Matt the Money Guy

When you ask me a question like “I have $1,000, what should I do with it?”, look at this chart and you should understand why I can’t give you a straight answer!

What you do with extra money VERY MUCH depends on your situation. What someone who is in credit card debt and what someone who is a millionaire do with $1,000 will obviously vary a LOT.

I’ll be honest though, even in a somewhat cluttered flow chart, this does NOT capture the nuance or every decision you have to make. I left out HSAs, decisions around how much you want to contribute to retirement accounts, savings for large purchases, real estate, and much more. I’d call this a loose starting point, not the bible for what you should do with your money.

Once you get comfortable with your personal flow and objectives, these decisions will become a no-brainer when you come into some extra money. But it’s confusing at first, so some simple prioritization rules can be helpful.

If you make it to the end of this flow chart money wise, you are CRUSHING IT. So don’t worry if you’re only half way through or if you are still working on creating a budget surplus. Everyone starts somewhere!

- Matt

This is a simple mortgage "hack" that can save you THOUSANDS and YEARS of payments! Of course I'm exaggerating calling it a "hack" as it's really just math, but let me explain.

You know how if you get paid every 2 weeks, every now and then you get 3 paychecks in the same month? This is the same structure that helps you save so much on your mortgage over the term of the loan. Ever so often you will make an extra payment in the month, equating to a full extra monthly payment each year.

By aligning your mortgage payment with your bi-weekly pay cycle and not a standard monthly cycle, you're effectively budgeting in an extra mortgage payment each year. Simple as that.

Alternatively, you could also just make a fully payment extra each year to accomplish the same thing.

The nice part is that this can easily be worked into your pay schedule. Set up the bi-weekly payments and every time you get paid, you will make a mortgage payment without thinking about it.

Some mortgage lenders actually won't let you do this, or will charge you a fee to do it. If that's the case, you need to do the math as to whether or not this is worth it. There is also an alternative method of sending a full extra payment dedicated fully to principal each year that will do effectively the same thing. The idea here is just to take down the principal of the loan quicker than the normal payment schedule.

Just remember, small changes can make differences over a long period of time!

- Matt

P.S. Car insurance rates have been up a LOT in the past year. If you haven't price shopped your rate in a few months, comment "car" and I'll send a quick quiz to you on messenger so you can see if you can save any money (free quiz, takes

If you can dodge your taxes legally, you should ABSOLUTELY take advantage if it!

This little loophole is called the "backdoor Roth IRA" and it allows you to contribute to a Roth IRA no matter how much money you make. While I firmly believe that we should close tax loopholes, I also believe that it is the governments responsibility to do so, not the burden of the individual to not take advantage of the current tax code.

In 2026, if you are lucky enough to make more than $153k, you will begin to phase out your contribution limit to a Roth IRA. In order to circumvent this phase-out, all you have to do is contribute that money to a traditional IRA, then immediately roll it over to a Roth IRA. When it comes time to file taxes, you file one form saying it was a roll over, not a contribution, and you are good to go.

There was talk a few years ago about closing this loop hole, but it didn't pass through Congress. My opinion on this is that you should take advantage of it while you can - it may not be around forever.

While this is 100% legal, if you are uncertain about any of it, please consult a tax advisor. This page is meant to educate, not give advice on your tax structure. If you are in this high income category though, I highly recommend you look into it!

- Matt

P.S. I'm a HUGE index fund guy, so I made a free index fund guide explaining them and laying out options to create an index fund portfolio at different brokers (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, etc). Comment "guide" and I'll send you a link to get the PDF!

This is a CONCERNING trend.

It's expected that things get more expensive over time - inflation is built into our monetary system. What's also expected is that wages will rise overtime as roughly the same rate. This has not been the case in recent decades.

Things like cars, homes, and education have skyrocketed in price with wages not even close to keeping pace. This isn't just a problem for people who can't afford a new home or car, it's a problem for everyone. When one person can't afford something, it's their problem. When everyone can't, it's society's problem.

What's the cause of this trend? It could be a lot of things - easier access to debt, corporate greed, or maybe a widespread asset bubble. It's hard to pinpoint one root cause for such a complicated issue, but in my opinion, this is a trend that needs to be addressed actively.

What can you do personally? Try to live within your means (as tough as it is), increase your earning potential, and don't get FOMO if you can't afford your dream home right away. Renting is OKAY. Not going to college if you can't handle the debt is OKAY. Not driving the nicest car is OKAY.

I say this because a lot of the time, my personal finance advice is interpreted as "blaming" poorer people for their situation. That's not the case at all - I try to give people education and tools to help, but I know how hard it is.

If you're struggling with how expensive things have gotten, just know you're not alone because EVERYONE is feeling it.

- Matt

Sources: Data compiled from CNBC, Forbes, Chicago Tribune, NCES

P.S. I use SoFi for my high-yield savings accound and they are running a sign-up bonus where you can get up to a $400 with opening a new account and connecting direct deposit. Comment "HYSA" and I'll send you a link to get your bonus!

If I had to show someone one picture to convince them to invest, this would probably be it. It’s so simple but conveys such a beautiful message (if I don’t say so myself 😉).

For every dollar you invested 20 years ago, you’d have over 5 dollars now. Seems simple looking at the 20 year span, and even within those 20 years, there was a lot of fear. A financial crisis, a pandemic, and 3 years where you lost money. Even within the positive years, hundreds of headlines about how this was the year that we had the start of the next depression.

This shows that even though the stock market is the greatest wealth creator in human history, there are years where it will be down. Very important years to KEEP investing, even with all the noise telling you to pull out your money. People always think the market will drop more when it’s dropping and go higher when it’s going up. It takes a seasoned investor to realize price is a lagging indicator and no one really knows what will happen next.

