Latest / Well Advised Wealth / Episode 10: Where Should Your Next Dollar Go? The Waterfall of Wealth Strategy

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Episode 10: Where Should Your Next Dollar Go? The Waterfall of Wealth Strategy · Well Advised Wealth

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Skipping that match is like turning down a raise.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you pay off a credit card charging 22%, that is a 22% guarantee return.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing in the stock market reliably beats that.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: But if you get this thing wrong, you can leave thousands of dollars on the table every single year without even realizing it.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome in, everybody.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Well Advised Wealth Podcast.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Justin Chastain, certified financial planner, and every week I help successful business owners and families like you create wealth that lasts.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: So let me just paint you a picture.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's payday.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: There's a little extra money in the account this month, and you have no idea where it should go.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: So you do what most smart, successful people do.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: You ask your coworker who says, max out your 401k, or you're asking your HR person.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you ask your brother-in-law who says, pay off the house or put it into some Bitcoin.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: You ask the internet guru, which tells you to buy cryptocurrency named after a dog Fido.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then you get overwhelmed.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: You do nothing, and the money sits in the checking or savings account until it quietly turns into just a new grill.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not talking about things we roast our meat on.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about a wrapper grill with diamond encrusted.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's got your initials in it.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And when you smile, people may smile back or they might say, My gosh, that's a smart investment person when I see one.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know it, right?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing: where you put each dollar matters almost as much as how many dollars you are currently saving.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you get the order right and you pick up free money, cut your taxes, and build flexibility for later, you can really be successful in what we call that red zone area of retirement where we're looking at retirement income distribution planning.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: But if you get this thing wrong, you can leave thousands of dollars on the table every single year without even realizing it.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: So today, no theory, just two quick terms and then the order.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to walk you through the eight steps I start with for most families, one at a time, like a waterfall, not to reference TLC, because we're not going to chase waterfalls, right?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: But we're going to help you fill each of the buckets.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And once we fill the first bucket, it spills into the next one and the next one.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And along the way, I'll tell you where people trip up and when the orders should change for you.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into it.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Two terms that you need to know right before we get started.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, the employer match.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: I know this sounds simplistic, but a lot of companies will put money into your 401k when you do.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: And a common version is typically a 50% match on the first 6% of your salary.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if you put in 6%, your employer adds another three and some match dollar for dollar.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's not the norm, but some companies I have seen do a dollar for dollar match.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you're a business owner and you have a solo 401k, you can do the very same thing in a profit sharing opportunity where you, the employee, put in, and then the company matches you up to a certain percent.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: But here's why this matters so much.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: A 50% match is an instant 50% return on your money.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: The day that it goes in, a dollar-for-dollar match is a hundred percent return.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: There is no investment anywhere that reliably does that.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one catch to know many companies, and rightfully so, are going to have a vesting schedule.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: What does this mean?
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: This means you have to stay a certain number of years at that company before the match money is fully yours.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's not anything bad.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a common trade-off.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And as you can imagine, if you're the employer putting that money in, there has to be an incentive for you staying.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: The second term that I want you to know is something called the triple tax advantage.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: And this does not get talked about enough.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Most accounts give you one or two tax breaks, like a traditional 401k gives you a deduction now, but you're going to pay taxes later.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: A Roth gives you a tax-free money later, but no deduction now.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: A health savings account, which we reference in the industry as an HSA, is the only account that gives you all three.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: The money goes in tax deductible, it grows tax-free and comes out tax-free when you use it for qualified medical expenses.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if your HSA contributions go through payroll, you will skip Social Security and Medicare taxes, which we reference as FICA, which even a 401k does not do that.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's why this shows up so much higher in the order that I want to talk about in today's episode.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: The employer match and that triple tax savings is what you need to hold on to throughout the episode.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you got those two, let's hang on.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into the steps.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: So step number one, get your full employer match.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Before anything else, contribute enough to your 401k or retirement account to get every dollar of your employer's match.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, the match is an instant return that you can't get anywhere else.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're earning$200,000 a year and your company's matching 50% of the first six, putting in$12,000 into your 401k gets you$6,000 from your employer free.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Skipping that match is like turning down a raise.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now, for those of you listening and you're like, oh, I don't care, I would turn down$6,000.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I've got some oceanfront property in Colorado that I would love to sell you.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: And as a matter of fact, I'll put a link down here after the episode that you can do that.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: But this$6,000 adds up.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: If we miss that$6,000 a year for, let's just say 20 years with growth, that can cost you well over$200,000 by retirement.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Two things to watch here.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: First, the vesting.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Many companies make you stay a certain number of years before that match money is fully yours.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: So check your vesting schedule before you change jobs.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes waiting a few extra months is worth thousands.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, and secondly, front loading.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a high earner and you're maxing out your 401k by June and your company matches each paycheck without a year-in true up, you can stop getting the match halfway throughout the year.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Ask HR whether there is a true up.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: If there isn't, spread your contributions across the entire year.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Step number two, pay off high interest debt.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, again, we're not talking about low interest debt here.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about debts that are in the high teens or in the 20% range and above.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Here is why this comes early in step number two.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you pay off a credit card charging 22%, that is a 22% guarantee return.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing in the stock market reliably beats that.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Investing in a brokerage account while carrying a 22% balance is like filling a bucket with a hole in the bottom.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: So let me put a number on it, right?
