Guides
Guides
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Plain, evergreen how-tos on money and technology: what to do, the free options first, and where to learn more.
Guides are separate from US Brief’s news coverage. News stories never carry these product links, and no retailer or affiliate partner chooses or reviews what we write.
Finance
- Budgeting basics: a simple way to start
A budget is a plan for where your money goes each month. You don’t need special software to start: a notebook, a spreadsheet or a free worksheet works. - Building an emergency fund
An emergency fund is cash set aside for unplanned expenses, such as a car repair, a medical bill or a loss of income. Even a small one can keep a surprise bill from turning into credit card debt.
Technology
- Protect your accounts: password managers, passkeys and security keys
Three habits do most of the work: a different strong password for every account, a second step at sign-in, and a plan for getting back in if you lose a phone or key. - Back up your phone and computer
Phones and laptops get lost, stolen, dropped and hit by malware. A backup is a separate copy of your photos, documents and settings that you can restore when that happens.
How we write guides
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