True Riches Financial Planning

I recently met with a prospect who had been making traditional IRA contributions for years, thinking they were deductible when really they weren't.

A traditional IRA can be a great way to save for retirement with tax-deferred growth, but determining whether your contributions are deductible isn’t always straightforward. Several factors, including income limits and employer plan coverage, come into play.

For those wanting to better understand the rules, here's a downloadable flowchart covering some of the key considerations, such as:

○ Earned income requirements
○ Coverage under an employer plan
○ Impact of other (Roth) IRA contributions
○ MAGI thresholds based on filing status

trueriches-my.sharepoint.com

How to Open a Trump Account: Step-by-Step Guide

I've noticed some subtle nuances with opening Trump Accounts within the Advisor community-forums, so I thought I'd take the liberty of putting together a visually-friendly, step-by-step guide to opening a Trump Account if you have a minor child of which you are the parent or legal guardian for.

You can view the Step-by-Step Guide to Opening a Trump Account here: https://trueriches-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/zack_truerichesfp_com/IQCfliOilE-mTqnlO2MqsmdCAdeK0cVQQiqJcH6UiOh91kw

DISCLAIMER: These posts are intended to serve solely as general financial education and not personalized advice. Before considering acting on anything you see in these posts, first consult with your tax, legal or investment advisor.

If you’ve been thinking about using the equity in your home for a renovation, large purchase, or to help with debt, you’re not alone.

Your home can be a valuable tool to support your broader financial goals, but it’s important to understand the options available. To help, here's a summary guide that walks through three common ways to access home equity:

👉A Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
👉A Home Equity Loan
👉A Cash-Out Refinance

It also highlights how they differ in terms of repayment structure, interest rates, loan terms, closing costs, and borrowing limits.

trueriches-my.sharepoint.com

Families with more money than they'll ever realistically need to support their core lifestyle expenses have a challenging truth to face 👇

𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙙𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡.

And you might not be glad with where the money goes after you're gone.

It might be the government taking it in the form of estate taxes, your kids inheriting way too much money for their own good, planting a large tax bill on your heirs, and the list goes on.

While most people spend their whole life trying to simply build 'enough' wealth to provide for their own needs, some folks, through luck, skill, or everything in between, face a different form of "challenge" with their wealth.

If you haven't answered the question: "What is this all for anyways?" then surrounded that WHY with purpose, systems, strategies, and kind accountability, the pursuit of wealth is effectively a chasing after the wind.

Many parents want to start setting money aside for their children, but they’re often unsure about where they should actually save the money.

There are several options available. Some accounts remain in the parents’ names and can be gifted later, offering flexibility. Others involve irrevocable gifts that permanently belong to the child. Some strategies provide tax advantages, while others prioritize control or simplicity.

To help support these conversations, I’ve put together 𝐭̲𝐡̲𝐢̲𝐬̲ ̲𝐝̲𝐨̲𝐰̲𝐧̲𝐥̲𝐨̲𝐚̲𝐝̲𝐚̲𝐛̲𝐥̲𝐞̲ ̲𝐠̲𝐮̲𝐢̲𝐝̲𝐞̲ that walks through several common ways parents save for children, highlighting the pros and cons of each option and why someone might consider one strategy over another. ENJOY!

Common-Savings-Accounts-For-Children.pdf

I'm excited to have recently joined the growing movement of Finish Line Advisors!

Finish Line Advisors are simply Christian Financial Advisors that have taken the pledge to set their own financial finish line by setting a cap on their annual spending (and for me, net worth) and transparently sharing that within a trusted community of fellow advisors doing their best to implement the very framework we advise clients to do.

A big shoutout to Cody and Kealan Hobelmann for their hard work and faithfulness in creating these free resources for those wanting to explore a practical framework that carries strong biblical foundation — check out their thoughtful and data-driven finish line calculator at:

https://www.finishlinepledge.com/calculator/

I've always envied health and fitness workers because they can simply post their workouts, exercises, dietary recipes, and it's not weird or emotional.

Money is taboo in America and posting your own numbers invites judgment, criticism, and envy, which is why I've always shy'd away from posting about my own finances. But I hit a really cool milestone that I wanted to share not because I'm perfect [or even close] with my finances or that you should do exactly as I do, but simply to say that the things I preach, I do my best to personally practice.

I think there's a perception that making wise financial decisions are easy when you're a financial planner. The truth is the habits and practices of sound financial planning are more about behavior than anything, and good behavior is HARD. Discipline is hard, constraint is hard, giving can be hard.

In 2021, I started giving through a Donor-Advised Fund ("DAF") for most of our giving, and since late 2021, we've now clipped 6-figures of giving (the $114k in the picture). I can honestly say giving is the most fun and joyful thing you can do with money. But the temptation to constantly take care of my own needs and wants is always there. It takes constant reminders of what's most important and to keep engaging in behaviors that aren't easy but that are well worth it. Now don't get me wrong — God has entrusted us with an abundance of resources...we are 1%'ers from a global perspective making a low 6-figure income...this is giving from abundance, not poverty.

Again, this is not intended to be Pharisee-esque whatsoever (because we know what Jesus said about the Widow's Mite relative to the Pharisees giving). It's simply to say: "I'm in this with you. It's not easy. But it's worth it. Don't forget what's most important."

3 Money Lessons from Mr. Deeds [the 2002 Adam Sandler Movie] 👇

1) You can't take any money with you to the grave.
2) Where your heart is, there your money will follow.
3) You don't need lots of money to be happy. In fact, some of the most joyful people are those who have very little.

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲:
Having more money won't make you into the person you've always wanted to be; it will likely reveal who you already are.

Thankful Thursday for another 5-Star Client Review! I'm super privileged to get to work with some awesome people 😊

The price tag of new purchases is rarely the full cost 👇

Buy a more expensive home? That typically means not just a higher mortgage payment, but higher property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs over time.

Buy a new iPhone? That's more precious, finite time spent on switching everything over, re-logging into all your Apps, and not to mention switching costs on the phone (new screen protector, phone case, new chargers) and potentially higher ongoing insurance costs.

Buy expensive jewelry? That's higher ongoing insurance costs, and maybe more expensive maintenance and repairs.

Boats, 2nd homes, expensive cars, new technology, you name it — the cost of having more is not just the price tag, but the extra ongoing time, money, and energy spent figuring out how the new purchases work, repairs, maintenance, insurance, storage, moving, cleaning, upgrading, moving, or worrying.

The cost of discontentment is a high one!