These Money Moves Feel Like Financial Cheat Codes

Summary

Money Guy Show — Episode Summary: "These Money Moves Feel Like Financial Cheat Codes" (July 24, 2026)

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Episode Overview

In this engaging and energetic episode, hosts Brian Preston and Bo Hanson of the Money Guy Show lay out a series of "financial cheat codes" — legally sound and powerful strategies to accelerate your wealth-building journey. They detail impactful money moves beyond the basics, demystify complex tactics, and share practical steps to help you supercharge your financial growth. Listeners walk away empowered to “press start” on their own financial game plan, equip assets to work harder, and ultimately lead a more fulfilled, less stressful life.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Employer Match: The Ultimate "Free Money" Cheat Code

[00:33 – 03:46]

• Why it’s a cheat code: Employer matches are essentially “bags of money” with your name on them — a unique opportunity for instant returns.
• Guaranteed returns: Matching programs can deliver a 50%-100% guaranteed return, unmatched anywhere else.

  “This could truthfully set you up for a 50% to 100% guaranteed rate of return. And that’s just unheard of in the financial world.” – Brian [01:12]

• Surprising stats: Despite this, 34% of employees don’t contribute enough to their 401(k) to receive their full match.
• Action step: Immediately check and maximize your match formula. Don’t leave free money on the table!
• Ensure investments: Confirm your money isn’t just saved — it’s invested appropriately, not languishing in cash or stable-value funds.
• Routine review: Reevaluate contributions annually, after pay raises, or any compensation change.

2. Automate Your Investing—Set Discipline on Autopilot

[03:46 – 07:46]

• Why it works: Automation embeds discipline in your life, sidestepping emotion-driven mistakes.
• Dollar-cost averaging: Consistently invest fixed amounts regardless of market highs and lows, smoothing out volatility.
• Real-world example: Even during the 25-year flat market post-Great Depression, automated investing yielded impressive returns:

  “You would have had an annualized rate of return of almost 12% just by being consistent, just by setting on autopilot, just by automatically investing.” – Bo [05:03]

• Accounts to automate: Roth IRAs, HSAs, and particularly employer retirement accounts, but can also include taxable brokerage accounts.
• Lifestyle vs. savings: Apply the “60/40 Rule” when you get a raise—allocate 60% of any increase to savings, 40% to lifestyle.

3. Follow the Financial Order of Operations

[07:46 – 11:33]

• The master blueprint: The financial order of operations (“FOO”) ensures you know exactly what to do with your next dollar and prevents costly financial mistakes.
• Nine steps: From basics (emergency fund, paying off high-interest debt) to advanced moves (funding college, paying off your mortgage).

  “If you follow the financial order of operations, you’re going to find that you really are not only maximizing the wins, but you’re making the bad habits that much harder.” – Brian [09:19]

• Competing priorities solved: FOO acts as a “backstop,” helping you prioritize competing goals (retirement vs. college vs. mortgage, etc.)
• Resource: Download their free FOO resource at moneyguy.com/resources.

4. HSA Optimization: The Triple (or Quattro!) Tax Advantage

[11:33 – 18:52]

• Why it’s elite: Only 2% of Americans fully optimize their HSA; most just use it as a “clearing account.”
• Triple/quadruple tax benefit:
  1. Contributions are tax-deductible
  2. Growth is tax-deferred
  3. Distributions are tax-free (for qualified medical expenses)
  4. Bonus — Payroll deferral may also avoid Social Security/Medicare taxes, making it a “quattro tax advantage”

  “This thing is powerful.” – Brian [13:15]

• Eligibility: Must be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan.
• Contribution limits (2026): $4,400 individual / $8,750 family.
• Optimizing:
  • Step 1: Make maximum contributions.
  • Step 2: Invest HSA funds, not just save them.
  • Step 3: Pay out-of-pocket, save receipts, and allow tax-free growth—reimburse yourself in the future when needed.

  “We don’t want you to use this as a clearing account. We want you to maximize the power.” – Brian [14:49]

• Caveats: HSAs only make sense in years when a high-deductible plan fits your health/life circumstances.

5. The Backdoor Roth IRA: Unlocking Advanced Tax-Free Growth

[21:01 – 25:40]

• What is it: A strategy for high earners to gain Roth IRA access, despite income limitations, using a nondeductible traditional IRA and then converting to Roth.
• Critical IRS loophole: IRS allows Roth conversions even if you’re over the income limit for direct contributions.
• Warnings:
  • Avoid complications if you have substantial traditional, rollover, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA funds (pro-rata rule).
  • Make sure Form 8606 is correctly filed to reflect non-deductible contributions and conversions.

