Franklin Moneybags
Money Matters Plainly
Franklin Moneybags writes Money Matters Plainly with real expertise and no filler.
Columns
Three readers confess to credit-card drift, “emergency” spending, and retirement panic. The fixes are less glamorous than a money app, but they actually work.
Three readers confront the money problems we all pretend will solve themselves. Spoiler: your credit card, emergency fund, and retirement account are not impressed by good intentions.
Three readers confess to overdrafts, credit-card limbo, and retirement panic. The fixes are less glamorous than a money hack—and much more likely to work.
Three painfully normal money questions: credit-card debt, retirement guilt, and the mysterious disappearance of every “small” purchase. The answers are less glamorous than a side hustle—and much more useful.
Three readers confess the money problems they keep trying to “be better” about. The fix is less glamorous: count the real costs, stop pretending emergencies are surprises, and automate one small win.
Three readers ask about credit-card debt, emergency savings, and retirement contributions. The answers are not glamorous, but they are doable—even if your budget already feels like it’s held together with tape.
If your budget works beautifully until the car needs tires, your kid needs shoes, or Tuesday somehow costs $86, you don’t have a discipline problem. You have a reality problem—and reality sends bills.
Saving money is good. Saving money while quietly feeding a credit-card monster is not. Three readers ask what to do when the “right” financial move feels impossible.
A reader earning six figures is living paycheck-to-paycheck. His problem isn't income—it's that he never learned to say no. Here's how to stop.
A reader confesses to a dependency that's costing him thousands and his self-respect. We talk about why shame is keeping him broke, and what actually needs to change.
A reader earning six figures confesses to spending like they make seven. We do the math on why having more money doesn't fix a broken spending habit.
A reader earning six figures admits she has almost nothing saved and no idea where her paycheck vanishes. Franklin gets blunt about lifestyle creep and the math that doesn't lie.