Personal Finance

Life stages.
One playbook per chapter.

READ3 min · UPDATED2026-04-14

Reviewed against primary sources cited at the bottom of this page.

Your financial strategy should change as your life does. What's optimal at 22 is wrong at 42. These six guides walk through the financial picture - debt, savings, taxes, retirement, Bitcoin - for six distinct life chapters. Pick the one you're in.

This page covers personal finance fundamentals that apply regardless of your view on Bitcoin or fiat currency.

This page covers US-specific accounts and tax law. Outside the US? The priority order is the same, the account names differ (ISA in the UK, TFSA/RRSP in Canada, Super in Australia, etc.).

IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Good financial advice is specific to a life stage. A 22-year-old should not be optimizing for sequence-of-returns risk. A 62-year-old should not be aggressively DCA'ing a volatile asset. Pick the stage that matches your reality and read that one.

Pick your chapter

STAGE 1 - AGE 18 TO 24

New graduate

First real job, first real income, first real decisions. If you start at 22 with the right order of operations, everything downstream gets easier.

STAGE 2 - AGE 25 TO 35

Early career

Income growing, decisions multiplying. Rent vs buy, marry vs not, salary negotiation. A $5K raise now beats a $50K windfall at 55.

STAGE 3 - AGE 35 TO 50

Mid career

Peak earning years. Kids, mortgages, college savings, estate planning. If you are behind, this is where catch-up happens.

STAGE 4 - AGE 50 TO 65

Pre-retirement

Final stretch. Sequence-of-returns risk, Roth conversions, Social Security timing, Bitcoin rebalancing. The decisions you make now echo for 30 years.

STAGE 5 - AGE 65+

In retirement

Living off the portfolio. Withdrawal sequencing, RMDs, healthcare, Bitcoin as inheritance or income.

STAGE 6 - ANY AGE

Irregular income

Freelancers, gig workers, entrepreneurs. Monthly budgets fail when the paycheck doesn't. Fixed-floor first, then a holding account buffer to smooth the fat and lean months.

Which one are you in?

In most cases the answer is obvious: your age tells you. A few signals that suggest you should skip ahead:

You have dependents, a mortgage, and retirement is 15+ years away - read mid-career even if you are 32.
You are 45 but started investing late - read early career first, then mid-career.
Your income swings 3x month-to-month - irregular income applies regardless of age.
You are within 10 years of retirement - pre-retirement, regardless of how old you are on paper.

Financial plans are not birthday cards. They adjust to your situation, not your age. Pick the stage that matches your circumstances.

NOT SURE WHERE TO START

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