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The Tax Trap Waiting at Age 73 (and How to Get Out of It)
After Carl and I chatted with The Money Guys, we’ve had a LOT of conversations surrounding where our money is currently located, and how to optimize for less overall taxes paid. (And this article is for those of you who ARE NOT yet 73 and taking RMDs. So please keep reading for tips for our…
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When Do You STOP Investing? Confessions of a Recovering Over-Saver
I have a confession to make, and it’s going to sound absurd coming from someone who hosts a money podcast for a living. I saved too much in my 401k. I know. I know. In a community that treats “max out your retirement accounts” like a sacred commandment, saying you saved too much sounds like…
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Donor-Advised Funds: How to Give Generously and Still Win at Tax Season
If you’re several years into your FI journey, there’s a decent chance you’ve already optimized your 401(k), your backdoor Roth contributions, and your tax-loss harvesting. Charitable giving is often the piece that gets left on autopilot, a recurring donation or a check written once a year out of habit rather than strategy. That’s worth revisiting,…
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The New Account That Could Set Your Kids Up for Retirement Before They’ve Had Their First Real Job
Here’s the thing about generational wealth: most people don’t build it through a single big move. They build it by making a series of small, boring, correct decisions early enough that compound growth does the heavy lifting. A new savings account for children, born from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is one of those…
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The Ultimate Guide to Decumulation in 2026: How to Spend Your Money Without Losing Sleep (or Gaining the IRS’s Attention)
If accumulation is the fun part of FIRE, decumulation is the part nobody talks about at parties. You spent 10, 15, maybe 20 years cramming money into 401(k)s and brokerage accounts like a squirrel preparing for a winter that never seems to end. Now you’ve hit your number, or you’re getting close, and suddenly you…
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What’s Your Contingency Plan? The Question That Actually Makes Retirement Feel Safe
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article called “What Would It Take to Make You Feel Secure?” I thought I’d covered it. But I kept having the same conversation at two different parties at The FI Collective here in Longmont, and again at a friend’s birthday dinner, and I realized I’d skipped the…
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You Don’t Have to Sell What You Love. You Just Have to Sell It For a Second.
Every FIRE community has one. (It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.) The person who bought a stock years ago, watched it turn into a meaningful chunk of their net worth, and now refuses to sell a single share because they still believe in the company. Maybe it’s an employer stock they understand inside…
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The 0% Capital Gains Bracket Is a Gift. Are You Using It?
Somewhere out there is a tax bracket that lets you sell your winning stocks, pocket the gains, and hand exactly $0 to the IRS. It’s not a loophole. It’s not sketchy. It’s not something your CPA is going to raise an eyebrow at. It’s just… sitting there. Available. Legal. And almost completely ignored by people…
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Are You Slowly Bleeding Money?
I logged into an old HSA today. Not because I had a sudden urge to relive my benefits enrollment paperwork from a job I haven’t worked in years, but because I was doing a little financial housekeeping, the kind of task that sits on your to do list right next to “clean out the garage”…
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What Would It Take to Make You Feel Secure?
The FI Community has a pretty simple pitch. Save aggressively, invest wisely, hit your number, and then walk away from your traditional W2 job to spend your time however you want, with whomever you want, wherever you want. That’s the whole deal. It sounds simple because, on paper, it is simple. Save 25 times your…
