With more than a decade of posting, I thought we were due a highlights reel. We have 1,292 posts on Marotta on Money, but here are the 10 most visited posts on our blog.

1. The Complete Guide to Your Appliance Series

Written because Megan Russell was a new homeowner in 2013 curious how to most efficiently use her new appliances, The Complete Guide to Your Washing Machine ranks as our most popular post so far with The Complete Guide to Your Clothes Dryer and The Complete Guide To Your Dishwasher shortly after it. Each Complete Guide summarizes the costs and savings of each appliance. How much does my washing machine cost me? What temperature should the water be? What cycle should I use? What detergent should I use? What’s best for my clothes? How much does my dryer cost me? Should I air dry? Can I line dry inside? Is there ever a case when my dryer is cheaper? Does hand washing save money? How much does my dishwasher cost? Should I pre-wash? How full should I fill my dishwasher? What do I need to hand wash? Hop on over to The Complete Guide series to find out.

 

2. What is a 1031 Real Estate Exchange?

Written by Matheson Russell in 2014 just a few weeks after being hired as a supplemental post to David Marotta and Megan Russell’s “Fourteen Ways to Avoid Paying Capital Gains Tax,” Matheson’s “What is a 1031 Real Estate Exchange?” has far outstripped its parent article in popularity. Not only has it continued to be found by readers, but we still regularly get reader questions on the subject matter asking for our help and analysis. As he says in the article, “All told, a 1031 exchange is tricky to manage but definitely worth investigating.”

 

3. How to Avoid the Vehicle Sales Tax in Virginia

In 2012, David John Marotta authored “How to Avoid the Vehicle Sales Tax in Virginia” because he was asked by a parent how they could give a used car to their daughter without forking over a lot of taxes to the state of Virginia. “Sometimes a simple question doesn’t have a simple answer,” he writes. Then, this 1,000-word beauty of a blog post details everything you need to know about the taxes of trading cars around.

 

4. Is Funding My 401(k) Match Sufficient to Fund My Retirement?

A 2014 reader wondered if they were saving enough for their retirement even though they were only contributing 5% to their 401(k). David John Marotta responded in “Mailbag: Is Funding My 401(k) Match Sufficient to Fund My Retirement?” The answer (no) has quickly skyrocketed this post to among our top 10 rankings.

 

5. Tax Facts Series

In 2013, Austin Fey started gathering tax table information and presenting it back to the world in a beautiful format. Today, those posts — both the new and the historical —  are among our most popular. Browse around from her “Index of 2015 and 2014 Tax Tables” to explore posts like “2015 IRA and Roth Contribution Limits.”

 

6. Roth IRAs: If the Front Door Is Closed, Try the Back Door

A 2012 article whose popularity has never died, Matt Illian explains in “Roth IRAs: If the front door is closed, try the back door” how to fund your Roth IRA even if you are over the income limit. His later update, “If Tiger Woods Can Contribute To A Roth, So Can You – Via Back Door,” is also climbing in popularity, which we are all excited about. Everyone should look into funding their Roth IRAs.

 

7. Mailbag: Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Early?

In this popular post, David John Marotta tackles the age old question of “Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Early?” “Most Americans have a home mortgage,” David writes. “The rich often have two. Only the poor can’t take advantage of this ‘good’ debt.” It is a thought-provoking piece about the time-value of money. Although originally published in 2012, it attracts new visitors to this day.

 

8. Maximum Safe Withdrawal Rates in Retirement

Even if the only thing we contributed to the world of financial planning was our safe withdrawal rate formulas, we would still be really happy. David John Marotta takes you through the math of safe withdrawal rates in his groundbreaking and popular 2008 piece, “Maximum Safe Withdrawal Rates in Retirement.”

 

9. Gone-Fishing Series

We have hundreds of readers using the Marotta gone-fishing portfolio as their investment strategy. Each year, David John Marotta updates and refines his simple method of low-cost investing. The most recent posts are “Marotta’s 2015 Gone-Fishing Portfolio” and the convenient “Marotta’s 2015 Gone-Fishing Portfolio Calculator.”

 

10. Helpful Mobile Budgeting Tool Free For College Students

Is it popular because it has the word “free” in the title or because our readers really like this budgeting software? We don’t know! But Matt Illian’s 2014 post “Helpful Mobile Budgeting Tool Free For College Students” attracts new visitors regularly and ranks in at our number 10 most popular post.