Ryan Greiser, CFP®

Life insurance is one of the most miscalculated numbers on a high earner's balance sheet. The face value feels like a lot. The obligation coverage math says otherwise. $1M policy against $500K/year of income is only 2 years of runway. Here's how to find your ideal number: ↓

The wealthiest clients I work with don’t obsess over returns. They obsess over what they keep. Not what the market does. What actually lands in the account after the IRS takes its cut. They know that tax drag—the slow annual erosion from dividends, interest, and short-term gains—compounds against you just like returns compound for you. They’re playing a different game. Not a higher-return game. A lower-friction game.

The RSU tax gap isn’t your fault. Your employer withholds at the IRS supplemental rate—currently 22% for most grants. If your marginal rate is 35%, that 13-point gap is yours to cover in April. Here’s how to handle it before it surprises you: 1/ At vesting, note the FMV and the number of shares 2/ Multiply shares × FMV = taxable income 3/ Calculate your actual marginal rate for that income 4/ Withhold the gap via estimated tax payment or W-4 adjustment The gap is predictable. The April surprise is optional.

Safe advice will get you wealthy. Eventually. But there’s a gap between what the default financial playbook builds and what’s actually possible when you pay attention. The default: max your 401(k), keep 6 months in savings, dollar-cost average into index funds. The upgrade: layer in Roth conversions during low-income years, harvest losses systematically, build a taxable brokerage alongside tax-deferred accounts, structure withdrawals to stay in the 0% capital gains bracket. Same inputs. Very different outcome. The difference isn’t risk—it’s intentionality.

Two couples inherit the same $1M IRA. Ten miles apart. Same income. Same investments. Same drawdown plan. Ten years later, one keeps $127,713 more than the other. This morning's newsletter shows you why.: ↓ opulusmethod.com/p/how-127713-o…

@LonestarMoney wouldn't be the first time i've seen that strategy

@Greiser I mean if you don’t turn in the 1099-INT it’s free money 😊 Follow me for more tax advice

Run this math on your cash position: 1. Take your HYSA interest rate 2. Multiply by (1 − your marginal tax rate) to get after-tax yield 3. Subtract current CPI At 3.75% HYSA, 35% combined tax rate, and 2.8% CPI: 3.75% × 0.65 = 2.44% after tax 2.44% − 2.8% = −0.36% real return If the result is negative, your cash is losing ground. This doesn't mean you shouldn't hold cash. It means every dollar in cash should have a specific job with a near-term use. Anything else has a better home.

@CptnDory It's super not

@Greiser this is super made up.

The client who couldn't spend $15,000. He'd accumulated nearly $5,000,000. His retirement was funded. His kids' college was paid for. His estate plan was done. He called me before a family trip to ask if he "could afford" a $15,000 vacation. I said yes without running a single number. He said: "But what if something happens?" I said: "What if it doesn't?" The financial plan does eventually get to a place where the answer is just: go. The harder work is learning to listen when it tells you that.

@womenoptionswin When you grow up with no money and consistently invest for 5 decades this is what can happen. You anchor to your old self. This is an extreme example, but something we see often.

@Greiser Is this real? How is that person that dumb?

@Practicalbob2 Lifestyle is about $120k a year. It’s a lot to them.

@Greiser 5 million only generates 200k a year in income. That's not much.

@kerberos371 People who are going to benefit from this aren’t worried about ACA subsidies.

@Greiser Hold on. 55-65 need to worry about MAGI for ACA subsidies. Can't do this

Max your 401(k), defer taxes, draw it down at 65. That's the standard advice. It's also advice designed for people retiring right now—not for millennials with a 10–25 year runway. The IRS has a different provision for that timeline. In 2026, married couples can realize up to $131,100 in long-term capital gains completely tax-free—$32,200 standard deduction plus $98,900 at the 0% bracket. That window was built for the 55–65 gap before Social Security starts. The people building taxable brokerage accounts now, alongside their 401(k)s, aren't planning to retire. They're planning to stop being required to work.

If you love ideas like this, checkout my newsletter. Every Tuesday, I share one proven strategy to slash your taxes, boost your income, and build lasting wealth. Join 3,350+ subscribers: opulusmethod.com

High earners often spend more energy optimizing small decisions than large ones. The $30 subscription gets canceled. The $15,000 tax drag goes unnoticed for a decade. It's not a knowledge problem. It's a visibility problem. The subscription shows up on a statement. The tax drag doesn't. The moves that actually change the outcome—tax-loss harvesting, asset location, bracket management, Roth conversions in low-income years—are invisible until someone shows you the before and after. You can't optimize what you can't see.

@JesseStacyCFP Not necessarily. Most of the 30 and 40 year olds I work with want work to be optional in their mid-50s. That requires flexibility and access to capital.

Do you think people should avoid deferring taxes to prioritize taxable account investing? I find it rare to need for most income earners especially with the rule of 55 and/or 72T Not many of my clients (could be telling on myself) are financially or mentally ready to retire before 55

@Idiotsavantii Yes. If possible, if it aligns with your plan, and if you need to save beyond your retirement accounts.

@Greiser So are you saying to max the retirement accounts AND build a taxable account too?

If you love ideas like this, checkout my newsletter. Every Tuesday, I share one proven strategy to slash your taxes, boost your income, and build lasting wealth. Join 3,350+ subscribers: opulusmethod.com

@ChewieWins One of my favorites

@Greiser Why I bought this to read: The Art of Spending Money amzn.eu/d/07KDGnwt

People with $2,000,000 invested still stress about a $15,000 family vacation. Not because they can't afford it. Because they've never connected the portfolio to permission. The number grew. The internal spending rules didn't. So the same person who couldn't afford a $15K vacation at 32 still runs the same internal calculation at 48—even though the math changed completely. Building wealth is the first problem. Learning to use it without guilt is the second. Most people only ever solve the first one.

The #1 RSU tax mistakes I see costing high earners tens of thousands: Ignoring the withholding gap. Most companies withhold at the 22% supplemental rate. If you're in the 35% bracket, that 13% gap is coming out of pocket—whether you plan for it or not. This doesn't require a fancy strategy. It requires knowing how the RSU is taxed.