A CPA Dissects and Critiques a FIRE Plan

Do you understand all of the laws, regulations, and scenarios that could affect you, your money, how you access it, and how much you have to turn over to the feds and, if applicable, your state and local municipalities?

Sometimes a little professional advice–someone who’s seen a lot, been through it before, and knows all of the ins and outs–is definitely warranted, especially if you have doubts yourself.

But honestly, I feel much more confident writing about finance than I do about our own finances. There are just so many people promoting financial advice on the internet that I sometimes doubt my own decisions.

 I decided to spend the money to meet with a tax professional to discuss FIRE. And we had the best conversation about tax strategies, early retirement, and college savings plans.

A CPA Dissects and Critiques a FIRE Plan

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Before I tell you what I learned from the CPA, you need to know where we are in our FIRE journey.

Where Are We in Our FIRE Journey?

My wife and I are lucky enough to be close to “basic financial independence,” where our total liquid assets are 25x our annual expenses (i.e. 4% safe withdrawal rate), and we live in a paid-off house.

Assets

Almost all of our money is in stocks or tied up in our primary residence. We have a small amount in bonds. We don’t intend to hold cash, but every time I total up our net worth, I’m shocked by how much cash we have sitting in different savings accounts strewn about.

Asset Allocation

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