Janet Berry-Johnson, CPA, CFEI

Janet Berry-Johnson, CPA, CFEI I'm a CPA, Daily Money Manager, Financial Coach, and Tax and Accounting Content Writer. I help families get financially organized.

Hiring a caregiver for an aging parent is one of the most important decisions you'll make. It's also one of the most exp...
07/14/2026

Hiring a caregiver for an aging parent is one of the most important decisions you'll make. It's also one of the most expensive (especially if you don't know your options).

Agency care comes with convenience built in. Private care comes with cost savings and consistency, but it means you're the employer. I've known quite a few people who go the more expensive route just because the idea of dealing with payroll, withholding taxes, filing tax forms, and issuing a W-2 at year-end is more than they want to contemplate in an already overwhelming season of life.

Swipe through for the breakdown. I'm also sharing my for Poppins Payroll in the comments if you want to see how the employer piece works.

Disclosure: I am a partner with Poppins Payroll and earn an affiliate commission if you sign up using the link in my bio, at no additional cost to you.

This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Always consult with a professional regarding your specific household situation.

If you're age 60 - 63, there is a newish 401(k) rule you need to know about.It is called the "super catch-up" contributi...
07/13/2026

If you're age 60 - 63, there is a newish 401(k) rule you need to know about.

It is called the "super catch-up" contribution. People in that age bracket can contribute more to their 401(k) than everyone else.

For 2026, the standard limit for everyone is $24,500.
People age 50+ can make a "catch-up" contribution of $8,000, for a total of $32,500.

But the super catch-up for people age 60-63 is $11,250, so the maximum contribution for this age group is $35,750.

Congress added this provision to the SECURE 2.0 Act specifically for people who are a few years out from retirement and feel behind. The idea is to give them a concentrated window to put more away before they stop working.

If you have been telling yourself you'll get serious about retirement savings soon, the time is now. This higher limit is only available from age 60-63. At 64, it drops back down to the standard catch-up amount.

And if you are not in that age bracket yourself, do you have a parent who is? Don't let this opportunity slip by without them realizing it. It might not come up in normal conversation, so make sure they know this exists.

The 2026 deadline to contribute is December 31.

Today is Simplicity Day. Your finances called. They want to talk. Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12. His whole thi...
07/12/2026

Today is Simplicity Day. Your finances called. They want to talk.

Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12. His whole thing was stripping life down to what actually matters. Every year on his birthday, people observe National Simplicity Day.

Your finances could use the same treatment.

You don't need a complete overhaul or a 47-category budget spreadsheet. How about fewer moving pieces, tracked in one place, reviewed on a regular schedule?

That might look like one account view instead of logging into six separate bank websites. Maybe it's one place where you can see what's coming in, what's going out, and where the gaps are. Or a monthly check-in that takes 20 minutes instead of the three-hour financial archaeology project you've been avoiding.

Complexity can be a sign that things have accumulated without a system.

Simple isn't the same as easy. But it's a lot easier to stay on top of.

There's a link to the tools I use to keep my own finances in place in the comments.

It’s hard to believe, but half the year is gone. Your tax situation might have changed. Here’s what to check now before ...
07/10/2026

It’s hard to believe, but half the year is gone. Your tax situation might have changed. Here’s what to check now before you forget and while you still have time to make changes that will have a big impact when you file your 2026 tax return.

It's hard to believe, but half the year is gone. Your tax situation might have changed. Here's what to check now before ...
07/10/2026

It's hard to believe, but half the year is gone. Your tax situation might have changed. Here's what to check now before you forget and while you still have time to make changes that will have a big impact when you file your 2026 tax return.

07/09/2026

There's a psychology term for what you're doing: contingent self-worth. It means your sense of value is tied to output, getting things done, being needed, and keeping everything from falling apart.

Psychologists Jennifer Crocker and Connie Wolfe described it in a 2001 paper in Psychological Review. When self-worth depends on performance, people work harder. But they also become more controlling, more defensive, and more afraid of failure. Failure stops being an event and starts feeling like a threat to who you are.

Sound familiar?

You're good at being the one who handles things. Your parents need you. Your kids need you. Your employer needs you. And being needed feels like proof of something.

The problem Crocker and Wolfe identified is when your worth is performance-based, you can succeed all week and still feel one bad day away from unraveling. The nervous system never rests. There's always one more thing that would make it okay to stop.

That costs you financially in the form of the retirement account you never contribute to because there's always something more urgent, the old 401(k) you left with a former employer and haven't looked at in years, or the catch-up contributions you keep meaning to start.

It's ok to have a to-do list. But don't let the to-do list become the measure of whether you matter.

Does this confession sound familiar? "I have two credit cards because I 'lost track' of the balance on the first one."...
07/08/2026

Does this confession sound familiar? "I have two credit cards because I 'lost track' of the balance on the first one."

A fresh start. A clean slate. A second card that is also now concerning.

Drop a 💳 if you have ever solved a money problem by creating a new account.

07/07/2026

Eisenhower said plans are worthless but planning is everything. I think about that a lot as my parents’ power of attorney.

I don’t know when they’ll need me to step in, if they’ll need round the clock care someday, or if they’ll be able to stay in their home.

They have a plan. That plan might go to 💩. But that’s not a reason to do nothing.

When you have the right documents in place, you’ve had conversations about what they want, and you know where the important stuff is, you’re not locked into one plan. You’re as ready as you can be to respond to whatever happens.

The goal is to not be starting from zero when something changes.

Women receive an average of $1,760 per month in Social Security. Men receive $2,198. So women get $438 less each month a...
07/07/2026

Women receive an average of $1,760 per month in Social Security. Men receive $2,198. So women get $438 less each month and $5,254 every year.

Those numbers come from a new FinanceBuzz analysis of the latest Social Security Administration (SSA) data.

This happens because the SSA calculates benefits on your 35 highest-earning years. If you work fewer than 35 years, zeroes are averaged in. So when you leave the workforce or cut back to part-time, those years can drag your average down. You get a smaller check for the rest of your life.

Women are more likely than men to leave the workforce to care for children or aging parents, so they might have years with little or no earnings in their Social Security history. They're also more likely to work part-time during peak earning years and work in lower-paying fields. Even women working full-time earned 85 cents for every dollar their male counterparts made in 2024, according to Pew Research.

Every one of those factors shrinks the number Social Security eventually uses to calculate your benefit.

A lot of women are going to retire and discover their monthly Social Security benefit doesn't cover what they need it to cover.

Knowing what you have, what Social Security is likely to pay you, and what's missing isn't glamorous work, but it's better than being surprised at 67.

You can check your estimated Social Security benefits right now at ssa.gov. That's your starting point.

07/06/2026

Family CFOs: good intentions don’t give you legal authority. A healthcare directive and a power of attorney do. Get them in place before you’re in a crisis.

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