The Secret CFP®️

I’m encouraged by all of the real financial planners on this platform that show up on a consistent basis and provide valuable insight to their audience. I’m optimistic about the future of the this profession.

@davidwanjajr That was such a great time to take advantage of intra-family loans.

Intra-family loans can be an extremely useful tool for wealthy families. If done properly, they help preserve family wealth and are beneficial for many reasons: 1. Lower interest rates 2. Flexible terms 3. No gift/estate tax implications 4. No credit check required

@BrianFeroldi I think that reverse budgeting is the way to go. Much easier to implement!

Younger individuals should focus on increasing their income & savings rate and spend less time worrying about the rate of return on their long-term investments. If you’ve built a diversified portfolio, don’t waste your time worrying about short-term fluctuations.

@MoneyMentorMD Such a great book

@SecretCFP Reputation & family Also was reading his book today coincidentally lol

Morgan Housel says, “There are many things never worth risking, no matter the potential gain.” What are some practical examples of this?

@ReidPalmerAB I always say “neesh” but either way works imo

is niche pronounced neesh or nitch?

@money_cruncher Another strategy is tax gain harvesting in very low income years!

“I’m a W-2 employee, what are some tax strategies without real estate investing?” Here they are: - Tax loss harvesting - Charitable contributions - Contribute to the retirement accounts and HSA - Tax-exempt bonds Not much you can do with a W-2 and no real estate.

@maxpashman Such a great reminder. Control what you can control.

You never know if you will have high or low returns in your investing journey. But one thing is true. You have control to make high or low contributions. When in doubt, focus on the latter.

@Invested_In_You This is a great graphic Cam!

If you have a high income, you need to know about the Backdoor Roth IRA It’s simply contributing to a Trad. IRA then converting the money to a Roth IRA. Here’s how: 1. Open Trad. IRA 2. Contribute money 3. Direct rollover to Roth IRA 4. Invest it But watch out for the pro rata rule! Pro Rata Rule: - If you already have money in an IRA, a pro-rated portion of the backdoor amount is subject to taxes. Ex: if you have a $10k IRA and want to do a $10k backdoor Roth IRA, half of it is taxable. One way to get around this rule is to roll the funds into a 401k plan or another tax deferred plan that isn’t an IRA. Also, don’t forget to complete form 8606 at tax time 8606 informs the gov’t that you performed a backdoor Roth by making a - Non deductible contribution to IRA - Direct rollover to Roth IRA If you have any questions about this strategy feel free to send me a DM

A lot of retirees have anxiety about spending money. One of my favorite parts about being a financial planner is the opportunity to give people confidence to spend money on things they are passionate about. Spending money is essential to living a meaningful life.

Not so fun fact about Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s): If you pass away and leave your HSA to a non-spouse beneficiary, the HSA funds will be distributed to the non-spouse beneficiary and they will have to pay taxes on the balance in that same year.

@SimplyHumanCFP Exactly

@BitcoinMiningWA @camp_wealth Hence why the number wasn’t 100%.

Index funds are one of the easiest ways to passively build wealth and achieve financial freedom. But most people have no idea how they work (or how to invest in them). Index Funds 101:

@cadeinvests Nice informative thread Cade!

Don't like capital gains tax? Then you need a Roth IRA. Here's how this account can make you a tax-free millionaire.

@Geoff_Schaef This is a very informative thread, Geoff. Very helpful to highlight that direct indexing isn't always a valuable tool depending mainly on the marginal tax bracket you fall into.

As financial planners, there is plenty of valuable advice that we can give to clients. However, advice is only valuable if it is followed by implementation. Helping simplify the options and giving actionable steps is of upmost importance when giving advice.

@MoneyMentorMD Yep that’s always a bad sign.

@SecretCFP Great points. Sales in and of themselves are not inherently bad. Kind of like superpowers -- great when in the right hands, dangerous when abused. But when every client of yours has the same product...

If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail. Unfortunately, there are plenty of "financial planners" out there that are simply selling products. Be careful when working with financial professionals!

@AndyKrafftCFP Totally agree.

@SecretCFP I'm constantly fighting against this. It's difficult for the consumer, who is not in the industry, to identify when a product is being pitched versus true planning.

@NxtGenPlanning So accurate Devin!

This is my biggest frustration with the industry. Whole Life can be an absolutely wonderful tool but if it's the only thing in your tool belt you are going to try to use it in every situation. Tons of potentially talented advisors end up pushing products bc its all that's available to them

@DreamBiggerLLC Very interesting about the separate HSA for the 2nd spouse with the catchup rule, never heard of that before!

@SecretCFP Excellent point. I guess I’ve never thought through that aspect. However, for $1,000 @ 30% tax rate (for example) it’s not a huge deduction… The weird one is the catchup for 55+. You can contribute $1,000 each spouse, but you need to open up a separate HSA for the 2nd spouse

Many employers contribute to their employee's Health Savings Accounts (HSA) Typically -$500 for individual -$1,000 for family EMPLOYER + EMPLOYEE contributions can NOT be greater than the limits 2023 Limits -Individual: $3,850 -Family: $7,750 *6% tax on excess contributions