Investing to Build Wealth: Start Simple, Scale Up

Let’s kick this off with a perennial favorite: How should you invest if you actually want to build long-term wealth? Not meme stocks, not the latest TikTok thing, but honest-to-goodness pile-up-the-money-and-sleep-well wealth.

Max Out Those Retirement Accounts

Here’s where the magic really starts happening: employer-sponsored retirement plans like your 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b). If you’re a business owner, you might have your own custom plan (SEP, Solo 401(k)), and if you’re an academic doc, congrats—you could have that dreamy double dip with both a 403(b) and a 457(b). Get in there and max those out every year if you can.

Backdoor Roth IRAs? Yep, they’re still alive and well for high earners. If you’re married, aim to double up and get one for each of you. That’s not just a “nice to have”—it’s a baseline move for serious compounding over time.

Meet Your Utility Player: The Taxable Brokerage Account

After you’ve stuffed all you can into pre-tax and Roth buckets, cue the unsung hero: the taxable brokerage account. Think of it as your Swiss Army knife—flexible, not locked down until you’re 59 and a half, and perfect for anything from early retirement to big short-term goals.

If you’re married, check your account titling. Some states offer a zinger called tenants by the entirety that gives extra asset protection. Not every state rolls this way, so do a little homework.

Common investments for these accounts:

• Index ETFs (low cost, spread your risk)
• Mutual funds (check the expense ratios!)
• Individual stocks (spicier, more risk—tread carefully)

Mind Your Fees: What Are You Actually Paying?

Nobody likes fees—but ignoring them is basically lighting a match to your money. There are three biggies you need to know:

• Advisor/platform fees: What you pay the person or robo helping you invest
• Expense ratios: The sneaky, ongoing costs inside ETFs and mutual funds
• Stock trading fees: Often zero these days, but individual stocks come with their own flavor of risk (no guarantees, no diversification)

Bottom line: If you aren’t sure what you’re paying, find out. Knowledge is cash in your pocket.

Beyond the Basics: Layering on Extras

Once the main moves are humming, maybe you want to get fancy. Tag in some 529 plans for the kids’ college, dabble in real estate, or start a side gig with a retirement plan all its own. Just don’t let these sideshows distract you from slamming the basics first.

Key points to keep in mind:

• Max out retirement accounts.
• Use a Backdoor Roth IRA annually if you’re eligible.
• Taxable accounts are your flexible friend.
• Understand your investment fees before you write those checks.
• Extras like 529s and real estate? Nice, but icing—not cake.

Lowering Your Tax Bill Without Breaking the IRS

Who wouldn’t want to pay less in taxes? Whether you bring home a W-2 or you’re running your own shop, this is one area where getting it right pays off year after year.

Employees vs. Business Owners: Two Different Ballgames

Here’s the deal: If you’re a business owner, your tax playbook is thick—think college football playbook for a championship team. Employees? You’re working with the basics… but don’t sleep on those basics!

For anyone with significant self-employed or side gig income, you’re going to want a savvy CPA in your corner (and a good financial planner is gravy on top).

Pre-Tax Retirement Accounts: Your Easiest Move

Let’s get something straight: You’re not really “saving” taxes by funding your pre-tax retirement accounts (like a 401(k)); you’re deferring them—kicking the can down the road. But that’s still a smart play, especially if your current tax rate is high. The trick is to take the deduction now, hopefully withdraw at a lower rate in retirement, and keep Uncle Sam’s hand out of your cookie jar as long as possible.

Callout: Tax deferral isn’t the same as tax forgiveness. You’ll likely pay taxes later, but the hope is at a gentler rate.

Standard Deduction vs. Itemized Deductions: Don’t Leave Free Money on the Table

Thanks to the current high standard deduction, lots of high earners are skipping itemization. But don’t snooze through the potential benefits here! Bunching charitable giving into a Donor-Advised Fund (also called a DAF) lets you stack deductions in one year, vaulting over the standard deduction.

Other common itemized deductions include:

• Medical expenses (that actually punch above the threshold)
• State and local taxes (SALT)
• Property taxes
• Mortgage interest
• Charitable contributions (especially when bunched)

Key Tax Moves to Remember

• Max those pre-tax accounts every year.
• Know your deduction game—standard or itemized?
• Get a qualified pro to help you spot overlooked strategies.
• Think creatively about charitable giving using DAFs.

Balancing Today’s Spending With Tomorrow’s Big Dreams

You work hard. You want to enjoy it. But how do you strike a balance so you don’t end up the richest guy in the graveyard, or worse, broke with a head full of regrets?

See the Big Picture First

Before you start tallying up every coffee run or cutting streaming services, jump ahead to your long-term outlook. Are you maxing your retirement accounts, chipping in a Backdoor Roth, and steadily adding cash to your taxable account? If the answer is yes, and your projected nest egg looks solid, you might be just fine. Scroll back and adjust only if you’re somehow way off course.

