Latest articles · 2026-09-21 ↓
Latest articles
Eighth collection · Remittance receipts, callable bonds and home-insurance valuations. Previous collections remain below.
International money transfers: compare total paid with the amount the recipient gets
A zero transfer fee is not a complete price. Read the two sides of a remittance receipt before comparing offers.
Callable bond call prices: why yield to worst can be far below the coupon
A redemption premium does not protect the premium you paid. Compare the contractual call dates and prices, not just the coupon or maturity yield.
Home insurance RCV vs ACV: why your deductible is not always your whole repair bill
Replacement cost, depreciation and the deductible answer different questions. Compare the final settlement and the cash needed before repairs are finished.
I bond composite rate vs redemption value: where the last three months go
Separate an annualized six-month rate from the dollars you can redeem, and avoid subtracting the early-redemption penalty twice.
Deferred interest vs 0% APR: why a tiny unpaid balance can trigger a large interest charge
“No interest if paid in full” is a conditional waiver, not necessarily a zero interest rate. The deadline and payment allocation matter as much as the amount you send.
A mutual fund NAV drop after a distribution is not automatically a total-return loss
Reconcile shares, the ex-distribution NAV and cash or an unpaid distribution before treating a lower fund price as lost wealth.
Money market fund 7-day yield vs a bank money market account: what changes?
Similar names conceal different products. Separate the recent-income measure from deposit insurance, principal risk and access to cash.
Market order vs. limit order: the last stock price is not your execution price
A displayed trade is not a reservation. Understand price uncertainty, partial fills and the price boundary a limit order actually provides.
Auto lease monthly payment vs. total cost: residual value is not the whole buyout budget
Compare signing money, remaining payments and return costs separately from the cash needed to purchase the car.
TIPS adjusted principal is not a market price or a purchase-price guarantee
Separate inflation indexing, the amount a buyer will pay today, and the principal floor that applies at maturity.
Why credit card APR is not your monthly interest bill
Daily balances, payment timing and purchase grace periods explain why dividing APR by twelve does not reproduce a statement.
Contango and backwardation: why a futures curve is not a spot-price forecast
Separate delivery-month price differences, convergence and the return from maintaining a futures position.
Why a stock split price adjustment is not a stock-price crash
A lower quote can mean smaller share units, not lost wealth. Separate the split arithmetic from the market return.
Why selling a brokered CD early can cost you principal
No early-withdrawal penalty does not mean a guaranteed sale at your purchase price.
Why the average electricity price is not your household bill
A cents-per-kWh statistic, a utility tariff and a monthly payment measure different things. Here is how to compare them without double-counting charges.
TOPIC COLLECTION
Metal prices: from content to quote
Separate benchmarks, retail offers, buybacks and theoretical metal values. Check the material and unit before comparing.
One metal. Three different gold prices.
A benchmark, a shop price and a buyback offer answer different questions. Here is how to compare them without inventing a “fair premium”.
18K gold: calculate the metal, not the price tag.
A purity mark helps estimate fine-gold content. It does not authenticate a piece or establish its resale price.
925 silver: why melt value is not your payout.
A clean calculation for sterling silver, with explicit limits for plated, weighted and mixed-material objects.