Reference Guides
Money Guides
Deep, plain-English references to the money questions we get asked most. Each guide gathers a whole topic into one place — a reference table, the common questions answered, primary-source citations, and a reviewed take from ClearValue co-founder Brian Kim.
Credit & Scores
Credit Scores & Credit Reports: The Complete Basics
What a FICO score is, the score ranges and what they mean, how fast a score can move, and how to check, freeze, and repair your credit — one plain-English reference.
Banking & Savings
Bank Accounts & Savings: The Basics
Checking vs. savings vs. money market vs. CDs, how APY works, how much to keep in each, CD laddering, and how overdrafts and paycheck advances really cost you.
Debt & Payoff
Getting Out of Debt: Options and Strategies
The real options for paying off debt — avalanche vs. snowball, debt management plans, consolidation, negotiating with creditors, and handling medical debt — compared plainly.
Business Financing
Small Business Financing: The Common Questions
Which financing fits which need — payroll gaps, working capital, acquisitions, seasonal swings, startups with no revenue — plus building business credit and opening business accounts.
Business & Taxes
Small Business & Self-Employment Tax Basics
Self-employment tax, quarterly estimated payments, marginal vs. effective rates, deductions and write-offs, the S-corp election, W-2 vs. 1099, and reading a P&L — plainly explained.
Insurance
Health Insurance Basics: Plans, Costs & Coverage
Premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums; HMO vs. PPO vs. HDHP; HSAs and FSAs; ACA subsidies; and how Medicare and Medicaid work — one plain-English overview.
Investing & Retirement
Retirement & Investing Basics
401(k)s and IRAs, Roth vs. traditional, 529 plans, pensions, Social Security, and what stocks, ETFs, and dividends actually are — the foundational money-building concepts in one place.