Must Read: How Income Tax Brackets Work, What $100 Was Worth 100 Years Ago

These are the top stories in personal finance this week. How Income Tax Brackets Work And Why Going Up A Tax Bracket Will Never Earn You Less Money With tax season in full swing, why not get into the nitty gritty of the system? It’s often unclear where we stand in relation to what’s taken out of our paychecks and how that number is affected as we earn more over the course of our careers. This article offers an accurate and understandable explanation (complete with easy reference tables!) of income tax brackets along with how much the government cuts out of your earnings when all is said and done. Check out why you’re getting what you get with this useful explanation. (Medium)  The 3-Layer Rule To Always Have Delicious, Easy Weeknight Meals On A Budget It’s exhausting being creative enough to combine preferences, variety, and efficiency into any aspect of life – and doing it on a consistent basis is another story completely. If you’re one of those people who longs to get “it all” done (we are, too) and feel accomplished and on top of your life, meal planning is probably one of those items at the top of your list (or floating around as an idea for the future on your Pinterest board). Overachievers rejoice! Developing a system for meal planning that doesn’t require much thought but that packs in a variety of options, healthy ingredients, and cost-savings is actually possible! (The Financial Diet) How To Save Thousands Of Dollars By Asking One Simple Question Looking back on financial regrets is a painful activity … I could have saved HOW much?! Often, when we look back on instances of loss where we could have flourished, changing the results of the situation would have only taken a simple question. The author of this article looks into several examples in which people in her life asked questions and made a huge difference in the financial outcome of the event. (Frugal Asian Finance) Want To Make Millennials Mad? Talk About Saving For Retirement Understatement: millennials are anxious about their finances. We talk about it all the time on The Money Manual — student loans, changing financial times, and disparities in income compared to previous generations all contribute to the saga of the young adults today. When the author of this article wrote another piece about how Fidelity suggests having twice your salary saved by the time you’re 35, readers took to Twitter, feeling frustrated and disheartened. This is what they’re saying their realities look like. (MarketWatch) A Visualization Of Corruption Around The World How corrupt is the United States? Okay, okay, we’re all going to have varying opinions on that subject. Calculated in an annual study focusing on multiple aspects of how countries conduct business and behave politically, this infographic and subsequent analysis of the data it presents guides the reader through the most and least corrupt parts of the world by country. It also links out to the original report itself, in case you’re interested in taking a deeper dive into the topic. (Visual Capitalist) Financial Freedom And The Value Of Time Many of us grew up around people whose long-term plan was to work until retirement and then to use that time to apply their set-aside earnings to relax and do what they liked to do without the worries of time, schedules, and tight deadlines. Although this sounds stable and practical, these days, many of us are looking toward a more even combination of working and enjoying the time we have starting…yesterday. How valuable is your time to you? How are you planning to have that value reflected in your day to day? (Get Rich Slowly) What $100 In Today’s Money Could Have Bought You In 1920 Through the magic of inflation, $1,300 one hundred years ago is now $100 today. So many industries have fallen subject to lower prices over time as technology makes producing what we need cheaper, although it costs more now than it would have in decades past through the ever-changing value of a dollar. Here’s a look through time at what we’ve been able to afford when and whether or not you can do anything to compensate for changes in inflation over the years. (Think Save Retire) Feature Image: Twenty20