Of all the alternative investment options marketed to physicians, real estate probably gets the most traction. And I understand why. Doctors tend to have more discretionary income, even after maxing out their 401(k), and the smart ones are looking for ways to leverage that income for their futures, rather than just spending it on a fancier lifestyle. Because of that draw, a whole industry has emerged—physician real estate investing. And with any industry that involves mon

Donor Advised Funds: A smart tax strategy In my last post, I spoke about a great tax strategy for charitable giving called a Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD. QCDs allow you to lower your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) dollar for dollar and still take advantage of the standard deduction (or itemize if it makes sense) for further reduction of your tax bill. The main problem with the QCD strategy is that it is available to a relatively small demographic: charitably min

This week is Christmas, which feels like the perfect time to write a post about charitable giving. I recently worked with a retired client couple who were excellent candidates for a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD): are charitably minded, still have relatively high income (pension/social security/part-time employment), are required to take RMDs, and hold a meaningful balance in a traditional IRA. I introduced the concept to them and was able to save them thousands of d

One of the most powerful tools in the financial planning toolbelt in terms of tax strategy is called a Roth conversion. It is simply moving money from your pre-tax retirement accounts to your tax-free (or Roth) retirement accounts after you have stopped working and when you are in a lower income tax bracket. Let’s review how it works. Nest-egg buckets As you save, invest, and grow your retirement nest egg, there are three possible destinations, or buckets, where those asset