Vaulta
The journal

Slow reading about money.

Twelve careful, evergreen articles. No get-rich claims, and every number is checked.

Featured

Safe to spend: a better question than “what’s my budget?”

A budget tells you what you planned. A safe-to-spend figure tells you what is actually free to use today without breaking a promise you already made.

Records
RecordsHabits

Receipts, warranties and records: what to keep, and for how long

You do not need a shoebox of paper. You need a small, sensible habit that protects you when something breaks, gets audited or needs to be returned.

Investing basics
Investing basicsBasics

A gentle introduction to index funds and compounding

An education piece, not a recommendation: what index funds are, why people use them, and what compounding really does with time. With illustrative arithmetic only.

Habits
HabitsSaving

The true cost of small daily spends: honest arithmetic

The 'latte factor' is half true. Small purchases do add up, but they are rarely what stands between you and your goals. Here is the sober version.

Saving
SavingBudgeting

Saving when your income is irregular

Freelancers, seasonal workers and commission earners cannot budget off a fixed paycheque. The fix is to build a paycheque of your own.

Budgeting
BudgetingHabits

Safe to spend: a better question than “what’s my budget?”

A budget tells you what you planned. A safe-to-spend figure tells you what is actually free to use today without breaking a promise you already made.

Saving
SavingHabits

Audit your subscriptions in 15 minutes

Small recurring charges are easy to forget and add up to something that is no longer small. A short, structured pass will find the ones you do not use.

Net worth
Net worthBasics

What net worth really tells you (and what it doesn't)

One number, assets minus liabilities. It is a useful compass and a poor scoreboard. Here is how to read it without fooling yourself.

Debt
DebtBasics

Debt snowball vs avalanche, with a worked example

Two famous ways to clear several debts. One costs less, the other is easier to stick to. Here are the actual numbers side by side.

Saving
SavingBudgeting

Sinking funds, explained with real numbers

A sinking fund is just a bill that you pay to yourself in small pieces, so it does not arrive as a shock. It is the single most useful budgeting idea nobody told you about.

Budgeting
BudgetingBasics

The 50/30/20 rule, and when it breaks

A tidy rule of thumb that works well in some cities and for some incomes, and fails quietly in others. Here is how to use it without being fooled by it.

Saving
SavingBasics

Emergency fund: how much, and where to keep it

The advice is always 'three to six months'. Here is what that means in actual numbers, and why the boring answer on where to keep it is the right one.

Budgeting
BudgetingHabits

How to build a budget that survives real life

Most budgets fail in week three. Not because people lack discipline, but because the budget was built for a month that never happens.