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like Beyonce, let's just put a ring on it.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: A$10,000 credit card balance at 22% costs you about$2,200 a year in interest.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's$2,200 that you could have been going into your own savings instead of the bank's profits.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: As a rough guideline, debt above about 7% or 8% gets paid before you invest beyond that match.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: But low interest rate is different in debt.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: So if you've got a mortgage at 3% or even 5% to 6% from a few years ago, you don't need to rush that.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Paying off a 3% loan early is one of the lowest return things you can do with your money, especially when you can earn more than just what a typical savings account can be.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: If being completely debt-free gives you real peace of mind, that's a fine choice.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just make sure after the rest of these steps are covered, not before.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to put this in perspective here.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Step number three, build your emergency fund.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: We talk about this in terms of liquidity.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of the four L's that I talk about all the time in retirement planning, where we talk about liquidity, lifestyle, longevity, and legacy.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: As John Maynard Kane said, the market can remain volatile longer than you can remain liquid.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: So for most families, an emergency fund is easily three to six months of living expenses.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're putting that into a savings account or a checking account or a money market, that's fine.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Leave it there.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: We're not necessarily worried about the interest in these accounts because they never really beat inflation, but that's not the purpose of these tools.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: The tools is to have the money when we need it.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's liquid.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: But now if you're a business owner, your income could go up or down, or maybe the income's not consistent.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: I would lean more towards six to twelve months of emergency fund savings.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: So where should it live?
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Somewhere safe, easy to get to, separate from your everyday checking, so you're not tempted to just spend it.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: It could be a high yield savings account or a money market that works perfectly, but not the stock market where you've got to sell out of something.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you hold it less than a year, we could go into ordinary income gains.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: The whole point here is this at full value on the day you need it, you can get it.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And if you own a business, keep your business cash reserve separate from your personal emergency fund.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: One shouldn't have to bail out the other.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is not an investment.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's what keeps you from making bad financial decisions on a bad day.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: So without it, the first time the furnace dies or the card needs a transmission or the business has a slow quarter, you end up pulling money out of your 401k, paying taxes and a penalty to do that.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's defeating its purpose.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Or you could just put that on a 22% credit card that we just paid off.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's not a good strategy either.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you could leverage a HELOC, a home equity line of credit, and attach that to your mortgage, but we'll talk about that more here in just a few seconds.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: The good news is that with interest rates where they are now, your emergency fund can actually earn a meaningful return while it sits there.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just dead money anymore.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know some people would say, Justin, do I keep cash in a coffee can?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: I don't recommend it.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: If there's a fire, if there's a water damage, or you are like me and you lose everything that's not bolted down, it's not traceable.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: So put it in a money market or something to where you know where it is and it's easy to have access to, but not so easy that you just spend it easily.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: But now you have these first three steps in place, everything else gets built upon on solid ground.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: We're treating this like building a house.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: The foundation is the most solid piece.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're doing some of the cosmetic luxury items in steps four and beyond.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: In step four, if you have a high deductible health plan, you need to be funding your health savings account yesterday.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is where that triple tax advantage comes in.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Not only are you going to get it on contribution, but also on the growth and how this money comes out because it's tax deductible, tax-deferred, and tax-free when used for medical expenses.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: And in the year 2026, you can put up to$4,400 in an individual HSA coverage plan or a high deductible coverage plan, and$8,750 with a family coverage plan, plus an extra$1,000 contribution if you're 55 years or older.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Any money your employer puts in counts towards that limit, too.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's where most people get this wrong.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: They put money in, leave it sitting in cash, earning almost nothing.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: They swipe the HSA card at every doctor's visit.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: That still saves some tax, but it wastes the very best part.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, if you can afford to pay your medical bills out of pocket, invest the HSA, save every receipt.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's no deadline on when to reimburse yourself as long as the expense happened after you open the account.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: So a family investing$8,750 a year for 25 years could build an HSA worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, all available tax-free for medical cost in retirement, right when those costs are highest.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Here's one more catch.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can only contribute while you're covered by a qualifying high deductible plan.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And once you enroll in Medicare, contribution stops.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: That trips up a lot of people who keep working past 65.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: So just word to the wise.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Start now with the HSA.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Step five, fund a Roth IRA.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: So for 2026, you can contribute up to$7,500 or$8,600 if you're 50 years older.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: This money grows tax-free, comes out tax-free in retirement, and you're not going to have any required minimum distributions in your lifetime.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, why does this come before maxing out your 401k?