Tweaking as You Go: Lifestyle Choices Matter

Want to be financially independent at 50? Love a little caviar with your omelet? Cool with ramen five nights a week? It all changes your numbers. If you want to turbocharge your timeline or achieve big goals (like buying a beach house, funding your grandkids’ tuition, or taking extra travel), consider ramping up your savings or adjusting your lifestyle.

Plans aren’t meant to be carved in stone—they’re more like GPS: reroute as needed.

Don’t Starve Yourself: Enjoy the Ride

Here’s a personal confession: No client has ever called me in retirement to yell that they have too much money. Not once. When that happens, I promise you’ll be the first to know.

But, yes, you can be too frugal. If you’re skipping out on experiences or making memories with your family to squirrel away every penny, what’s the point? My own guilty pleasure? Family trips. I’ll never regret spending on those, even if it means the work clock ticks a little longer.

Start Early, Buy Freedom

The more you sock away sooner, the more you buy yourself freedom years down the road. Save what you can, but don’t forget—you also get one shot at today.

Takeaways:

• Map out the big picture before fussing over budgets.
• Adjust as your goals (or breakfast tastes) shift.
• Don’t let fear turn you into a Scrooge.
• Early savings make life down the road a lot more fun.

Can You Actually Retire Someday? (Yes, Seriously!)

High-income pros, hear this loud and clear: The odds are in your favor—but only if you know your numbers and keep your head straight.

Why Is This Even a Question?

High earners still get anxious about retirement. You’d think big paychecks would make for easy living, but uncertainty is sneaky. Saving enough feels like a moving target, and the spend-more lifestyle can eat up even six-figure incomes.

Focus On Two Numbers: Savings Ratio and Current Budget

Savings ratio is how much of your pay you’re sending off to retirement every month. Not an afterthought, not “what’s left over,” but a percentage you set with intention.

Current budget is tricky, especially when life is full of school bills, sports fees, or the a/c just won’t shut off. But knowing what goes out now gives you a feel for what you’ll need later.

Retirement Spending Doesn’t Retire

When the kids move out, something else always fills the spending gap—extra travel, grandkids, world-class pickleball leagues. Don’t bank on expenses magically dropping to zero the day you celebrate your last work anniversary.

The Biggest Difference? Time

If you’re in your 30s or 40s and have even halfway-decent habits, you’ve got time—every tweak compounds over the years. Wait until your 60s and, well, the window is narrowing quick.

Quick summary:

• Save early, and aim to increase your savings ratio every few years.
• Know your actual spending now, not some made-up retirement number.
• Give yourself regular checkpoints to see if you’re still on track.
• Don’t get thrown when expenses shift—retirement is a new chapter, not a total reset.

Protecting Your Assets: Because Mishaps Don’t Only Happen to Doctors

Making serious money is great—but what about keeping it?

Divorce Is the Biggest Risk

Let’s just rip the bandage off: Divorce is the fastest way most high-earners lose half (or more) of what they’ve built. So go on, book that date night; keep the relationship strong, and don’t treat prenups or postnups like the bogeyman. If one of you starts off with more wealth, get those conversations going early.

Insurance: Your Secret Force Field

You probably own home and auto insurance, but umbrella insurance is where real peace of mind lives. This little policy adds extra liability on top of what you already have—giving you breathing room in case someone sues over a car accident, freak injury, or a slip-and-fall on your sidewalk. It’s cheap, and a must-have once your net worth starts growing.

Use Account Titling and Legal Protections

Those qualified retirement accounts everyone tells you to pump up? They’re wrapped up tight by ERISA law—a strong form of federal asset protection.

If you have a taxable account and you’re married, see if your state allows for tenants by the entirety titling. Only a lucky 18 states let you use this feature, but if you fit, use it—it’s a stealthy shield against creditors and certain lawsuits.

Top tools for asset protection:

• Umbrella insurance: Adds extra liability coverage over home and auto.
• Retirement account protections: ERISA’s got your back.
• Tenants by the entirety account titling: Extra protection for couples (state-dependent).

Beyond Medical Risks

You don’t need to work in medicine to need protection. Accidents, lawsuits, and the random weirdness of life strike all professions. Build your perimeter early so you’re not scrambling later.

Wrap-up notes:

• Protect your money before you need to.
• Begin by focusing on insurance and smart account structures.
• Don’t bet everything on avoiding risk—prepare for it.

Wrapping It Up: Your Next Best Step

If you remember nothing else, remember this: No money move is “one size fits all.” You don’t need the wildest investment, the trendiest hack, or some secret handshake. What you do need is a solid plan, a willingness to check in with yourself, and the honesty to admit when you might need help from a pro.

Now it’s your turn—got a burning question about finances? Shoot over a private note with the WealthKeel AMA form. You’ll make not just your own plan better, but help out the whole group of quietly anxious, high-earning pros out there. Let’s make this whole money thing a little less scary and a lot more fun, together!

Catch you next time—until then, remember, money is supposed to make your life better, not more complicated.