The 5 Biggest Financial Planning Mistakes Made by Tech Professionals | Mistake #1

I love working with the tech community. I started my career at Microsoft and have since been inspired by the creative and innovative minds of folks working at tech companies large and small. I also enjoy working with tech employees, because as a personal finance nerd, I get to help people navigate the plethora of benefits available that are often only available at tech companies. Between RSUs, ESPP, Non-Qualified or Incentive Stock Options, Mega Backdoor Roth 401(k)s, Deferred Compensation, Legal Services, and even Pet Insurance, it is the benefits equivalent of picking from a menu of a Michelin three-star-rated restaurant.

Through my own experience as a tech employee and my experiences now as an advisor working with tech professionals, I’ve identified some of the biggest financial planning mistakes that can hold the tech community back from achieving financial independence and success.

Mistake #1 – Not Optimizing Benefits

We all are familiar with the paradox of choice. Most people, when faced with a long list of complicated benefits that even some financial professionals struggle to understand, will focus on the areas that are familiar and disregard the rest. Who wants to spend their free time reading about ESPP taxation or the mechanics of Roth Conversions on after-tax 401(k) contributions? Chances are that if you work for a growing tech company, you have very little free time to begin with.

While it may not be the most enjoyable use of your evenings or weekends, I can’t emphasize enough how valuable it is to invest the time to learn how to optimize your benefits now. Choosing to invest additional savings in your Mega Backdoor Roth 401(k) over a taxable brokerage account may shave a couple of years off your retirement date. Maximizing HSA contributions and investing the growing account balance can provide for a substantial amount of money to pay for high healthcare costs if you retire before you are Medicare eligible (age 65). Making strategic Roth Conversions during lower income years, such as in early retirement or during breaks from paid employment, can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in future taxes over the course of your lifetime. The list goes on, trust me.

If I don’t exercise for a week, or even a month, I probably won’t notice a significant difference in my overall health. If I keep telling myself that I’ll start a workout routine, but years go by without investing my time and energy into making the plan a reality, my physical fitness will take a toll, and I will also lose out on all the amazing benefits that exercising regularly provides. I may look back with regret at some point later in life that maybe certain health issues could have been minimized or prevented if I had spent the time to prioritize what is truly important. It is critical to think beyond how something may impact us in the short term and recognize the long-term impacts of choosing to continue to put something on the back burner. Ask yourself, what impact will this have on my life if I wait a year to prioritize my personal finances? What effect will it have on my life if I wait ten years to prioritize my personal finances? Chances are that impact is even greater than you think. If you want help assessing and optimizing your benefits, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Be sure to read our upcoming blog posts for additional mistakes to avoid as a tech professional.

Disclosure: The material is presented solely for information purposes and has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Merriman cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Merriman does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be relied upon as such.