Personal finance
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FinanceFirst publishes practical guides, original research and free calculators for everyday money decisions.
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Latest guides
Guide
Should You Raise Your Insurance Deductible? Check Your Savings First
Guide
How to Try to Get Your Money Back After a Scam
Guide
Credit Card Debt or Emergency Savings? One Expert’s $1,000 Rule
Guide
How Checking Accounts Work: Fees, Holds, Overdrafts and Safer Setup
Guide
Available Balance vs. Current Balance: What You Can Actually Spend
Research & reports
All reports
Research report
The Real Cost of Owning a Car
A lower car payment can hide a higher ownership cost. Compare vehicle types, loan terms and early-sale risk with sourced data, reproducible calculations and a buyer’s worksheet.
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Research report
America's Electric Bill Report 2025: Every State and Utility, Ranked
The average U.S. residential electricity customer paid $150.68 a month in 2025, 5.9% more than in 2024 and more than twice the pace of inflation. Customers paid $17.5 billion more than a year earlier. Bills rose fastest in the PJM region (11.6% vs 4.6% elsewhere), average bills rose 20% or more at 24 comparable utilities, and the average residential price was 6.8% higher from January to August 2026 than a year earlier.
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Research report
America's Falling Birth Rate: U.S. Fertility & Family Affordability Report 2026
Final CDC data count 3,612,012 U.S. births in 2025 and a general fertility rate of 53.2 per 1,000 females ages 15-44. This report examines family affordability alongside dated fertility indicators and clearly labelled policy-cost scenarios, without treating association as proof of causation.
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Financial calculators
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Compound Interest Calculator
See how deposits, time and returns shape your savings.
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Debt Payoff Calculator
Compare debt avalanche and debt snowball payoff timelines with monthly interest, minimum payments, extra payments and payment rollover.
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FIRE Calculator
See how saving and spending shape your FIRE target and timeline.
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