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 Clipboard History Efficiency: Measuring Copy-Paste Workflow Optimization and Time Savings
Most meetings run over or waste time on low-priority items because no one has calculated how to allocate agenda slots. Learn a data-driven method to assign precise time blocks to each agenda item based on topic complexity, attendee count, and decision weight — so every meeting ends on time with clear outcomes.
Aug 18, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Inherited IRA Distribution Strategy: RMDs, 10-Year Rule, and Tax Bracket Management
Inheriting an IRA comes with complex rules that can cost you thousands in unnecessary taxes. Learn how to calculate optimal withdrawal timing under the SECURE Act 2.0 10-year rule, compare stretch strategies for eligible designated beneficiaries, and model distributions across tax brackets to minimize your lifetime tax burden on inherited retirement assets.
Aug 17, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Task Prioritization Score: Measuring Urgency, Impact, and Effort to Build a Smarter To-Do List
Learn how to assign numerical values to urgency, impact, and effort so you can rank your daily tasks objectively, eliminate guesswork from your to-do list, and consistently tackle the work that moves the needle most.
Aug 16, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Spousal IRA Contribution Strategy: Maximizing Retirement Savings on One Income
If one spouse earns little or no income, a spousal IRA can double your household retirement savings — but the math on contribution limits, income thresholds, Roth vs. Traditional eligibility, and tax deduction phase-outs is surprisingly complex. This guide walks through exactly how to calculate the optimal contribution split, when a backdoor Roth makes sense on a single income, and how to coordinate spousal IRA contributions with an employer 401(k) to minimize lifetime taxes.
Aug 15, 2026How to Calculate Your Timezone-Adjusted Deadline Risk: Measuring the Hidden Time Loss in Cross-Border Project Delivery
When deadlines cross international date lines and time zones, a 5 PM cutoff in New York is already yesterday in Sydney. Learn how to quantify timezone offset penalties, calculate true delivery windows, and build buffer strategies that account for the hidden hours lost in global handoffs—before they cost you a client.
Aug 15, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Savings Bond vs. Treasury Bill Ladder Strategy: Short-Term Safety, Yield, and Tax Efficiency Analysis
Confused between I-Bonds, EE Bonds, and T-Bills for your safe money allocation? Learn how to compare after-tax yields, liquidity constraints, purchase limits, and maturity timelines to build the optimal short-term government security ladder for your cash reserves and conservative portfolio.
Aug 13, 2026How to Calculate Your Ideal Archive vs. Delete Threshold: Measuring Storage Costs Against Future Information Retrieval Value
Learn how to build a data-driven framework for deciding what digital files to archive versus permanently delete. This guide walks you through measuring storage costs, retrieval frequency, and the hidden time cost of over-hoarding digital clutter so you can make smarter, faster decisions about your file lifecycle.
Aug 13, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Buy vs. Lease Decision for Major Assets: Cars, Equipment, and Real Estate Analysis
Buying and leasing look similar on the surface but carry dramatically different long-term costs. Learn how to calculate the true financial break-even between buying and leasing cars, business equipment, and real estate—factoring in depreciation, opportunity cost, tax deductions, and flexibility premiums to make the mathematically optimal choice for your situation.
Aug 11, 2026How to Calculate Your Undo History Depth Requirement: Measuring Version Control Needs Against Storage and Performance Costs
Discover how to determine the optimal undo history length for your workflow by measuring revision frequency, error rates, and the real storage and processing cost of deep version buffers across your most-used tools.
Aug 11, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Solo 401(k) vs. SEP-IRA Contribution Limit: Self-Employed Retirement Maximization Strategy
Self-employed workers can contribute significantly more to retirement than traditional employees, but choosing between a Solo 401(k) and SEP-IRA requires careful math. Learn how to calculate your maximum allowable contribution under each plan based on net self-employment income, compare Roth vs. traditional options only available in Solo 401(k)s, and determine which account structure saves you more in taxes based on your income bracket and business structure.
Aug 10, 2026How to Calculate Your Recurring Task Frequency: Finding the Optimal Interval for Maintenance, Reviews, and Routine Work
Learn how to determine the perfect repetition schedule for recurring tasks — from weekly reviews to system maintenance — using time-cost analysis, diminishing returns modeling, and interval optimization formulas to eliminate both over-processing and costly neglect.
Aug 9, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Payoff Order for Multiple Debts: Student Loans, Car, Mortgage, and Credit Cards Ranked
When you have four or five different debts competing for the same extra dollar, which one wins? This guide walks through a mathematical framework for ranking student loans, auto loans, mortgages, and credit cards by true priority—factoring in after-tax interest rates, psychological momentum, credit score impact, and opportunity cost against investing. Includes a step-by-step decision tree and real examples comparing different income levels and debt mixes.
Aug 7, 2026