Tax Planning

Most financial mistakes I see aren't wrong decisions.

They're right decisions made in the wrong order.

Most Google employees think RSUs are a compensation event.

The IRS agrees.

The problem is that the IRS is only describing the tax treatment. It isn't describing what actually happens.

One of the interesting things about Google is that it has probably created more accidental investors than almost any company in history.

Most retirement plans don’t fail because people are too aggressive.

They fail because they’re just reasonable enough to go unquestioned.

A Googler asked me this week whether 3% was a solid COLA projection for retirement planning.

It’s a reasonable assumption.

It’s also doing more work than most people realize.

If you work in tech, there’s a good chance a meaningful part of your wealth isn’t coming from your salary.

It’s coming from RSUs.

And in my experience, most people don’t struggle because RSUs are complicated…

They struggle because no one ever shows them how the pieces fit together.

RSUs aren't a bonus. Everyone treats them like one, and that's where the trouble starts.