The 457(b) “Cheat Code” for Early Retirees
If you want to retire before 59½, one of the most useful accounts you can have is also one of
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Part 3: Build Your Own Roth Conversion NPV Model
This is Part 3 in a series on Roth conversions. If you haven’t read Part 1 and Part 2, you
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Five Things I Do Choose to Optimize (Even Though I Value Sleep)
In a recent post, I listed five things I choose not to optimize in favor of sleeping well at night
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The Risks Nobody Talks About: Fraud, Fees, and Financial Decisions as You Age
When people think about financial risk, they are usually picturing market volatility. They worry about a concentrated stock position that
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Roth Conversions Using a Discounted Cash Flows (DCF) Framework
Part 1: When Should You Do Roth Conversions and Why do Most Calculators Get the Analysis Wrong? There is no
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How to Rebalance Your Portfolio Without Creating Unanticipated Tax Problems (Plus a Rebalancing Calculator)
Rebalancing triggers taxes if you’re not careful. Here’s a framework for rebalancing across taxable, pre-tax, and Roth accounts without the tax hit.
Backdoor Roth 101: What It Is, Who Needs It, and Where It Breaks
Locked out of a Roth IRA because of your income? Learn how the Backdoor Roth works, when it makes sense, and how to avoid common tax mistakes.
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Sleeping Well at Night (SWAN) vs. Optimization: Choose Your Early Retirement Philosophy
Should you maximize every dollar or maximize your peace of mind? This post looks at the fundamental clash between financial optimization and the “Sleep Well At Night” (SWAN) philosophy across cash buffers, Roth conversions, college savings, and paying off a mortgage early.
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No is a Complete Sentence: Playing Financial Defense Against Financial Pros
Standard financial education teaches us how to build wealth, but completely ignores how to defend it. When dealing with high-pressure wealth managers and complex products, survival requires mastering one crucial skill: looking a pro in the eye and realizing “No” is a complete sentence.
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Part 2: Does Asset Location Actually Matter?
Does asset location actually matter? In Part 2, we add a realistic wrinkle to the math: ongoing contributions. Find out how a simple organizational tweak can save over $76,000 in retirement taxes, why a smaller pre-tax balance is secretly awesome, and why you officially have permission to ignore all of it if you want to.
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