  “If all you do is just drop your 1099 … into the tax software, … it's likely that they are going to mark that as a taxable conversion. Well, if it’s a taxable conversion, you’ve ruined the whole thing.” – Bo [24:21]

• Extra complexity: Keep detailed records (Forms 8606, 5498) to prevent tax headaches.

6. Tax Loss Harvesting: Turning Market Losses into Future Gains

[26:26 – 30:02]

• Why it’s a cheat code: Legally offset gains with realized losses in your taxable accounts, converting market downturns into a long-term tax benefit.

  “This is like a silver lining in that dark cloud because it lets you really turn a lot of the volatility of the markets into loss harvesting gains…” – Brian [26:41]

• How it works:
  • Sell investments at a loss, use proceeds to buy something similar (not identical) to avoid the wash sale rule.
  • Losses first offset gains, then up to $3,000 of ordinary income annually; unused losses carry forward.
• No disruption: Maintains your asset allocation even as you harvest losses.
• Bonus: Appreciated assets from this process can potentially be donated for further tax advantages.

7. Work with a Financial Advisor: Level Up Your Financial Game

[30:02 – 34:38]

• When complexity grows: Reaching a certain level of success creates complexity — professional help pays off.
• Comprehensive value: Beyond investing, advisors can enhance your tax, estate, insurance, and cash flow planning.
• Documented value:
  • Russell Investments found that a good financial advisor can add approximately 4.9% in real annual value. [32:14]
  • 86% of clients with advisors have “more peace of mind.” [32:26]

  “If you do this right, you’ll eventually be able to use your resources to buy time… Money is nothing more than a tool.” – Brian [32:26]

• Take action: Visit aboundwealth.com and click “Work with Us” to explore advisory services.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On employer match:

  “If I ask you right now, what is your funding formula at your place of work, if you don’t know the answer. … Find out what do you need to contribute, what incentives are built into your retirement.” – Brian [02:18]

• On automation:

  “If you can automate your investing, you automatically insert discipline into the equation and it’s the default.” – Bo [03:53]

• On emotional investing:

  “You’ll actually find yourself getting so excited. If the market is getting beaten up. You’re going to be super excited that you know you have a monthly contribution going in even while the market’s down.” – Brian [04:18]

• On HSAs:

  “There are a number of people out there that use HSAs, but there’s a very small segment … that actually optimize them … into a powerful extra tax free retirement account.” – Bo [11:33]

• On tax planning:

  “If you have a rollover ira, … I want you to proceed with caution because you might not have the perfect account structure because backdoor contributions, you don’t want to run afoul of the pro rata rule.” – Brian [23:09]

• On peace of mind:

  “Money is nothing more than a tool. … If you do this right, you’ll eventually be able to use your resources to buy time. … Let's see if we can get really smart with maximizing both my time, but also how we optimize the situation we have going on financially.” – Brian [32:26]

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Key Timestamps

• [00:33] — Employer match as a financial foundation
• [03:46] — Automate your investing, and why it’s so powerful
• [07:46] — The financial order of operations explained
• [11:33] — HSA optimization and the triple/quadruple tax advantage
• [21:01] — Backdoor Roth IRA strategy and caveats
• [26:26] — Tax loss harvesting in taxable accounts
• [30:02] — The value of working with a financial advisor

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Conclusion

Brian and Bo break down advanced yet accessible financial tactics that feel like gaming "cheat codes," stripping away uncertainty and encouraging everyone to build wealth with intentional strategy. By focusing on fundamentals (employer match, automation), layering in advanced moves (HSAs, backdoor Roths, tax loss harvesting), and discussing when to seek expert guidance, they reassure listeners: these strategies are real and ready for you to use.

“There is a better way to do money. Come see. You’ve heard us give all the details. We love helping people all across.” – Brian [34:20]

Transcript

[A]

There are a handful of money moves that feel like cheat codes. They're almost too good to be true, but they are 100% real and totally legal.

[B]

Brian, I am so excited because the strategy that we're going to share today can make a big difference if you know about them.

[A]

So I'm Brian, he's Bo, and this is the Money Guy show, where two financial advisors give you the money cheat codes to help you beat every level of wealth. And with that, let's press start.

[B]

All right, Brian, let's talk about this first one. Now, if you've been listening to our content for any amount of time, this one's not going to be incredibly surprising, but it really is like a cheat code, and that is getting your employer match.

[A]

Guys, seriously, get in there and get that free money. Show me the money. There's a reason this is step number two.

[B]

So why is this a cheat code? What makes it so unique, so interesting, so earth shattering? Well, on the surface, it's pretty obvious. It literally unlocks free money for you. It is money that all you have to do is show up and your employer says, come, take this and it is yours to have. And it is literally that easy.

