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 File Naming Convention ROI: Measuring Search Time Savings Against Standardization Investment
Discover how a consistent file naming system can save you hours each week. Learn how to measure your current search time costs, calculate the upfront investment in building a naming convention, and determine your personal break-even point for adopting a structured digital filing system.
Aug 6, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Home Warranty vs. Self-Insurance Fund: Coverage Gaps, Claim Costs, and Break-Even Analysis
Most homeowners overpay for home warranties without running the numbers. Learn how to calculate your annual appliance and system risk exposure, compare it against warranty premiums and exclusions, and determine whether building a dedicated self-insurance sinking fund beats paying a third party—including a real break-even formula you can apply to your specific home age and appliance inventory.
Aug 5, 2026How to Calculate Your Offshore and Freelance Contractor Time Overlap: Measuring Synchronous Hours vs. Async Workflow Efficiency
Hiring remote freelancers or offshore contractors? Learn how to quantify your real-time collaboration window, calculate the true cost of scheduling gaps, and determine when async workflows outperform live meetings for distributed team productivity.
Aug 4, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Annuity vs. Systematic Withdrawal Strategy: Guaranteed Income vs. Portfolio Flexibility Analysis
Deciding between an annuity and systematic portfolio withdrawals in retirement isn't just about yield—it's about longevity risk, inflation exposure, and liquidity needs. Learn how to model both strategies side by side, calculate your break-even age, factor in fees and surrender charges, and determine which approach—or hybrid combination—maximizes your after-tax retirement income based on your specific health, spending, and legacy goals.
Aug 1, 2026How to Calculate Your Time-to-First-Task Delay: Measuring Morning Startup Costs and Optimizing Your Workday Launch
The gap between sitting down at your desk and doing real work is costing you more than you think. Learn how to measure your personal morning startup overhead — from email checks to app loading routines — and calculate the cumulative weekly productivity loss hiding in your daily launch sequence.
Aug 1, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Pet Ownership Budget: True Annual Costs, Insurance Break-Even, and Emergency Fund Strategy
Most pet owners underestimate actual ownership costs by 40-60%. Learn how to calculate breed-specific annual expenses, determine whether pet insurance pays off mathematically, size a dedicated pet emergency fund, and factor in end-of-life care costs—so your furry companion never becomes a financial emergency.
Jul 31, 2026How to Calculate Your Async vs. Real-Time Communication Ratio: Measuring the Productivity Cost of Always-On Availability
Discover how to measure the true productivity impact of synchronous vs. asynchronous communication by calculating interruption frequency, response expectations, and deep work preservation—then use data to build a communication style that protects your focus time.
Jul 31, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Life Insurance Type: Term vs. Whole vs. Universal Policy Break-Even Analysis
Confused between term, whole, and universal life insurance? Learn how to run the numbers on premiums, cash value accumulation, investment opportunity cost, and coverage timelines to find which policy type actually protects your family and builds wealth most efficiently at your income level.
Jul 30, 2026How to Calculate Your Project Handoff Time: Measuring Documentation, Knowledge Transfer, and Onboarding Efficiency
Discover how to quantify the true time cost of transferring projects between team members or departments. Learn to measure documentation completeness, knowledge gap fill rates, and onboarding speed to build handoff systems that cut transition delays by up to 60%.
Jul 29, 2026How to Calculate Your True Cost of Raising a Child: From Birth Through College by Income Level
The USDA estimates $310,000 to raise a child, but that number misses childcare inflation, opportunity costs, and regional variation. Learn how to build a personalized child-rearing cost model that accounts for your income level, location, family size discounts, and hidden expenses like lost career earnings—so you can plan finances before and after having kids.
Jul 26, 2026How to Calculate Your Ideal Response Time SLA: Measuring Personal Communication Commitments Across Email, Slack, and Messaging Platforms
Discover how to set and measure your own response time service-level agreements across different communication channels. Learn to calculate the true productivity cost of immediate replies versus batched responses, and find the optimal balance between availability and deep work output.
Jul 25, 2026How to Calculate Your Optimal Buy Now, Pay Later vs. Credit Card Strategy: True Cost, Interest, and Credit Score Impact Analysis
BNPL services like Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay seem interest-free, but hidden fees, missed payment penalties, and credit score implications tell a different story. Learn how to calculate the true cost of installment financing versus putting purchases on a rewards credit card, including break-even scenarios for large purchases and how each option affects your long-term financial health.
Jul 23, 2026