Maya Ellison
Personal-finance writer & recovering over-spender
Denver, CO
Maya writes about money the way she wishes someone had explained it to her at 22 — plainly, with real numbers and none of the jargon. She isn't a financial advisor; she's someone who spent her twenties digging out of credit-card debt, got a little obsessive about budgeting, and now turns intimidating financial math into decisions anyone can make. Everything she writes is meant to inform, not to be personal financial advice.
Articles by Maya Ellison
How to Calculate Your Ideal Inbox Zero Recovery Time: Measuring the Effort and Frequency Required to Reach Inbox Baseline
Inbox zero sounds simple, but getting there — and staying there — takes measurable effort. This guide walks you through calculating how long it actually takes you to clear your inbox, how often you need to do it, and whether the time investment is worth the productivity payoff compared to a managed inbox strategy.
Sep 6, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal 72(t) SEPP Distribution Strategy: Early Retirement Withdrawals Without the 10% Penalty
Learn how to use IRS Rule 72(t) Substantially Equal Periodic Payments to access retirement funds before age 59½ penalty-free. We break down the three calculation methods—RMD, fixed amortization, and fixed annuitization—compare their annual payout differences, and show you how to model the long-term cost of locking into a SEPP schedule versus alternative early retirement funding bridges.
Sep 2, 2026How to Calculate Your Sprint Velocity Decline: Measuring Productivity Erosion Over Long Work Cycles
Discover how to track your output rate across consecutive work sprints, identify when fatigue-driven velocity drops begin, and calculate the exact point where diminishing returns make rest or scope reduction the smarter productivity move.
Sep 1, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Series EE Bond vs. I-Bond Strategy: Guaranteed Doubling, Inflation Protection, and Tax-Deferred Growth Analysis
Most investors overlook Series EE bonds entirely, yet they guarantee 100% growth if held 20 years—effectively a 3.5% annualized return locked in at purchase. This guide walks you through the exact math to compare EE bonds vs. I-bonds across three dimensions: inflation scenarios, time horizons, and tax treatment. Learn how to calculate whether the guaranteed doubling beats inflation-adjusted I-bond returns in low-inflation environments, how to layer both into a short-term vs. long-term savings bond ladder, and when the education tax exclusion makes either option dramatically more valuable than a 529 plan for middle-income households.
Aug 31, 2026How to Calculate Your Meeting Preparation Time: Measuring the Hidden Pre-Call Investment Against Actual Meeting Outcomes
Most professionals track meeting duration but ignore the 10–30 minutes spent preparing for each one. Learn how to quantify your true meeting preparation overhead, benchmark prep-to-call ratios across meeting types, and use a simple scoring model to decide when thorough preparation pays off versus when it drains your calendar efficiency.
Aug 30, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Mortgage Points Buy-Down Strategy: Upfront Cost vs. Long-Term Interest Savings Analysis
Paying discount points to lower your mortgage rate sounds appealing, but the math is trickier than lenders let on. Learn how to calculate your exact break-even timeline, factor in opportunity cost of that upfront cash, and determine whether buying down your rate actually saves money based on how long you plan to stay in the home.
Aug 28, 2026How to Calculate Your Ideal Focus-to-Admin Ratio: Measuring Deep Work Hours Against Operational Task Load
Most professionals lose more productive hours to low-value admin tasks than they realize. Learn how to measure your current focus-to-admin ratio, benchmark it against your role type, and calculate the exact reallocation needed to reclaim deep work time without letting operational duties slip.
Aug 28, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal HELOC Draw vs. Repayment Schedule: Interest-Only Phase, Principal Paydown Timing, and Rate Risk Management
A HELOC's two-phase structure confuses most homeowners into costly mistakes. Learn how to calculate the true interest burden during the draw period, model the payment shock when repayment begins, and decide whether paying down principal early—or investing the difference—actually puts more money in your pocket.
Aug 24, 2026How to Calculate Your Onboarding Time Investment: Measuring New Tool Adoption Costs Against Long-Term Workflow Gains
Every new app or platform you adopt comes with a hidden onboarding tax. Learn how to quantify the hours spent learning, configuring, and integrating new tools against their projected time savings — so you can make smarter adoption decisions before committing your most valuable resource.
Aug 23, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Car Loan vs. Pay Cash Decision: Opportunity Cost, Interest Rate Arbitrage, and True Cost Analysis
Discover whether financing your next vehicle or paying cash outright actually puts more money in your pocket. This guide walks through interest rate arbitrage, the real opportunity cost of tying up capital, break-even calculations, and how your investment return assumptions should drive the decision — with real examples at multiple price points.
Aug 21, 2026How to Calculate Your Ideal Delegation Threshold: Measuring When It's More Productive to Hand Off Tasks Than Do Them Yourself
Not every task deserves your personal attention. Learn how to calculate a delegation score using your hourly rate, task complexity, training time, and quality risk — so you can identify exactly which responsibilities to hand off for maximum time and output efficiency.
Aug 21, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal 529 Plan Superfunding Strategy: Front-Loading 5-Year Gift Tax Exclusion vs. Annual Contributions
Discover how to front-load up to $90,000 per beneficiary into a 529 plan using the 5-year gift tax election, and calculate whether lump-sum superfunding beats annual contributions when accounting for investment growth, estate tax removal, and financial aid impact timelines.
Aug 18, 2026