Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

You probably don’t have $15 million lying around, unless you’re sitting on a secret OnlyFans empire or sold a startup before graduation. Still, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed this summer impacts you.

One of its biggest long-term changes: it made the high estate and gift tax exemptions permanent. You can now be exempt up to $15 milli per person or $30 milli per couple.

Now you may be thinking, “I can hardly get 15 to 30 dollars for the $600 concert ticket that I want.”

And that’s tough.

While this sounds like billionaire stuff, it actually affects how all of us think about money long-term when we start saving, investing, or inheriting.

Because financial planning isn’t just for the wealthy.

It’s for anyone who wants to make sure their hard-earned money, or even their modest-but-mighty Roth IRA, ends up where they want it.

If you want to know what doing it wrong looks like, you can check out the 6-year family drama-fest for Prince’s estate here. It wasn’t pretty.

Think of estate planning like setting up a future-you safety net. You might not need to put all your money in a trust fund, but you do need a plan.

Your future self (and your future people) will thank you for thinking ahead before life gets messy.

Say the worst happens: you croak.

Shortly after the world grieves your profound loss, your investment accounts become your beneficiary’s property.

Your beneficiary list is basically your account’s emergency contact. Except instead of getting a phone call, they get your money.

Here’s how to make sure that handoff doesn’t turn into a mess:

Do this once a year or any time your life changes in a big way (like a new job, new baby, new marriage, and so on).

Will and estate planning might seem silly at this age, but planning ahead can be really beneficial for your family, and to you.

Coincidentally, thinking about what happens if you die can make a lot of things in life suddenly clear.

You don’t need to be rich to plan your estate.

FreeWill is exactly what it sounds like: a completely free software that enables you to build a legally valid will in about 20 minutes.

No lawyer, no stress, no thousand-dollar charges.

It’s the adulting starter pack for your financial legacy.

Also, quick reminder that I am not sponsored by any of the tools I note here. I wish I was! These are just the tools I use. Yes, I have made a will with this service.

Bored this weekend? How about you spice it up with some beneficiary designation.

Let me get you going right now:

It’s a simple way to take care of future you and the people you care about.

Besides, even if wills & estate planning are only for super rich people, just fake it ’til you make it. ;)

Thank you so much for being a part of this newsletter. I am grateful to write to you weekly and I hope this helps you feel more confident with your finances.

If you found this newsletter helpful, please share it with a friend and invite them to subscribe.

I have a goal of helping people learn personal finance. It works better when more people get my emails.

Thank you for helping me (and your friend) out!