[A]

Well, I mean, your employer is already doing this for you. They're counting this as part of their calculation whether or not when they hire you and put together your compensation package, they're expecting you to take advantage of this. So get in there and do that. This is legitimately free money or even prepaid money, if you want to be kind of trollish about it. It's taken into account. But here's the reality of it. This could truthfully set you up for a 50% to 100% guaranteed rate of return. And that's just unheard of in the financial world. To get a dollar for dollar or 50 cents on the dollar match, you got to take advantage of that.

[B]

Even as amazing as this is, because if we were to set up a table and we were to say, hey, all you got to do is swing by our table after the show, we have bags of money with your name on it. No one would not swing by the table and grab that. Yet the truth is, 34% of employees do not contribute enough to their 401k to actually get their full employer match. That means that one out of three employees says, hey, no, thank you, boss. No, thank you, employer. I don't want free money. Do not let yourself fall into that camp.

[A]

So if I ask you right now, what is your funding formula at your place of work, if you don't know the answer. I want you right? Don't go, don't go past go. Go ahead and reach out to your HR department, reach out to your boss. Find out what do you need to contribute, what incentives are built into your retirement.

[B]

And what you'll often hear is something like, okay, if you put in a dollar, we'll put in a dollar, or you put in $1, we'll put in 50 cents, or for every $2 you put in, we'll put in $1. However it is structured, figure out what the formula is and then make sure that you're putting in enough to get that full match. If you, you have to put in a full 5% to get a 4% match, then start putting in that 5%. Do not leave free money on the table.

[A]

And then the second, realize when you fund your retirement now, a lot of times you make the election, not only are you going to save this much out of your paycheck, but you're going to elect to invest. But every now and then there's roll in options and other things. I'm always shocked at how many people their 401k defaults to, like cash or stable reserve funds. Ensure that your money is actually being invested. That's the key part to actually put your army of dollars to work for you.

[B]

And then we want to make sure that you're revisiting this at least annually or every time you get a pay raise or every time your compensation changes. Make sure you revisit how much you're putting into your employer sponsor plan. For many folks, this is the very first account that actually gets them into the 2 comma club. But you have to start participating, take advantage of the free money and then get better at it through time.

[A]

All right, but let's hit them with cheat code number two. Automate the investing. Make it automatic for the people.

[B]

This is what I love about this one. This is why it's actually a cheat code is because it makes discipline the default setting you've heard us talk all the time about. There are really three ingredients to wealth creation. Discipline. You need margin and you need time. Well, if you can automate your investing, you automatically insert discipline into the equation and it's the default. Not something you have to actively do every pay period, every pay cycle.

[A]

What I like is this will literally make you a financial because it's a volatility shield. You know, a lot of people are worried about, well, I'm buying at all time highs or hey, the stock market looks pretty scary because it lost 20% over the last two or three months. Should I even do this, guys? If you're automating the process, you've created a system. It's not tied to your emotions or other things. It's happening and this will. You'll actually find yourself getting so excited. If the market is getting beaten up. You're going to be super excited that you know you have a monthly contribution or funding going in even while the market's down. If it's all time highs, you're holding your nose and you're buying anyway because you're making it automatic and creating the good behavior and discipline that BO just talked about. This is a volatility shift.

[B]

The technical term for automatically buying is dollar cost averaging. It's investing an equal amount at regular intervals, either weekly or monthly, without thinking about it over a long period of time. And just how powerful can it be? Let's look at a very extreme real world example. We think about the Great Depression. It was a 25 year period where the Dow Jones Industrial industrial average on September 3rd of 1929 closed at $381. 25 years in the future it closed at $383. Only a $2 increase in the overall price of the Dow Jones over a 25 year period. But had you been investing every single year through that 25 year period, we're really. The market did not make any money from starting point to end point. You would have had an annualized rate of return of almost 12% just by being consistent, just by setting on autopilot, just by automatically investing.

[A]

Well, I mean a lot of people you talk about the lost decade. This is the last two and a half decades, but yet you see that in the brochure and you see what the news media would have probably been scaring you. But the reality is if you just taking care of and control the behavior, you could and create a system of always be buying, you would be okay. So that's why abb always be buying baby will get you through these volatile periods. It will get you through all these problems. Dollar cost averaging is your friend.

[B]

The reason it's a rule for us is because it takes out the guesswork, it takes out the emotion. Is the market going up, Great, I'm going to buy. Is the market going down? Great, I'm going to buy. I don't have to make it any more complicated than that. So how do you do it? What do you need to set up? Well, a real easy place to do this is just to set up recurring Roth IRA or HSA contributions, maybe you can't max them out, but you can just do a hundred bucks a month. That's great. Set up your account to have a $100 a month automatically go in, buy a low cost index fund every single month and you are on the automatic wealth building journey.