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Tax diversification.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: In retirement income distribution planning, we like to have three buckets.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: A taxable, that's your brokerage account, a tax deferred, that's a traditional IRA or traditional 401k, or a tax-free, that's a Roth opportunities.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Most successful families have almost everything in pre-tax accounts.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: That means every dollar they pull out of retirement is going to get taxed.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: And you can push up your Medicare premiums and the tax on your Social Security by doing this.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Roth money gives you a bucket you can pull from later without raising your tax bill.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: So let me just put this in layperson's terms.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: If the majority of your retirement savings that you've put into retirement accounts during the accumulation phase, during your contribution working years, is in pre-tax money, you're going to have a business partner.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that business partner is Uncle Sam, and he's not very friendly.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: If your income is too high to contribute directly to a Roth IRA, which for 2026, that income starts phasing out at$153,000 single and$242,000 married filing jointly, you can still get there through a backdoor Roth.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now we have a full episode on that.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: I did several weeks ago.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: But what you have to watch out for is the pro rata rule if you have other pre-tax IRA money, because it can make the backdoor taxable.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And one judgment call here.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you're in a high income tax bracket now and expect a much lower one in retirement, it can make sense to flip steps five and six and put more into your pre-tax 401k first.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: The order is the starting point, not a law.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: But here is what I'm going to leverage, and I'm going to talk about this in future episodes.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: We believe, and I tell most clients this, that your taxes in retirement and ordinary income taxes will continue to get higher even during your retirement.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, ordinary income is just one tax, but there's a tax on your Social Security.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: There is a Irma surcharge.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the federal government calls it a surcharge, but let me just boil it down to brass tax here.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: That is a tax.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: So taxes are continually to get higher.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, and by the way, how your Social Security benefit can be taxed, what counts as income for that?
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's going to be your sum of your Social Security, municipality bonds, capital gains, interest, and RMDs that are pre-taxed.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: These Social Security index brackets have not been indexed for inflation since 1983.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: So 12% ordinary income could eventually feel like 22% when you start looking at all the taxes that could occur during your retirement.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: So just word to the wise, we feel like taxes will continue to rise no matter what Congressperson says they're here to help lower your tax.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: They're only talking about one, and that's ordinary income, not all the other ancillary taxes that come to you during retirement.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now on to step six.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: Go back to your 401k and max this out.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: So for 2026, the limit for an individual employee is$24,500.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you're fifty or older, you can add a catch up of$8,000 to that.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing: for my listeners that are 60 and 63 and still working, you get ketchup jumps on top of the$24,500 plus an additional$11,250.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: For most high earners, this is the biggest tax deduction that they're going to get all year.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're in the 24% tax bracket, maxing out the full$24,500 saves you about$5,880 in federal income tax this year alone.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: And that money keeps growing tax deferred until retirement.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one new rule for 2026 is if you've earned more than$150,000 in Social Security wages last year, any ketchup contributions have to go in as Roth, not pre-tax.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: And if your plan doesn't offer a Roth option, you may not be eligible to make catch up contributions at all.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just worth a quick call to HR before January.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Step seven, the mega backdoor Roth or your business owner plan.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: So this step is for people who have filled every bucket so far and still have money to save.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: If your 401k plan allows it, look at the mega backdoor Roth.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: Some plans allow you to make extra after-tax contributions beyond the regular limit and then convert them to Roth.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: So in 2026, that total can go into a 401k from all sources, including your employer.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: That total amount is$72,000 if you're under$50.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: That can mean tens of thousands more in Roth money every year.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Not every plan allows it.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: So again, a quick call to HR can make a big difference.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: Also, if you're a business owner, this is where your own retirement plan design can come in.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: And this is why I encourage a lot of people that are entrepreneur spirited to create a side business because a solo 401, a SEP IRA, or for high earners, a cash balance plan can let you put a lot more money away than a regular 401 allows.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: Step eight, taxable investing and even 529s.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: So step eight is really just everything else.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: But that's a regular taxable brokerage account.