Money Crashers

Every dollar you contribute to a traditional 401k or deductible IRA lowers your taxable income for the current year. At a 22% marginal rate, a $5,000 IRA contribution saves you $1,100 in federal taxes today. The tax break is immediate, and the investing benefits compound from there. Source

If your itemized deductions hover just below the standard deduction threshold most years, try bunching. Concentrate two years of charitable donations or other deductible expenses into one year so you can itemize that year and take the standard deduction the next. The total giving stays the same, but the tax benefit doubles in the bunching year. Source

A carrier’s free phone is 36 monthly bill credits that stop if you cancel, pay the phone off early, or drop to a plan the deal doesn’t cover. Multiply the monthly gap between the plan the deal requires and the cheapest plan you’d otherwise carry by 36. If that beats the phone’s unlocked price, the deal costs you money. Source

Before your lease ends, compare the buyout price in your contract against what the car sells for today. If the car is worth more, keeping it beats handing it back and the gap is yours. If it is worth less, return it and walk away. Source

Federal student loan autopay now cuts your interest rate by a full percentage point, up from a quarter point, but only if you’re enrolled by September 30. Log in to your servicer this week and turn it on. Ten minutes buys you the lower rate through June 2028. Source