The Canopy Blog
Straightforward advice on budgeting, debt, investing, and taking control of your money.
How to Choose Health Insurance at Your First Job
Health insurance is one of the largest purchases a 22-year-old makes, and the one they have had the least preparation for. Here is how to actually compare the plans in front of you.
What to Do Financially After Losing Your Job
A few decisions are time-sensitive in ways nobody mentions until the window has closed. Here is the sequence for the first week, the first month, and what not to touch.
What Is an ETF?
ETF describes the wrapper, not the strategy. Here is what an ETF actually is, how it differs from a mutual fund holding the same investments, and when that difference matters.
How to Stop Paying Overdraft Fees
A $4 coffee that costs $39 is not a pricing problem. Here is what an overdraft fee actually is, the opt-in rule most people never hear about, and how to stop paying them.
How to Freeze Your Credit
It's free by federal law, it doesn't touch your credit score, and it stops the most common form of identity theft before it starts. Here's how to place one at all three bureaus today.
How to Ask for a Raise
There is a ceiling on saving that there is not on earning. Here is how to prepare, when to ask, what to say, and what to do with a no.
Do I Need a Will?
Probably — and for a large share of your money, a will may not control who gets it anyway. Here is what a will does, what it does not, and the form to check today.
What Is a Bond?
The safe part of a portfolio that sometimes loses money. Here is what a bond actually is, the one relationship that explains its behavior, and what to check.
How Do Capital Gains Taxes Work?
Two things decide what you owe when you sell an investment: how long you held it and what account it was in. Here is how capital gains actually work.
How Much Car Can I Afford?
The dealer asks what monthly payment you are comfortable with. That is the wrong question — here is how to find the number that accounts for what a car actually costs.
How to Save Money on a Low Income
Most saving advice assumes slack that is not there. This does not. Here is what actually helps when the math is genuinely tight, in the order it pays off.
HSA vs. FSA: What's the Difference?
Two acronyms on the same enrollment form that work nothing alike. One is yours forever; the other mostly disappears in December. Here are the 2026 numbers and how to choose.