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A Curated List of the Best Starter Articles and Checklists

Welcome. If you’re here, you probably fall into one of these camps:

• You work for yourself and taxes feel like a part-time job you didn’t ask for
• You run a small business and your books are more “creative writing” than accounting
• You’re a regular W-2 filer who keeps Googling the same terms every April
• You just got off the phone with a CPA and need a translator
• You’re thinking about going into accounting as a career

If that’s you, you’re in the right spot. Here’s where to start.

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The Foundation — Read These First

These four are the clearest entry points into the blog. If you only read four posts, read these.

• The Easiest Way to Understand Debits and Credits — The blog is literally named after this concept. If you’ve never understood it, start here. This is the post everything else builds on.
• The Taxes That Hit an Individual Taxpayer — A map of every tax you probably don’t know you’re paying, including the ones that sneak up on you.
• This Is Your Income, This Is Your Tax, This Is Your Refund: A Simple 1040 Guide — What the 1040 is actually doing, in plain English. The next time you look at your return, you’ll recognize what you’re looking at.
• Overview: Types of Life & Health Insurance — Because insurance decisions quietly eat more of your budget than taxes do, and nobody explains the categories honestly.

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Pick Your Path

“I work for myself or freelance”

You file a Schedule C. Start here:

• Normal Schedule C Expense Categories — What you can actually deduct, without the sketchy advice.
• What Is Self-Employment Tax? (And Why It’s So High) — The tax that surprises every new freelancer.
• The Home Office Deduction — How to deduct your office without accidentally deducting your couch.
• Vehicle Expenses & Mileage Deductions — Mileage vs. actual expenses, decided simply.
• Clean Books for Freelancers — The classification rules that actually matter.

“I run a small business”

You have an entity, maybe employees, and real bookkeeping to worry about. Start here:

• The Monthly Close Doesn’t Have to Be a Nightmare — A real-world close process.
• Owners Draw, Payroll, Distributions, Guaranteed Payments — How to pay yourself without creating a disaster.
• Chart of Accounts for Normal Humans — How to set up your books so the rest of bookkeeping actually works.
• How to Use QBO Banking Rules the Right Way — Without quietly wrecking your books.

“I’m a W-2 employee or homeowner”

You file a regular 1040, maybe own property, probably over-pay for things. Start here:

• List of Tax Deductions on an Individual Return 1040 — Every common deduction in one place.
• Federal Tax Credits for Individual Taxpayers — Credits beat deductions dollar-for-dollar. Know which ones apply to you.
• Property Tax Protest Experience — A real walkthrough of protesting your own property tax.
• Health Insurance 101 — Marketplace, off-exchange, and employer plans explained honestly.

“I’m trying to figure out retirement accounts”

You’ve heard the terms but the mechanics are fuzzy. Start here:

• The IRAs Anyone Can Open — And how they actually show up on your tax return.
• Notes about Rollovers, Withdrawals & Roth Conversions — The mechanics of moving retirement money around without creating a tax bomb.
• How the IRS Knows You Owe Retirement Penalties — Early withdrawals, excess contributions, missed RMDs — what the IRS actually tracks.

“I’m shopping for insurance on a real budget”

You want coverage, not a sales pitch. Start here:

• I Can Only Afford $50–$100 a Month — What Insurance Should I Prioritize? — Honest prioritization when money is tight.
• Understanding Life Insurance: Term vs. Permanent — And figuring out what you actually need.
• How ACA Health Insurance Actually Works and Costs — What marketplace coverage actually costs after subsidies.

“I’m considering an accounting career”

Whether you’re in school or looking to pivot, start here:

• Your Favorite Accounting Class Is Actually a Career Roadmap — How your coursework maps to actual careers.
• The Enrolled Agent Fast Track — A shortcut into tax without the student loans.
• What You Can Actually Do With an Enrolled Agent License — Beyond tax season survival — the full career map.

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Tactical Checklists — “I Need to Do This Thing”

If you came here because you have a specific problem to solve, not to browse:

• I need to get my taxes organized → The Hunter-Gatherer Method — A step-by-step way to find and file all your tax docs before you open the software.
• I haven’t filed for a year (or more) → I Filed Late (or Didn’t File at All). Now What? — What to actually do, in order.
• My freelance books are a mess and I need to reconstruct expenses → Guide to Reconstructing Schedule C Expenses From Personal Transactions
• I need to clean up my QuickBooks → QBO Banking Rules + Bank Reconciliation for Normal Humans
• I need to actually close out a month → The Monthly Close
• I want to protest my property tax bill → Property Tax Protest Experience

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Still Not Sure Where to Go?

Browse by topic:

• Bookkeeping Notes — everything about keeping your books in order
• Taxes and IRS Notes — individual and business tax
• Insurance and Risk — life, health, property

Or just head to the full blog and wander.