ETF Promises T-Bill Returns Without Taxable Income
-
4 Mistakes to Avoid During Tax Season
-
25 Top Picks for Tax-Efficient ETFs and Mutual Funds
-
What You Can Learn From Your 1099 Forms
-
Ed Slott: ‘Your IRA Is an IOU to the IRS’
Saving and Spending
-
Anne Lester: You’re Bad at Savings and It’s Not Your Fault
-
4 Lessons from My Credit Card Points and Miles Journey
-
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett Built Berkshire Hathaway to Thrive After They’re Gone
-
Does the Apple Savings Account Live Up to the Hype?
-
Markets Brief: Why the Budget Deficit Suddenly Matters
-
What’s Going on With Consumers?
-
Back to School Basics: Saving
-
Back to School Basics: Budgeting
-
Does #GirlMath Add Up?
Estate Planning
-
How to Make a Tax-Free Donation From Your IRA
-
3 Charitable Investment Strategies That Deliver Higher Tax Benefits
-
3 Tax-Friendly Charitable-Giving Strategies for Retirees
-
How Advisors Can Help Clients Benefit From Legacy IRAs
-
How to Give to Charity and Save on Taxes
-
Year-End Charitable-Giving Strategies
-
A New Way to Achieve Charitable Goals While Saving on Taxes
-
5 Money Mistakes to Avoid in Q4 2023
-
How I Handled an Unexpected Inheritance
Healthcare
-
3 Tricky Decisions for Every Retirement Plan
-
3 Key Retirement Decisions Affected By Higher Yields
-
How to Preserve Your HSA Eligibility Beyond Age 65
-
How Medicare and Social Security Affect HSA Eligibility
-
Are the Latest Alzheimer’s Treatments Worth the Cost?
-
Howard Gleckman: ‘We Pretend This Isn’t a Problem’
-
What Can My HSA Be Used For?
-
When Do You Get Kicked Off Your Parents’ Insurance?
-
Make the Most of Your HSA Benefits and Investments in 2024
Save for College
-
Tips for Navigating the New FAFSA
-
Why You Should Fill Out the FAFSA (Even if You Think It’s a Waste of Time)
-
What Can a 529 Plan Be Used For?
-
The Best 529 Plans for 2024
-
Saving for College: What I Did Right and What I’d Do Differently
-
Morningstar 529 Ratings: The Best Plans of 2023
-
Payment Pause Ends: Student Loan Expert Shares Repayment Tips
-
Student Loan Repayments Are Back. What Does That Mean for Your Financial Plan?
-
My 8 Biggest Financial Mistakes
Housing
-
Pay Off Your Mortgage Early or Invest?
-
Jonathan Clements: ‘Humility Is a Hallmark of People Who Are Financially Successful’
-
When Will Mortgage Rates Go Down?
-
Will You Owe Taxes When You Sell Your Home?
-
Why I Don’t Own a Home
-
Katie Nixon: Bringing a Blurry Market Into Focus
-
How Rising Interest Rates Affect First-Time Homebuyers
-
What Climate Change Means for the Housing Market
-
What Is a Mortgage?
More in Personal Finance
How to Make a Tax-Free Donation From Your IRA
Follow these 10 rules for qualified charitable distributions.
Bryan Armour: Is Index Investing’s Superpower Unstoppable?
A Morningstar researcher discusses rising passive share, bitcoin ETFs, and the future of active management.
Get Out of Your Financial Shame Spiral
Anne Lester shares tips and tricks to get yourself back on track.
Self-Made Millionaire Tori Dunlap Embraces a Mission to Make Women Rich
The founder of Her First $100K explains the importance of loud budgeting, pay transparency, and teaching girls about money.
3 Tricky Decisions for Every Retirement Plan
Not even experts agree about the ‘right’ withdrawal rate, long-term-care insurance, and annuities.
The Man Who Knew Too Much
An investment parable.
Anne Lester: You’re Bad at Savings and It’s Not Your Fault
An author and retirement expert discusses the financial challenges confronting young adults and what financial advice she’d give her younger self.
Pay Off Your Mortgage Early or Invest?
Higher safe yields in 2024 upend the old rules related to mortgage paydown.
Morningstar’s Tax Guide and IRA Resources
Here are the answers to some common questions about taxes and IRAs.
Today Is the Best Time to Check on Your Financial Health
Two easy solutions to help you get started.
Tax-Efficient Portfolio Makeovers May Be Less Painful Than You Think
Proper accounting of cost basis is essential to avoid paying more in taxes.
JB Taylor: Small Caps Haven’t Been This Cheap in 25 Years
The CEO of Wasatch talks small-cap equity investing in the age of the ‘Magnificent Seven.’
3 Key Retirement Decisions Affected By Higher Yields
How to factor in higher rates when deciding whether to purchase an annuity or buy long-term-care insurance.
Crypto, REITs, Private Equity: Long-Term Investments or Short-Term Trends?
What to know before you dive in.
Can I Take a Loan From My 401(k)?
Learn the differences between a 401(k) loan and hardship withdrawal, plus why you should set up an emergency fund.
Annuities Unveiled: A Guide to the Different Types of Annuities
Breaking down income annuities and savings annuities.
20 IRA Mistakes to Avoid
From contributions to conversions to distributions, don’t fall into these traps.
Marc Freedman: The Case for Encore Careers
The author and entrepreneur discusses the benefits of age diversity in the workplace, the importance of purpose later in life, and why older workers might consider a ‘gap year.’
The Key to Personal Financial Planning: Being Lazy
There are benefits to following a simplified approach.
Uncashed IRA Distribution Check? Here’s What to Do
Tax treatment depends on who wrote the check.