Is $5,100 a Month Enough to Retire?
A new survey estimates $5,094 a month. Compare actual retiree spending, Social Security income, and what your own savings may need to provide.
Calculate your income gap →Money Now
What's happening — and why it matters to your money.
Terra skips the market noise and focuses on developments that create a real financial question. Each story explains what changed, why it matters, what it can affect, and where to go deeper.
Terra Week in Review · Week ending Oct 24
Oil Prices, Mortgage Rates & Social Security Scams
Oil jumped, mortgage rates edged lower and Social Security warned about COLA scams. Here is what changes a household decision—and what does not.
Headline Decoder
Big financial headline. What it actually means for you.
A recurring Money Now series that separates the eye-catching number from the decision underneath it: what was measured, what the headline leaves out, and what — if anything — should change in your plan.
Can You Diversify Without a Big Capital Gains Tax Bill?
Compare selling now, staggering gains, and the costs of keeping a concentrated position.
See the tax tradeoffs →
Paying Your Advisor a Share of Profits: Better Alignment or a Hidden Cost?
The SEC has proposed broader use of performance fees. Compare management charges with a share of gains—and understand what happens after losses.
See the fee comparison →
Social Security’s 2027 Raise: Why Your Deposit May Increase Less Than 3.6%
The gross raise and the bank deposit can differ after Medicare and taxes.
See the take-home difference →autopay discount
Federal Student Loans: The 1% Autopay Discount Deadline
Eligible Direct Loan borrowers can qualify for a temporary rate reduction. Check the December 31 deadline, the savings math and autopay risks.
Read the borrower checklist →
You Own Five Different Funds. But Are You Really Diversified?
Your funds may hold many of the same companies. Learn to spot overlap and measure what you really own.
Check your fund overlap →
Saving $2,000 May Not Mean a $1,000 Saver’s Match
Certain retirement withdrawals can reduce the contribution used for the new match — and the testing window can reach back to 2025.
See the withdrawal rule →
Trump Accounts vs. 529s vs. Roth IRAs: Where Should Money for a Child Go?
Start with the goal: education, retirement, long-term investing or flexibility. Compare what each account is actually built to do.
Read the decision guide →
Moving IRA Money? 4 Rules That Can Be Hard to Undo
Transfers, rollovers, inherited IRAs and Roth conversions can look similar but follow different tax rules.
Read the decision guide →Leaving a Job With a 401(k) Loan? The Tax Rule You Need to Know
A job change can turn an outstanding 401(k) loan into a taxable offset. Learn the special rollover deadline, possible tax cost, and what to check before you leave.
Read the decision guide →
The 10-year Treasury is above 5%. What does that change for your money?
A higher Treasury yield changes the comparison for cash, bonds, stocks and borrowing. See what the new benchmark may mean for real household decisions.
Read the explainer →The government will start matching some retirement contributions in 2027.
Eligible savers can receive up to $1,000 per person. See who may qualify and how the new Saver’s Match works.
See how the Saver’s Match works →
ARMs are back. When does an adjustable-rate mortgage actually make sense?
Compare the real opening savings with the reset risk before choosing the lower starting rate.
Read the decision guide →The average 401(k) balance just hit a record. Are you really behind?
See why the average is not a retirement score — and what to compare instead.
Decode the headline →Investors are pulling billions from stock funds. Should you care?
Put the outflow number in context before turning it into a portfolio decision.
Decode the headline →Over 50? The 2026 401(k) catch-up rules have three different paths.
Age 50+, the special 60–63 catch-up, and the $150,000 Roth catch-up wage threshold — in one decision path.
Read more →The Fed raised rates. So why didn’t mortgage rates move by exactly 0.25%?
The Fed controls a short-term policy rate, not your 30-year mortgage. See what borrowers should actually watch.
Read more →
The Fed raised rates 0.25%. How much does that actually matter to you?
Put the quarter-point move into real dollars for mortgages, credit cards, savings, CDs, bonds, stocks and retirement.
Read more →Treasury yields are climbing. Here's what that means for your money.
Higher Treasury yields can ripple into mortgages, bond-fund prices, savings yields and asset valuations.
Read more →Should you retire with a mortgage?
Compare the guaranteed savings from paying down a loan with the value of keeping liquidity and investments available.
Read more →Think you've maxed out your 401(k)? Maybe not.
The employee-deferral limit is not the same as the plan's total annual-additions limit.
Read more →What earns a place in Money Now?
A story has to create a useful decision, misconception to clear up, or financial mechanism worth understanding. Terra does not publish a piece just because the market moved that day.
See Terra's editorial standards →