Are You Getting the Most from Your 401(k)? How to Contribute More and Retire Early
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
Release Date: 08/17/2026
Are You Getting the Most from Your 401(k)? How to Contribute More and Retire Early
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
Most 401(k) advice stops at "contribute enough to get the match." But your 401(k) can hold far more than the number most people have memorized — and if you're a high earner, that gap could be worth millions by retirement. In this replay episode, Eric and Kali break down the layers of a 401(k) that go beyond the standard employee contribution and explain: After-tax contributions Employer profit-sharing The mega backdoor Roth conversion strategy that lets high earners move a much larger amount into tax-advantaged accounts than most realize is possible And if you’re wondering if your 401(k)...
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How Expecting Parents Can Create Financially Secure Homes
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
Financial planning for a new baby isn't about hitting some magic savings number — it's about knowing what your cash flow can actually absorb, and building enough flexibility into your plan that a major life pivot doesn't derail everything else you're working toward. We bringing back one from the archive today, to talk about our own financial and personal planning conversation we had before deciding to have a baby. We break down how we separated the emotional question ("do we actually want this?") from the financial one ("can we afford it?"), why "how much should I save?" is the wrong...
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Stop Tax Surprises: 5 Tax-Smart Moves for High Income Earners to Reduce Tax Liability
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
Looking for legal ways to reduce your tax bill before you're caught off guard again next spring? In this classic Money for Life episode, hosts Eric and Kali break down five tax reduction strategies for high earners. These 5 money moves are all designed to lower what you owe the IRS. By being proactive and strategic, you can lower your tax burden and avoid unpleasant surprise tax bills next year We talk through: How to use a securities-backed line of credit against your brokerage or bank account to access cash without triggering capital gains from selling investments How to treat your HSA like...
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Trump Accounts for Kids: What High-Earning Parents Need to Know About Section 530A Accounts
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
Trump accounts for kids (officially called Section 530A accounts) landed on our radar the moment the One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced them in 2025, complete with a headline-grabbing $1,000 government deposit for eligible children. But is the hype matched by the substance? Should families use these accounts or steer clear? In this episode of Money For Life, we provide our take and break down all the details of how these new kids' retirement accounts work: the $5,000 annual contribution limit, the narrow menu of low-cost U.S. index funds you're allowed to hold, the two custodians (BNY...
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The Inside Track on Becoming a Landlord: Understanding Property Management with Peter Cook
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
Want to get rich and earn passive income? Invest in real estate, baby! Only, it’s not that simple, and today’s expert guest has a truly inside track to explain why. Today on the show, Annapolis Property Management founder Peter Cook joins us to explain what high-income earners need to understand before they wade into the waters of real estate investing and rental property management. Peter has spent 25 years in property management, and in this episode, he and Eric dig into a real, unfiltered breakdown of what it means to be a landlord. Not the theoretical version from a book or a...
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Raising Financially Healthy Kids: How to Help Kids Manage Finances with Productive Money Mindsets
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
If you're a high-income earner who grew up with far less than you have today, you’ve probably thought about how much different your own children have it than you did as a kid. Do you ever wonder how to raise money-smart kids that don’t take dollars for granted? Or wish you could talk to someone about how to enjoy all you’ve worked hard to have - without creating a family of spoiled kids who don’t appreciate how good they have it? Today’s conversation is for you. In this episode of Money For Life, we get personal about one of the trickiest challenges facing financially successful...
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Get Your Time Back: How High-Earning Families Can Reclaim Their Time With a House Manager featuring Kelly Hubbell of Sage Haus
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
You've optimized your career. You've built the income. You have a wonderful family you love, a home you worked hard for - and a completely unmanageable workload that leaves you with zero time, energy, or mental bandwidth. Sound familiar? For most dual-income households, there's a second full-time job hiding in plain sight outside of a demanding work career that eats up at least 25 hours per week beyond the time you spend in the office. Between all the grocery runs, meal prep, Amazon returns, laundry, school pickups, the random appointment you forgot to reschedule - oh, and coordinating the...
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Investing at the End of the World: Dealing with Your Personal Portfolio Amid Geopolitical Tension, Questionable Job Markets, and Ongoing Market Volatility
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
If uncertainty has you feeling anxious and itchy to do something, this episode will show you exactly where to channel that energy — and why the investors who come through periods like this the strongest are the ones who already have a plan in place. The stock market is bouncing around. The headlines are loud. There are literal wars to worry about. So if you've logged into your investment account recently and felt a knot in your stomach, you're not alone. In this episode of Money For Life, we cut through the noise to give you a clear-headed, data-backed look at what market volatility actually...
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Angel Investing: How to Bet on the Right Founders, Build Real Wealth, and Vote With Your Dollars with Jess Lynch and FoundersEdge
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
How do you start angel investing? Can anyone be an angel investor or is this a world reserved for Silicon Valley insiders and Shark Tank-esque business tycoons? Jess Lynch joins us to explain how $2,500 can be your entry ticket into the world of angel investing - and how to deploy those dollars wisely in a high-risk environment. Join us to get the exact frameworks Jess uses to find, vet, and back the founders most likely to win. In this episode, Eric asks Jess to pull back the curtain on the private markets and how average investors can start exploring opportunities within them. They give...
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What to Do With Your Money When You Change Jobs
Money for Life with Eric Roberge, CFP
Most people accept a new job offer thinking about salary and title. What they don't think about: the potential financial gaps that could trip you up in the process of changing jobs or making a career pivot (even if you accepted a job with more starting salary). Eric and Kali break down everything that is likely to shift with your finances when you change jobs. They cover what often goes wrong that most people never consider, including: The tricky tax trap if you put your new 401(k) on autopilot and don’t calculate what you’re actually allowed to contribute for the year - because whatever...
info_outlineMost 401(k) advice stops at "contribute enough to get the match." But your 401(k) can hold far more than the number most people have memorized — and if you're a high earner, that gap could be worth millions by retirement.
In this replay episode, Eric and Kali break down the layers of a 401(k) that go beyond the standard employee contribution and explain:
- After-tax contributions
- Employer profit-sharing
- The mega backdoor Roth conversion strategy that lets high earners move a much larger amount into tax-advantaged accounts than most realize is possible
And if you’re wondering if your 401(k) can help you retire before the standard withdrawal age, the answer is yes: using legitimate strategies like 72(t) distributions and the rule of 55 for accessing that money early without triggering a penalty.
But there are some pitfalls to watch out for, including vesting schedules that can cost you employer contributions if you leave too soon, the job-switch math error that leads to accidental over-contribution, and why your plan document (not HR, not your provider's call center) is the only place to get a straight answer.
This is a replay of a past episode. The specific dollar figures and IRS contribution limits referenced were accurate at the time of original recording and have since increased, but the strategies and planning principles remain fully relevant today. Friendly reminder to check current-year IRS limits before applying any numbers to your own plan!
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