“How much should I be saving?” and “How much can I spend once I retire?” are the two questions I get asked more than anything else.

Almost every answer you’ll find online treats them as separate: save 15%, spend 4%, done.

But they’re actually the SAME question.

What you save while you’re working decides what you can spend when you stop, and how you plan to spend in retirement should decide how much you save right now.

Whether you’re 35 and building or 63 and about to flip the income switch, this episode connects the dots with the good, the bad, and the ugly of saving and spending.

You’ll also learn:

- How to calculate your real savings rate (employer match included) and your withdrawal rate

- The “double win” of saving more: you build FASTER and you shrink the retirement you need to fund

- Why the 4% rule is a starting point, not a plan

- Why rules of thumb built for average earners can leave high earners under-saving, and how to build YOUR OWN number from your actual spending

- Why a million dollars in a pre-tax 401(k) isn’t a million dollars of spending money, and why you want taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free buckets

- How lifestyle creep, the cost of waiting, sequence of returns risk, and saving so well you forget to live can all derail the plan, and the fix for each

They’re not two questions. They’re ONE plan.

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You've built something real.

Let's make sure it stays that way.

I help business owners and high-achieving families build clear, practical financial plans that hold up when life doesn't go according to plan.

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Parallel Financial, LLC is a member firm of The Fiduciary Alliance, LLC, which is a registered investment adviser. More information about Parallel Financial can be found in Form ADV Part 2 which is available upon request. This website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or other investment, or to undertake any investment strategy. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Parallel Financial, LLC, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant, or legal counsel prior to implementation.

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#WellAdvisedWealth #FinancialPlanning #BuildWealthLiveWell #CertifiedFinancialPlanner #BackdoorRoth #RothIRA #TaxPlanning #RetirementPlanning #MoneyMindset #PersonalFinancePodcast

You retire, you've done everything right: saved, invested, even paid your taxes.

Then a few months into your first year on Medicare, a letter from Social Security tells you your premium is going to be two, three, even FOUR TIMES what your neighbor pays.

Same Medicare, same doctors, same coverage, just a much BIGGER bill.

It's not a loophole or a rumor. It's an actual line in the tax code, and it works the same whether you own a business or not.

It's called IRMAA, and it catches more successful retirees off guard than almost anything I see in my practice. In this episode, I break down how the decisions you make before December 31st of this year decide what you'll pay for Medicare two years from now.

You’ll also learn:

- The two terms you need to know - MAGI and the two-year look-back

- Why IRMAA is actually one of the most predictable costs in retirement, and the form that can get your surcharge reduced if you've had a qualifying life event

- How one extra dollar of income can cost a couple over $2,000 a year, and why married couples get hit twice as HARD

- Why tax-free municipal bond interest still counts against you

- How to plan Roth conversions with Medicare's price tag in mind

- The often-overlooked "widow's penalty" that can double a surviving spouse's premium

If you're 63 or older, this episode could help you protect thousands of dollars before the year ends.

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You've built something real.

Let's make sure it stays that way.

I help business owners and high-achieving families build clear, practical financial plans that hold up when life doesn't go according to plan.

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Parallel Financial, LLC is a member firm of The Fiduciary Alliance, LLC, which is a registered investment adviser. More information about Parallel Financial can be found in Form ADV Part 2 which is available upon request. This website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or other investment, or to undertake any investment strategy. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Parallel Financial, LLC, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant, or legal counsel prior to implementation.

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#WellAdvisedWealth #FinancialPlanning #BuildWealthLiveWell #CertifiedFinancialPlanner #BackdoorRoth #RothIRA #TaxPlanning #RetirementPlanning #MoneyMindset #PersonalFinancePodcast

Every April, homeowners in Augusta, Georgia rent out their houses to golf tournament visitors - pulling in FIVE FIGURES for one week, completely tax-free.

It's not a loophole or a rumor. It's an actual line in the tax code, and it works the same whether you own a business or not.

It's called the Augusta Rule, and today I break down the good, the bad, and the ugly - including a real tax court case that shows exactly what goes WRONG when someone pushes it too far.

You’ll also learn:

- Why any homeowner qualifies for tax-free rental income up to 14 days a year

- How the rule works separately for each home you genuinely live in, if you own more than one qualifying property

- The "double-dip" version business owners can use - renting your own home to your own company for a legitimate business purpose

- The exact rules that TRIP people up

- The exact fix that lets a fresh backdoor contribution convert cleanly

- A 2023 tax court case where a business's $290,000 in "rent" got reduced to just $16,500

Whether you're just renting to a stranger for a weekend or considering the business owner version, this episode gives you what you need to do it right - and what can go WRONG if you don't.

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You've built something real.

Let's make sure it stays that way.

I help business owners and high-achieving families build clear, practical financial plans that hold up when life doesn't go according to plan.

----

Parallel Financial, LLC is a member firm of The Fiduciary Alliance, LLC, which is a registered investment adviser. More information about Parallel Financial can be found in Form ADV Part 2 which is available upon request. This website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or other investment, or to undertake any investment strategy. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Parallel Financial, LLC, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant, or legal counsel prior to implementation.

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#WellAdvisedWealth #FinancialPlanning #BuildWealthLiveWell #CertifiedFinancialPlanner #BackdoorRoth #RothIRA #TaxPlanning #RetirementPlanning #MoneyMindset #PersonalFinancePodcast