[A]

The other big place and the first accounts that typically cross into seven figure status, your employer retirement plans. You can set up automatic contributions every time you get paid. You're going to have money coming into these plans every time you get a pay raise. Let's go ahead and increase how much is going into these accounts. They can create a lot of systematic behaviors. They'll reward you in the future.

[B]

And then a lot of people don't realize this isn't just for retirement type accounts like Roth IRAs and 401ks. You can actually set up recurring taxable account contributions where in your after tax brokerage account you can have money going every single month, every single pay period. What's wonderful is as you do that, it's easier to access those dollars. And there are other cheat codes that you're going to be able to unlock that we'll talk about in a bit.

[A]

And as I've covered pay raises count to do the 60, 40 rule. You know, a lot of times people go, well, how much should I increase my lifestyle? How much should I put for savings? If you're not saving and investing 25%, there's nothing wrong with you allocating 60% of your new pay raise to going towards additional automatic savings or let 40% go towards lifestyle. So you are getting some dividends from your success. But a lot of you are saying, guys, I need more than this. And that's all right, we got you covered. If you go to moneyguy.com resources, we actually have a great resource called how much should you save? You can take the guesswork out of this altogether.

[B]

All right, Brian, we've talked about two cheat codes so far. Now let's talk about the third one. And you know what? I try not to have favorite cheat codes, but this one is one of my favorite because it really is a cheat code for you financial mutants out there. And it is following the financial order of operations.

[A]

You know, this one is, I consider it. I think the reason it's your favorite is because it's almost like it's the umbrella that sits on top of everything. If you're ever in doubt and don't know what to do with your next dollar, we've got you covered with the financial order of operations.

[B]

So why is it a cheat code? What makes it a cheat code? Well, it actually tells you exactly what to do with your next dollar. No more guessing, no more I don't knows, no more. Oh, am I making the right decisions? If you follow the financial order of operation, you're going to begin stacking your dollars in the order that they ought to be stacked to be as efficient as an and as effective for you as possible. And you don't have to recreate the will to do it.

[A]

Yeah. And it also keeps you from making costly mistakes. You know, a lot of times when you're trying to create those early financial foundations, it's getting just enough stuff. Right. And also avoiding making the costly mistakes. Whether it's the expensive cars, whether it's, you know, running up credit card debt. I think if you follow the financial order of operations, you're going to find that you really are not only maximizing the wins, but you're making the bad habits that much harder.

[B]

So how do you do it? What do you do? Well, first you can go to moneyguy.com resources and download your free copy of the financial order of operations. And then secondly, we want you to identify where you are. Bring other thing up for me. Are you in step one, deductibles covered? Are you at employer match? Are you at high interest debt? Are you at emergency reserves? Are you putting money in your Roth ira? Are you maxing out your employer sponsored plan, so on and so forth. Identify where you are in the financial order so you can make sure that you've not actually gotten out of whack or gone out of order in the financial order.

[A]

Yeah. Then you know exactly where to direct that next dollar. You can, just like we've shared, you get to keep pushing towards until you complete all nine steps. So when you come through all nine steps, not only are you going to have your financial foundation laid, but you're more likely going to have the kids college funded. You have your mortgage paid off. This thing is an all terrain all season system to help you create success.

[B]

The other thing I love about the financial order of operations, that oftentimes we find ourselves in the reality that we have competing financial priorities. Do I want to do this thing or do I want to do this thing? Do I want to save for retirement or do I want to save for my kids college education? If you let the financial order of operations be your backstop, it's going to allow you to reference, okay, where am I, where should I be? How do I prioritize those competing goals and it will again make sure that you're prioritizing in the most effective and efficient manner possible.

[A]

Bo, I love that you left me with cheat code number four. Now look, a lot of you, you're watching personal finance content, so you think I, I'm good with money. But let me tell you this next cheat code we're going to share. If you do this, it will put you in the top 2% of the entire American population. So you can without a doubt do this. You are a financial mutant.

[B]

Yeah. Cheat code number four is HSA Health Savings Account optimizing. Now, notice we didn't say using an hsa. There are a number of people out there that use HSAs, but there's a very small segment of the population that actually optimize them to the maximum extent. So why is this a cheat code? What is special about it? Well, it turns your savings account that many of us are familiar with, that we get to use for medical expenses into a powerful extra tax free retirement account.