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be a special tax break, but it has something none of the other accounts have: total flexibility.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: No age limits, no early withdrawal penalties, no income limits, and long-term gains.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: So a year and a day at capital gains rates or capital losses, and that's lower rates than your ordinary income.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is the money that it's going to allow you to retire early, buy a second home, or fund something big before 59 and a half.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's also where 529's plans come in if you're saving for children or grandchildren's education.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: They can grow tax-free for qualified educational cost.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Many states give you a deduction.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: And here's another place that the order can change.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you have kids starting college in a few years and your state gives a break for 529 contributions, it can make sense to move 529s up the list.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're worried about overfunding a 529, there's a newer safety valve.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: A 529 has been open at least 15 years.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: Up to$35,000 over the beneficiary's lifetime can be rolled into a Roth IRA for that same child.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now they're subject to the same annual Roth contribution limit, so the money that doesn't get used for school can still give your kids a head start on retirement.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the waterfall.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: So let me just run it back one more time, somewhat start to finish, and that way we can just get an overall recap.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: One, get the full match in your retirement accounts.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Two, pay off high interest debt.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Three, build an emergency fund because liquidity matters not only in the income distribution retirement phase, but also during the accumulation phase.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: Four, fund and invest in your HSA.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Five, fund a Roth IRA.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Six, max out your 401k, including your catch-up contributions if you're over 50 years of age.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Seven, use the mega backdoor Roth and your business plan.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then eight, leverage the brokerage taxable accounts for investments and even 529s.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: And as you can see, this episode today, we're talking about people in the accumulation phase.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: But listen, getting this right in the accumulation phase makes all of this a much smoother transition in the retirement income distribution phase.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into our weekly wealth moment.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: This week, I want you to write down where your next dollars of savings is going.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: So in other words, I want you to give your dollar a job and I want you to walk it down the waterfall that we talked about in those eight steps.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: Are you getting your full match?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have any high interest debt left?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Is your emergency fund there?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you have an HSA or a high deductible health insurance plan, are you investing in it?
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Is it invested?
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: Is there Roth money going in directly or through a backdoor Roth?
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Are you maxing out your 401k?
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then find the first bucket that isn't full.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's where your next dollar needs to go.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's literally that simple.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also how you make sure every dollar you save is doing the most work that it possibly can.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: And as I always say, money's the tool.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: Putting it in the right order is how you get the most out of it.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: And for this week, that is your weekly wealth minute.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: So let's just ultimately wrap this up like a$3 gas station burrito.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's the eight-step order of operations for savings.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, it's not just how much you're saving, it's where each dollar goes and in what order.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I tell clients this: we have to give your dollar a job.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now, look, I know the following savings waterfall isn't nearly as exciting as your brother-in-law's hot stock tip.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: But out of all my years of doing this, the waterfall has never failed me or called me at 11 p.m.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: to tell me about an opportunity that I can't miss.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it's never asked me to borrow my truck or come back and tell me that, hey man, um, can you pick up that uh five for five Arby's roast beef sandwich deal?
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a little short on cash this week.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: So as you're looking at this, I want you just to make sure that it's not what order makes the most sense for everybody else.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's what order makes the most sense for your family.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want a second size on where your savings are going, you're more than welcome to reach out.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: But also leverage, if you have your own financial advisor, reach out to them and see what they're saying.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: This is just ultimately a general flow, but you're a unique individual.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: You can also find me at the welladvisedwealth.com or you can send me a message on LinkedIn.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: This is exactly the kind of conversations that I want to have with clients each and every week, and I'll be glad to have it with you.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm Justin Chastang.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to the Well Advised Wealth, and until next time, build wealth and live well.