Accumulation Was the Easy Part
What if the number you track every quarter tells you almost nothing about the shape of what you have built?
Today I walk through an exercise instead of a story. Three columns on one page. Money you have already paid tax on. Money you will owe tax on when you take it out. Money that comes out without tax.
Most families in their forties and fifties find one enormous column and two small ones. I explain why that happens, why it was decided by a payroll form rather than a plan, and why having balances in all three is about flexibility rather than tax rates.
I also talk about where cash fits, and where my own page was lopsided for years.
The takeaway this week is the page itself. Every account, in one of the three columns, with its balance. Then total each column and look at the three numbers side by side.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES YOU MAY LIKE
1 Big Idea to Think About
The habit that builds wealth and the structure that holds it are different skills. Twenty years of automatic saving produced a large number and a lopsided shape because the shape was determined by which account had a payroll deduction attached to it.
1 Way You Can Apply This
Draw three columns on one page. Money you have already paid tax on, money you will owe tax on when you take it out, and money that comes out without tax. Put every account in a column with its balance, then total each one.
1 Question to Ask
In a year I cannot predict yet, a job loss, a large vest, an early exit, how many places could I take money from without the tax outcome being decided for me?
Resources Featured in This Episode:
Navigating the Impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill During the Empty Nest and Pre-Retirement Years