[A]

Look guys, you understand we just talked about the financial order of operations. Step number five is powerful because that is all your tax free growth opportunities. We all love Roth iras because now the catch with Roth IRA is yes, whatever you put in it gets to grow tax free and then, and even pull it out tax free on all the growth. But you had to fund it with after tax money, meaning money that you pay tax on. Here's where HSAs Health savings accounts are so unique. They're what we call triple tax advantage. And in some cases they can even be quattro if your employer offers these. And what we mean by that when we say triple tax advantage is that unlike the Roth IRA that is made with after tax dollars, the health savings account, you get a tax deductible contribution. And then after you put that money in there, if you choose my financial mutants to put this money to work, it grows tax deferred, meaning you're not having to pay taxes on any of the income or growth. And then if you use it for qualified medical expenses, you get to make tax free distributions. And then for bonus points, if your employer is very savvy, call them even financial mutants. And set this up as a payroll deduction. It's quattro in the fact that you save Medicare, you save Social Security. This thing is powerful.

[B]

So if you're someone who is HSA optimized, you get to take advantage of all three, if not four of these. And yet, and yet only 10% of Americans actually use a health savings account. Only 10%. 110 out of 100, 1 out of 10 does that, but it actually gets a little bit worse. 85% of health savings Accounts have no invested assets, so only 1 out of 10 people actually use them. And then of that, 85% of those people that are using them don't actually take advantage of the second and third tax opportunities with these accounts.

[A]

Now, look, I'm going to take full credit for this because I feel like we are the people that have been ringing the, the dinner bell on it. This is the greatest opportunity because when we started covering this, only 4% of you who even had Health Savings accounts were actually investing. Everybody else was using this as a clearing account. We have been ringing the bell, letting everybody know, no, you need to be investing those Health Savings accounts and building these assets up. And I'm so happy to report the number has grown to now 15%, not 4, 15% of you financial mutants. So we are on the good side of history of growing this opportunity, but we still can do more. We don't want you to use this as a clearing account. We want you to maximize the power of the Health Savings Account.

[B]

All right, so how do you do it? What needs to be true? Well, first you have to be eligible. What, what makes you eligible? To be able to open Health Savings Account, you have to be participating in a high deductible health insurance plan. You can ask your benefits department, you can ask the insurance company. Hey, with the health plan that I am on and am I HSA eligible? If you are indeed eligible, make sure that you go open a Health Savings Account.

[A]

I want you to contribute to the Health Savings Account, Take a part of that first part, get the deduction. This is what everybody's good at. This I'm gonna let Bo do where it gets complicated. But there's nothing wrong if you maximize this first year. Like how much is it to maximize in 2026? It's $4,400 for self only. And if you're doing family coverage, it's right under $9,000 at $8,750. Though, everybody who does Health Savings Account, they get that.

[B]

They get that part right.

[A]

What happens next?

[B]

The next thing you have to do is once you actually get those dollars in the account, then you have to invest them. You don't want to be one of the 85% of people that's not investing those assets. Because the big benefit to HSAs is not the front end tax deduction, it's the tax free growth. Well, in order for the dollars to grow, you have to get them invested, you have to get them growing. So you can use a low cost provider for you to open up your hsa. Or even if your employer has an HSA plan that they sponsor, find the low cost index type investment options in there and let those dollars continue to grow. So then as you incur medical expenses, rather than using your HSA as this slush fund where you put money in, pull money out, you pay for all of your medical expenses out of pocket, you save the receipts, you take a picture of them, you scan them into some sort of electronic repository, you keep a running spreadsheet, and then you can actually reimburse yourself at any point in the future for those past medical expenses. So if you incurred $1,000 medical expense a day that you pay for out of pocket, you can reimburse yourself five years from now for that medical expense that you incurred today from the growth inside of your hsa.

[A]

Yeah, this is, this is really powerful. By the way, we've done all the research for you. You know, there's no length of time that you have to, you know, pull the money out in a certain amount of time. There's even rules written into it where if your estate is, make sure you don't keep this a secret. But if you pass away, even the person running your estate could still qualify to take advantage of then cashing the money out completely tax free. And you're asking why would I, why would I even do this? Guys, the power of this compounding growth, just unleashing, that can be so powerful in the fact that when you're trying to figure out when, especially when you hit retirement, how do I get access to money and not pay taxes? And to manipulate the tax code legally, the Health Savings account is going to really pay off in a lot of ways. Not only can you reimburse yourself for medical expenses, but it also offers the cheat code is that even if it's not for medical purposes, you can get access to these accounts and pay income taxes on it. But still, it's not going to be desperate time trying to figure out where do I get into liquidity, where do I get into assets? The Health Savings accounts go answer a lot of those questions.

