What to Expect & My January Money Moves

Today's Newsletter:

• Quote From John Bogle

• What to Expect From The Advisor's Playbook

• My Money Moves In January

• A Money Question

Quote:

“Simplicity, indeed, is the master key to financial success.” - John Bogle

We often underestimate the power and beauty that simplicity can bring. It is a core tenant in my money decisions.

What to Expect:

Money is a confusing topic. Compound that with advice that is often far from what someone else is doing and it can feel like the twilight zone.

I have spent over 10 years sitting on the "client" side of the table with multiple financial advisors. It was at times confusing, at times educational, and at times overwhelming. Yet, each time I left with the same thought, "I wonder what my advisor is doing with his money?"

That question led me to start my own Registered Investment Advisor firm, JL Strategic Wealth. It led me to the passion I have today to educate as many as possible about personal finances. This newsletter is the next extension of that educational journey.

So, what can you expect from The Advisor's Playbook?

Every other Sunday, you will get better educated about personal finances.

The best part?

You will get to hear the exact things that I am doing and thinking about with my money.

Ya, seriously.

I practice what I preach and you will get an inside look at how I view saving, spending, investing, and everything that comes with it.

My Money Moves in January:

I love the beginning of the year, the opportunities each year seem endless.

Coming into this year, one of my main focuses continues to be on how can I reduce my lifetime tax bill.

A key note here is my focus is long-term. I am 31 years old and Lord willing have five decades or more of compounding ahead.

With this in mind, my biggest money move in January was a Roth Conversion.

What is a Roth Conversion?

A Roth Conversion is simply shifting money from a traditional retirement account to one with the "Roth" tag in front of it. The biggest difference is a traditional retirement account defers taxes while a Roth retirement account is can compound tax-free.

The downside is this conversion requires me to pay taxes today. (Not Fun)

Here is the math behind my decision:

I converted $147,000.

This will cost me about $56,000 in taxes this year! (Ouch)

Yet, based on a 9% return assumption (all equities) and a 40-year time horizon, it will save me more than $1,000,000 in future taxes.

$56,000 today doesn't sound so bad!

A few reasons this made sense for me:

• The market is down from highs and so is my account value

• I have outside cash in order to pay the current year taxes

• Current tax rates are "low" compared to historical rates

• I have multiple decades for this move to compound

A Money Question:

What does financial success look like to you?

Work with Jacob

I help athletes and entrepreneurs pay less in taxes, coordinate their financial life, and invest for the long run.

Until Next Time, My Friends

JL Strategic Wealth, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor, located in the State of Missouri. JL Strategic Wealth provides investment advisory and related services for clients nationally. JL Strategic Wealth will maintain all applicable registration and licenses as required by the various states in which JL Strategic Wealth conducts business, as applicable. JL Strategic Wealth renders individualized responses to persons in a particular state only after complying with all regulatory requirements, or pursuant to an applicable state exemption or exclusion. Nothing in this content is intended to be, and you should not consider anything in this content to be, investment, accounting, tax, or legal advice.