helping tech professionals in their 20s and 30s navigate equity comp, taxes, and building real wealth | CFP® | EA | tweets are not advice
WI
Joined February 2025
- Tweets3K
- Following110
- Followers1.8K
- Likes2.9K
Pinned Tweet
Almost everyone making $250,000+ in tech has the basics down
401k maxed, index funds, no credit card debt
But after that it gets less consistent
Here are the 5 most common mistakes I see (and how to fix them): 🧵
Make over $168,000 or $252,000 if married?
You can’t put money into a Roth IRA directly
But you can still get $7,500 into your Roth IRA yet this year
It's called the "Backdoor Roth", here's how it works: 🧵
"Why would I pay an advisor when I can just buy index funds?"
Picking funds is usually less than 10% of what actually builds your net worth
Meaning you're ignoring the other 90%
Here's the 6 signs it's time to hire a financial planner: 🧵
“How do I lower my taxes as a high earning W2 employee?”
Good news: it’s not too late for this year
Here’s the 5 things you can still do before December 31: 🧵
1. Bump your 401k contributions up for the last few paychecks
Pre-tax 401k contributions come off your taxable income
Meaning every extra $1 dollar of 401k contributions will lower your taxable income by $1
The max for 2026 is $24,500
Raise your % for the 3 or 4 paychecks you have left
Once you get your last December paycheck, there is no adding more
2
5
10,486
The IRS just released the 2027 tax brackets
Dont worry... I'll save you the time from looking
Here’s the 7 things that changed (and what it means for your paycheck): 🧵
1. Tax brackets
Every bracket moved up about 3.2% (on track with inflation)
Single:
- 24% starts at $109,125
- 32% starts at $208,325
- 35% starts at $264,550
Married:
- 24% starts at $218,250
- 32% starts at $416,650
- 35% starts at $529,100
Remember these amounts are for taxable income (aka after your deductions)
It also means if your raise was around 3%, you probably didn't move into a higher bracket
It’s open enrollment week
It’s easy to just choose the same options as last year
But don’t be that person
Your benefits are about 30% of your total compensation
Here’s the 6 most important Employee Benefit Decisions: 🧵
2027 is only 59 days away
Here's 4 upcoming deadlines you should know:
- Dec 1: last day to start an HSA and fund the full year
- Dec 31: last day for 401k, FSA, tax loss harvesting, charitable gifts
- Jan 1: deductible and out of pocket max reset
Left your job this year?
There’s 4 options you can take with your old 401k
Spoiler alert: one of them creates a tax problem
Here’s the breakdown on all 4 options: 🧵
3
8
7,625
HDHP vs PPO simplified:
High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)
- lower premium
- higher deductible
- you get an HSA (employer usually helps partially fund this)
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)
- higher premium
- lower deductible
- no HSA
Quick calculations for which one should you pick:
1. Take the yearly premium difference
2. Add the amount the employer wil contribute to the HSA
3. Compare that to the difference in deductibes
For most healthy younger people under 40 the HDHP is the better deal
But not in 100% of cases (every client situation is different)
You can lower your mortgage payment WITHOUT refinancing
And it costs about 5% of the price of refinancing
Here’s the Guide to "Mortgage Recasting" (and when to use it): 🧵
Buying a house in the next year
There’s about 4 things you need to stop doing right now
Here’s the list of 4: 🧵
4
5
846
The 2027 HSA limits are already official:
- Single: $4,500
- Family: $9,000
But the 2027 401k limit still isn’t
Kinda funny the IRS release one 18 months early and makes you wait until November for the other
10
35
17,719
30 year mortgage vs 15 year mortgage (same $400,000 loan)
30 year at 7.32%:
- $2,748 a month
- about $589,000 of total interest
15 year at 6.68%:
- $3,524 a month
- about $234,000 of total interest
Pros: $776 more a month to save $355,000
Cons: $776 more a month of fixed costs locked up for the next 15 years (cash flow flexibility matters)
There's no one right answer
8
21
34,548
13% of 401k holders have a loan against their account right now
But when does a 401k loan actually make sense financially?
Here’s the costs (and the one time I’d actually use it): 🧵
5
19
77,165
“Does getting married save us money on taxes?”
Most likely: yes
But not everyone
Here’s the 7 ways your taxes change when you get married: 🧵
4
8
9,836
“I have life insurance through work so I’m covered”
Not necessarily
It stops covering you if you leave
Here’s the difference of work life insurance vs your own policy: 🧵
4
5
717
“What’s the difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit?”
Most people use the two interchangeably
But one of them is worth about 3x the other
Here’s deductions vs credits explained: 🧵
4
4
820
There’s a 0% long term capital gains bracket
Most people don’t know it exists
For 2026, here are the 0% brackets:
Single: under $49,450
Married: under $98,900
That’s taxable income (which is after your standard deduction)
Which is why a gap between jobs is one of the best times to sell appreciated stock
“I make too much for a Roth IRA”
Only partially true
You make too much to contribute to it DIRECTLY
Here’s the workaround for high income earners: 🧵
2
4
3,450
New benefit some people will see at open enrollment:
Trump account contributions
1. Your employer can put up to $2,500 a year into your kid's account (tax free)
2. You can also contribute through payroll pre-tax (counts toward that same $2,500)
Max total from everyone: $5,000 a year
Payroll contributions are expected to start by the end of this year
1
2
2,995