Start Here

This site's content consists of short-form articles published sequentially as learning units.

Note: This page only lists articles that have been published, not all of them that will be eventually. My goal is to cover all of the essential topics in bite-size chunks.

I suggest you work through the material in this order:

0—Welcome to NGS

1—Let’s Get Real

2—Why This Stuff Matters

3—Stating the Obvious

4—Where Are You?

5—What’s a Steward?

6—Starting with the Basics

7—The Why of Wealth

8—Calculating Your Net Worth

9—Giving: Part One (Why Give)

10—Giving: Part Two (How It Fits)

11—Giving: Part Three (How Much and Where to Give)

12—Lever #0: Your Starting Net Worth

13—Lever #1: Your Income (Part One—Toil and Trouble)

14—Lever #1: Your Income (Part Two—Show Me the Money)

15—Lever #1: Your Income (Part Three—Asking for a Raise)

16–Lever #1: Your Income (Part Four—Employer Benefits as Part of Your Total Compensation)

17—Lever #1: Your Income (Part Five—The Other Comp Stuff)

18–Lever #1: Your Income (Part Six—The Risks)

19—Lever #1: Your Income (Part Seven—Transferring the Risk)

20—Lever #1: Your Income (Part Eight—Health Insurance)

21—Lever #1: Your Income (Part Nine—Life Insurance)

22—Lever #1: Your Income (Part Ten—Protecting Your Online Identity and Accounts)

23—Lever #2: Taxes (Part One—Payroll Taxes and Withholding)

24—Lever #2: Taxes (Part Two—Your Taxable Income)

25—Lever #2: Taxes (Part Three—Your Tax)

26—Lever #2: Taxes (Part Four—Your Marginal Tax Rate)

27—Lever #2: Taxes (Part Five—Retirement Account Tax Benefits)

28—Lever #2: Taxes (Part Six—The Traditional Versus Roth Decision)

29—Lever #2: Taxes (Part Seven—IRA Phase-Out Rules and the "Backdoor Roth")

30—Lever #2: Taxes (Part Eight—Taxable Brokerage Accounts)

31—Lever #2: Taxes (Part Nine—Itemized Deductions)

32–Lever #3: Spending (Part One—Consume Less)

33–Lever #3: Spending (Part Two—Making Lifestyle Decisions)

34—Lever #4: Spending (Part Three—Creating Margin)

35–Lever #4: Spending (Part Four—Live Below Your Means)