The Compound View
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How much can you actually put in your 401k this year — and why most people stop too early
Hey Reader, It's The Compound View. If you asked the average W-2 employee how much they contribute to their 401k every year, most would give you a percentage. Six percent. Eight percent. Ten percent of their salary. And if you asked them why they chose that number, most would say some version of the same thing: it is enough to get the employer match. That answer reveals the single most common and most expensive 401k mistake W-2 employees make. The employer match is not the finish line. It is...
Most retirees withdraw from their accounts in the wrong order — here is the right one
Hey Reader, Most Americans spend decades building their retirement savings — contributing consistently, investing carefully, and watching the balance grow year after year. Then retirement arrives. And almost nobody ever taught them how to take the money out. The withdrawal order — which accounts you draw from first, second, and third — is one of the most consequential financial decisions a retiree makes. Get it right and you minimize taxes, maximize the longevity of your portfolio, and...
The retirement account most high earners use but never talk about
Hey Reader, It's Grant from The Compound View. There is a retirement account that high-income Americans have been using quietly for years. It does not require a special job title. It does not require a financial advisor. It does not require a minimum income or a maximum income. It is available to every American regardless of how much they earn — and it is completely legal, explicitly approved by the IRS, and used by some of the most financially sophisticated people in the country. It is...
The IRS just changed your tax brackets — here is what it means for your paycheck
Hey Reader, It's Grant from The Compound View. Every year in the fall the IRS quietly releases an announcement that affects every working American and every retiree in the country. It adjusts the tax brackets, the standard deduction, the retirement account contribution limits, and dozens of other thresholds for inflation. Most people never hear about it. Their employer adjusts the withholding tables automatically and life goes on — with the same habits, the same contributions, and the same...
Why the next few years may be the best tax opportunity of your lifetime
Hey Reader, There is a tax planning opportunity available to most Americans right now that has a hard expiration date attached to it. Most people are not aware it exists. The ones who are — and who act on it deliberately over the next few years — will likely save tens of thousands of dollars in taxes over their lifetime. Here is what it is and exactly who should be paying attention. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Sunset In 2017 Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — the most significant...
The most expensive 30 minutes most W-2 employees never take
Hey Reader, Every year your employer sends you an email, a portal link, or a paper packet with a deadline attached to it. Most W-2 employees spend less than 30 minutes on it. They click through the same health plan they had last year, leave everything else untouched, and move on with their day. That 30 minutes — or the lack of real attention during it — costs the average W-2 employee between $4,000 and $8,000 every single year in unclaimed benefits, missed pre-tax savings, and avoidable...
The Social Security tax rule most Americans discover too late
Hey Reader, Here is something most Americans never learn until they are sitting across from their accountant in February — stunned and frustrated by a tax bill they never saw coming. Up to 85 percent of your Social Security benefits can be taxed as ordinary income. Not a fixed rate. Not a flat tax. Ordinary income — meaning it stacks on top of everything else you earn and pushes you into a higher bracket at exactly the moment you can least afford it. Here is how it works. The Provisional...
What the tax code actually rewards and how to get on the right side of it
Hey Reader, The US tax code contains over 70,000 pages of rules, exceptions, deductions, and credits. Almost none of it was written with the average American in mind. It was written to reward three specific behaviors — and if you are not deliberately doing at least one of them, you are on the wrong side of a system you are participating in every single day. Here is what the tax code actually rewards. Reward 1 — Saving for Retirement The government wants Americans to fund their own retirement...
The 3 numbers every American should know before their next paycheck or withdrawal
Hey Reader, Most Americans manage their money by feel. They know roughly what comes in. They know roughly what goes out. And somewhere in between they hope the math works out in their favor. It rarely does — not because they do not earn enough, but because they have never looked at the three numbers that actually control their financial picture. Here they are. Number 1 — Your Effective Tax Rate Not your bracket. Your effective rate — the actual percentage of your total income going to federal...
The account most Americans open but never actually use correctly
Hey , There is one account that sits inside most Americans' benefits package, opened during their first week at a new job, barely glanced at during annual enrollment, and almost never used to its full potential. It is called the Health Savings Account. And it is the most underused wealth-building tool in the entire US tax code. Here is what most people do with their HSA: Leave the balance sitting in cash earning 0.01% interest Use it to pay every medical bill as it comes in Never look at the...
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