[B]

And now a brief pause here, Brian, because we've sold HSAs pretty hard and they are incredible vehicles. But just like, you know, you were a big gamer growing up, just because you have the cheat code doesn't mean that it always makes sense in the game to play the cheat code. There might be some reason for you not to do that. NHSAs are wonderful, amazing tools to take advantage of if the high deductible plan is what makes sense for you. But there might be times, seasons, or periods of your life where the high deductible plan doesn't make sense. Maybe it makes sense to opt into your Cadillac coverage through your employer, your highly subsidized, non highly deductible, high deductible health plan. That's okay. Just because an HSA is there doesn't mean that you have to take advantage of every single year. At open enrollment, you want to choose first which plan makes the most sense for my family. And if it happens to be the high deductible plan, then you want to take advantage of the hsa.

[A]

Yeah. Putting some meat on the bones on this. Think about the years that you plan on having a baby. You might want the Cadillac plan more than you want the high deductible. Last year I crossed into, you know, in the last few years across into 50 decade, and you start getting a few more medical procedures to make sure that you're healthy. My wife qualified the same year, so I knew that these were going to be expensive procedures to go do some of those tune up things that you have to do to make sure you're healthy. So I didn't use the high deductible those years. But guess what? Now that I've made it through those tests that you have to do that are uncomfortable and kind of gross, but I made it through. Now I'm back on the sauce with the high deductible. So use your open enrollment. There is nothing wrong with you being proactive and being a financial mutant and maximizing those benefits. All right, before we move on, let's talk about a tool that can help you on your financial journey.

[B]

Yeah, Brian, when I think about my own money story, early on in my financial life, it was really easy to know where every single dollar was going. But now, as life has gotten more complicated, as the messy middle has gotten messier, as subscriptions seem to show up from nowhere, it's gotten much more difficult to keep track of where all those dollars are going. And that's why my wife and I started using Monarch.

[A]

Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything. It gives you one place to see your accounts, your investments, savings goals, and even your spending so you can get a complete picture of your money.

[B]

And once you can see everything in one place, it becomes so much easier to spot where the money leaks are, to recognize when your lifestyle is starting to creep and make intentional decisions with every single dollar I also like that

[A]

Monarch helps you stay proactive. There's an AI weekly recap that shows you spending trends and upcoming expenses. And the assistant can answer questions about your finances before those little issues turn into expensive mistakes.

[B]

Yeah, at the end of the day, it's all about having information that you need so that you can make better financial decisions.

[A]

Write your own money story with Monarch. Use code [e-mail] to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50.

[B]

That's 50% off your first [e-mail] with code moneyguy. All right, Brian, so we're talking about these cheat codes that are available. We just talked about one that's in step five, Brian. We hold the thing up for me. We talked about one that's in step five of the financial order of operations. Health savings accounts. Well, now, so let's talk about the other thing that is in step five. And it's actually a cheat code. And it's not Roth IRAs, it's actually backdoor Roth IRAs.

[A]

Yeah. And look, just to kind of graduate you from step five, this is probably going to be somewhere between five and six in the fact that because you know what, you know when you use a backdoor Roth, when you make a lot of money.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Because this is going to be a way for you to be able to make IRA contributions when your income is is too high to make them directly. But don't worry, the IRS has left a little loophole out there. You know, around 2010 they changed rules where there's actually no income limit on doing Roth conversions. Hence what created the perfect recipe for backdoor Roth contributions.

[B]

And this is also super valuable because Roth IRAs don't have RMDs, they have low expenses and fees. You can have tax free growth and distributions. And if you choose your own Roth IRA provider, you get to pick the investments in there. So if you want low cost index funds or target retirement index funds, you get to do that. But Roths are so valuable and they're so exciting and they're so attractive that the government said, hey, we only want certain people to be able to use this. If you make too much money, if your income goes over a certain threshold, you can't contribute. So if you're a single person, you make under 153,000 of modified adjusted gross income, you can do Roth. For a married person, if you make under 242, you can do Roth. But as soon as you cross over those thresholds from 153 to 168. For a single person, you get phased out. And for married folks, for between 242 and 252, you get phased out. And then over those income thresholds, you can't actually contribute to Roth IRAs anymore. You don't even get to take advantage of this amazing thing. And that's where the backdoor Roth enters.

[A]

Now look, I do need to give a little disclosure. If you have a rollover ira, if you have a SEP IRA or simple ira, I want you to proceed with caution because you might not have the perfect account structure because backdoor contributions, you don't want to run afoul of the pro rata rule.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

What we like to do to keep things simple is make sure your account structure is right. And you can do that by actually rolling over old IRA assets or old employer plans up into your 401k at your current employer now that money's cleared out. But if you have these type of accounts, don't do a backdoor Roth because you'll create a huge tax headache. But assuming you have the right account structure, you can start funding a non deductible ira, a traditional ira, maximize that every year. And then you can, if you have the right account structure, convert those dollars into Roth IRAs, and it's completely tax free. If you made non deductible IRA contributions, then made the tax conversion bo. The key part, and I'll let you kind of explain this, is making sure if you go through this transaction that you actually disclose and file this appropriately on your tax.

