The backdoor Roth IRA is one of those financial strategies that sounds complicated but is actually quite simple once you see the steps clearly. If you’ve heard the term and wondered what it means — and whether it applies to you — this guide explains it plainly. First: Why a “Backdoor” Is Needed The Roth … Read more
One of the most common questions I receive as a financial planner is some version of this: “My kid earns money doing things around the house — can I pay them for that and then contribute to a Roth IRA for them?” It’s a genuinely important question, because the Roth IRA is an extraordinary wealth-building … Read more
As a fee-only financial planner who has helped hundreds of families open custodial Roth IRAs for their children, the question I hear most often is not “which account is best” — it’s “which account is cheapest.” That’s the right instinct. When you’re opening a Roth IRA for a teenager who earned $4,000 from a summer … Read more
A parent called me last spring with a question I hear constantly: “My daughter just turned 22, has her first real job, and I want to help her start a Roth IRA. Where should she open it?” Choosing a Roth IRA for an adult child sounds simple, but the differences between brokerages — fees, minimums, … Read more
A dad walked into my office last spring with a crumpled printout of his 14-year-old daughter’s first paycheck — $312 from a summer job at a local bakery. He wanted to open a Schwab custodial Roth IRA for her that same week. That question — “Can we do this at Schwab?” — is one I … Read more
A father walked into my office a few years ago with a simple question: his fifteen-year-old daughter had earned $3,200 that summer lifeguarding, and he wanted to know where to put it. I told him immediately — a Fidelity custodial Roth IRA. He had never heard of one. By the end of that meeting, we … Read more
Last month, I sat across from a couple in their mid-50s who had done everything right. They maxed their 401(k) every year, lived below their means, and had accumulated just over $1.4 million in tax-deferred accounts. On paper, they looked like retirement success story. In reality, they were staring down a tax problem that was … Read more
I still remember the client who came into my office in 2007 convinced she needed a traditional IRA because her coworker told her so. She was 34, earning $68,000 a year, and planning to retire early. She had never run a single projection. Neither had her coworker. After building out her full tax picture — … Read more
A few years ago, a surgeon came to me frustrated. She was earning just over $230,000 a year, had maxed out her 401(k), and kept hearing that she “made too much” to contribute to a Roth IRA. She assumed that door was permanently closed. It wasn’t. Within one meeting, we had a backdoor Roth IRA … Read more
About three years ago, I sat across from a 58-year-old client — a former hospital administrator with $1.4 million sitting in a traditional IRA — and told her something I would have said very differently a decade earlier. I told her to slow down on her Roth conversions. Not stop. Slow down. And the reasons … Read more