Up 11.1% YTD in the total stock market despite alarm bells a few months ago that we were entering a death spiral in the markets. Not the first time that’s happened and certainly won’t be the last.

In 2013 we reached new all-time highs from the great recession, a time where tons of people were saying the market was too high to invest in. Just look how that turned out for them.

The best time to invest was 10 years ago, the second best time is now!

- Matt

I get a lot of requests for more cheat sheets of personal finance terms, so here is v2 of the personal finance definitions cheat sheet!

It's tempting to want to jump right into investing when you realize how important it is to start early, but there is one more thing that is MORE important than starting early. That would be LEARNING.

If you start early but don't understand what you're doing, you're only going to set yourself back.

My suggestion:
1️⃣ Learn basic terms about investing (like the ones here and other terms I use in my content)

2️⃣ Understand all the different investment accounts (brokerage account, IRAs, 401(k)s, HSA, 529)

3️⃣ Understand all the different asset classes (stocks and bonds would be a good starting point)

4️⃣ Understand WHY you should be investing in diversified low-cost index funds

Once you have all of those down, which should only take a few days, THEN you can start investing.

Starting early is important, learning why you're starting early is probably more important.

- Matt

P.S. Car insurance rates have been up a LOT in the past year. If you haven't price shopped your rate in a few months, comment "car" and I'll send a quick quiz to you on messenger so you can see if you can save any money (free quiz, takes

$104k is the average total cost of attendance for an in-state student at a 4-year college ($26k per year), and I will get this out of the way in the beginning that you are VERY lucky if your parents saved this full amount for you.

College is crazy expensive. It also puts you in a much better position to access a lot of different career paths. That being said, there is a HUGE opportunity cost on the money you invest in a degree.

If you invest the total cost of attendance in an index fund returning 8% like Anthony did, you will have an INFLATION AJDJUSTED $2.6M.

Is there a chance Anthony's career earnings would result in a higher value than that? Sure. Is that still an insane amount of money? Absolutely.

On my page I have never once said college is or is not a good decision. For some, it's a great decision that increases their earnings and career flexibility. For others, it's an insanely expensive mistake. I just want to help display the pros and cons, one of which (displayed here) is the MASSIVE opportunity cost of capital on the investment in a degree.

Going to college could be a great decision or it could not be, so research and make the right one for yourself (or a loved one you are advising)!

- Matt

P.S. I'm a HUGE index fund guy, so I made a free index fund guide explaining them and laying out options to create an index fund portfolio at different brokers (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, etc). Comment "guide" and I'll send you a link to get the PDF!

One difficult part about personal finance is that it's not one size fits all! We are all at different stages in our journey and therefore have different priorities in order to build wealth.

Some people have a lot of high interest debt, and for them, the number one priority is getting out of debt. Others feel they can't make enough money to build wealth, and need to obtain some education (formal OR informal) to increase their ability to earn. Some people have money and just don't know how to use it best, and some people have a combination of these problems!

For every person, there is a plan of action on how to improve your situation. I try to give a range of financial education to help people at all stages of their journey, but it's up to the individual to continue to dig deeper into the topics that are most useful for them.

The good part is that the barriers to learning about any of these topics are lower than ever. There is SO much content out there, which I like to think I'm contributing to, that can help you LEARN and GROW from whatever position you're in.

The key here is progress, not perfection. You don't have to be 100% perfect on your personal finances. Just always be looking for ways to use your money more efficiently and you will improve your situation over time. Small changes over a long time make a big difference!

- Matt

P.S. I use SoFi for my high-yield savings accound and they are running a sign-up bonus where you can get up to a $400 with opening a new account and connecting direct deposit. Comment "HYSA" and I'll send you a link to get your bonus!

We always talk about how wealth compounds, but what about debt?!

The bad news is that it compounds WAY faster than wealth. Bad debt such as credit cards can have interest rates easily in the high 20% range which can make it impossible for you to build any wealth.

Just in case this wasn’t obvious, this is NOT a realistic scenario, but rather an illustrative one to show you how things can move in different directions over time.

Jim lives just below his means, Jeff lives just above his means. Jim invests the difference, Jeff finances the difference.

Realistically, lenders would never let Jeff continue to finance his life with credit cards for decades, and the reason why is exactly what you’re seeing on the graphic. His debt would compound so high he would literally never be able to pay it back.

This assumes a 10% market return for Jim and a 20% credit card interest rate for Jeff. Both non-inflation adjusted.

The difference between Jim and Jeff amounts to just a few hundred dollars a month, but it’s the fact that that few hundred dollars is on the right and wrong side of their ability to spend. Managing your spending and staying on the right side of that equation is the most important thing you can keep track of.

While this is a simplified example, the point stands - live within your means and invest the difference and you’ll be just fine. Don’t live within your means and things will continue to get harder.

- Matt

When you start investing, there are a LOT of terms that get thrown at you. While they all have relatively simple meanings, sometimes the names can be tough to get acquainted with!

Just on this snapshot of VTI, the total US stock market index fund from Vanguard, there are many terms that you may not know if you have never invested before. When it's broken down, they are just terms that describe the product you're buying (no different than a nutrition label on food), but it can appear much more complicated.

Like anything else, this will all become second nature once you begin investing and learning more and more about personal finance, but if you're just getting started, it can be overwhelming!

Not to worry though, everyone starts somewhere. And like I said, none of it is ACTUALLY that complicated, you might just be unfamiliar with it 🙂

- Matt

P.S. Car insurance rates have been up a LOT in the past year. If you haven't price shopped your rate in a few months, comment "car" and I'll send a quick quiz to you on messenger so you can see if you can save any money (free quiz, takes