[B]

Yeah, so often people. Okay, Brian, I heard you. I moved on my IRAs over. I did that. I funded my non deductible traditional. I did that. I converted my Roth. I must be done. And then all of a sudden, tax time rolls around. And what you notice is now when tax time rolls around, you have all these 1099s that you receive from all these rollovers you did out of traditional IRAs, out of IRA rollovers into your 401k. So you have a bunch of tax forms, and then you have this complicated transaction where you made a deductible, a non deductible traditional IRA contribution that you have to somehow make sure on your tax return is reflected as non deductible. And the way that you do that, the place you do that is on Form 8606. We have the privilege, Brian, for all of our clients. Every year we get to review their tax returns. I would argue this Is one of the most common mistakes we see on tax returns is Form 8606 not being filled out correctly. Because if it's not filled out correctly, and if all you do is just drop your 1099 that you got from this conversion into the tax software, just hand it to your CPA with no context, it's likely that they are going to mark that as a taxable conversion. Well, if it's a taxable conversion, you've ruined the whole thing. You've not actually taken advantage of the back door. So you want to make sure that you file form 8606 correctly and that you report it accurately on your tax return so you aren't paying taxes that aren't actually due.

[A]

This would fall into that category. As you start having more success to the point that you can do backdoor contributions, other things, your simple life is going to get really complex. And that's where we love helping our clients kind of navigate these things. Because you don't want to get IRS notices. That's why I felt like I've written so many tax letters to the IRS explaining what was not disclosed appropriately. So that's why make sure not only do you get the 8606, all right, but keep up with your 5498s and all the other tax forms that are coming because you might need that stuff just in case the IRS is confused with what's going on.

[B]

Brian, you know what I love about cheat codes? Oftentimes we're playing games. A cheat code is supposed to help you do something good, better. It's supposed to help you level up. Level up, level up. I'm excited.

[A]

Give you a lot of extra lives.

[B]

Give you a lot of extra. That. That's where I was going. But some cheat codes actually allow you to take a bad thing and make it better. And that's exactly what cheat code number six is. And that cheat code is loss harvesting.

[A]

Yeah, this is one. Guys, every time I have a big transaction, somebody calls me up and says, brian, I'm thinking about upgrading my house. I'm thinking about investing in this endeavor, going into this real estate venture. Can you get me some money? I'm like, oh, man, do they not realize their account is up well into the six figures on capital gains? I always immediately go, what have we got going on in the tax return? To go see if we have some capital loss, carry forwards. Unfortunately, if you've been with us long enough, we're going to be through periods of not only good, because the good Years definitely outweigh the bad. But when those bad years happen, this is like a silver lining in that dark cloud because it lets you really turn a lot of the volatility of the markets into loss harvesting gains that you can use to build carry forwards.

[B]

Yeah, it lets you actually turn a loss and negative thing into an advantage. It makes something bad actually turn out to be something good for you. So how do you do it? Well, step one, you have to actually have investments inside of your taxable brokerage account. This does not matter in an ira. It does not matter in a Roth IRA or an hsa. It has to be in a taxable account. You have to actually have an investment that's at a loss. And the way that you would execute this is you would then sell that investment in a loss. You would take the proceeds from that investment, then you would go buy something similar but not identical. You. So you can't buy the exact same thing. I can't sell stock X today and go buy StockX tomorrow or else it will disallow that loss. Or I can wait 30 days to go rebuy the same investment or the same fund. Well, once I've done that and I've transacted on that holding, I can then use the loss that I took and I can go use that to offset any capital gains I generate through the year. And even if I use it to offset all of my capital gains for the year, I can actually even use it to offset $3,000 of ordinary income. Anything I don't use, I get to carry forward into future years.

[A]

Yeah, I know a lot of you are like, well, guys, is this even necessary? Guys, I'm telling you, huge. This will be a huge benefit for you. I am so thankful that we get to use this powerful tool. It's completely legal. It does allow you to turn a negative event like market volatility into a superpower for future opportunities. Not only to create paper losses to benefit your taxes this year, but also help you get access to liquidity in the future. This is a powerful cheat code.

[B]

Now people ask me all the time, no, no, no. But I don't like, I don't like selling my. I have an investment allocation for a reason. If I'm selling these losses, aren't I changing my investment allocation? Aren't I selling at the world's worst time? If you do it right, that's not what you're doing. You're actually just selling one thing that's gone down and you're going to buy something similar. That's also gone down. So your actual investment allocation has remained the same. So when the market recovers, when it comes back, you still get to participate in that upside in that growth. All you've done is clipped that tax loss that you get to use for your advantage in the future.

[A]

And bonus points on this as you think about, yes, you've reset the basis when you're in a volatile period, but more than likely when you look back in the future, these are going to be some of your more highly appreciated assets. You've also opened up another tax hack with charitable giving of these appreciated there's. So this is the gift that keeps on giving. So definitely check into this cheat code.

[B]

All right, Brian, we're going through cheat codes and things that can really help you master your finances. And cheat code number seven is one that you guys have heard about, but we want to explain to you why it's a cheat code and that's actually taking the relationship to the next level.

[A]

Well, you heard, I mean, we've already kind of alluded to it. I mean, even eight form 8606, you're like, what, 5498. What is all that stuff? What are these guys talking about? Is starting to sound like Greek. No, these are the things we deal, we're on the day to day basis having to do things. You've created success in your life and you've always probably had this goal of keeping things simple. But this thing of success creates this level of complexity that you just had never imagined. You just don't know what you don't know. And that's why I would encourage you find somebody, if this is your first time, find somebody who's done this for thousands of times. Because we all know what happens with practice and experience is you just, it becomes commonplace. And you have knowledge, you have wisdom and experience. This is what we do for our clients.

[B]

Well, and when you have an advisor, when you have a really good advisor, it actually unlocks a number of different benefits. I mean, obviously people think about the investment part of that. And certainly if you're looking for a money manager, that's one piece of it. But a true financial advisor ought to be able to speak into all the different areas and facets of your life. They'll help your estate plan be more efficient. They'll help your tax situation, they'll look at all of your insurance, they'll help you with your portfolio allocation, they'll help you with cash flow management, with risk and what you hope and what we would encourage you to verify Is that okay? The value that I am receiving from this advisor far exceeds the fee that I'm paying this advice. There's actually a study done by Russell Investments, this was in 2026, that found that the potential advisor in the US on an annualized basis, if you try to arrive at a numerical concept, actually came out to about 4.9% in real value. Now, that might not be a 4.9% additional rate of return over some stated indices, but in terms of portfolio value, add that an advisor adds to your financial life almost 5% on an annualized basis.

[A]

Well, and then take it to the next level. I love that Vanguard came out with the research. It shows that 86% of clients who had a financial advisor reported having more peace of mind. Money is nothing more than a tool.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

And I want you. The big thing I've always tried to make sure people understood about money. And what you're doing is in the beginning of your financial journey, you're having to trade your time to build wages and other things to kind of start creating how you navigate this world that we live in. But if you do this right, you'll eventually be able to use your resources to buy time. Time. Because you realize, I don't get any more time. I'm going to lead this planet at some point and you're going to find out that, man, I have more money than I have time. Let's see if we can get really smart with maximizing both my time, but also how we optimize the situation we have going on financially. And that's why peace of mind is worth something. I pay for peace of mind for my health. That's why I deal with concierge doctors. We are on that same branch of the tree. Even for people who have the knowledge and the experience to do this, I find that some of my clients are the most educated, are the most gifted clients. Financially, they still like us because it's affirming. And it also helps their spouse, who might not be as financially minded as they are, to know that they have a bridge just in case.

[B]

So how do you actually take advantage? Unlock this cheat code. Go to aboundwealth.com and click on the orange work with us button. Once you click on that button, there'll be a form that you can fill out so that we can learn a little bit more about what you have going on so that in our first conversation, our first interaction, we can tailor it to be as valuable for you as possible. So fill out that form and then we will reach out to be in touch with you now.

[A]

And it's even better if you go to our website. You know, we have a great little video. I know as a kid, you know, you had to go and this is before the Internet was as valuable as it is now. You had to go subscribe, subscribe to magazines and you know when you bought your favorite game like Contra, you go up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right, ba Guys, we just give you a web link. I love it. Just click, press play. We'll hook you up. We'll leave the porch light. We work with clients all across the country. There is a better way to do money. Come see. You've heard us give all the details. We love helping people all across. I'm your host, Brian. He's Bo. Moneyguy Team Out.

[C]

The Money Guy show is hosted by Brian Preston and Bo Hansen. Brian and Beau are partners with Abound Wealth Management. Abound Wealth Management is a registered investment advisory firm regulated by the securities and Exchange Commission. In accordance and compliance with the securities laws and regulations, Abound Wealth Management does not render or offer to render personalized investment or tax advice through the Money Guy Show. The information provided is for informational purposes only, may not be suitable for all all investors and does not constitute financial, tax, investment or legal advice. All investments involve a degree of risk, including the risk of loss.