REAL CASES

BUSINESS OWNER

RETIRED COUPLE

TEACHER

GENERATIONS OF A FAMILY

SUCCESSFUL SALESMAN
Huey Lewis* was an existing existing client when he called us with the good news: He had just finished a stupendous sales year and would be receiving a bonus of nearly $250,000 in a few months. Huey and his wife wanted advice on how to handle their good fortune. 

What We Did

At Strategic Wealth, we are big believers in the "save some, spend some, and give some away" philosophy. When we mentioned that to Huey, he replied, "And that's why I'm here." After crunching a few numbers, we calculated that the Lewis's would have about $150,000 left from the bonus after taxes. 
  • Save Some - While the Huey's retirement plan was in good shape, they had not yet established a college savings program for their two children. As a result, we helped them set-up low-cost 529 plans and funded each of them with $25,000. The Huey's received a state income tax deduction (as residents of Georgia using a Georgia sponsored 529 plan), and they liked learning that the earnings on the 529 plans would grow tax deferred, and - as long as the 529 plans were used for "qualified educational expenses" - the earnings would be income tax free when withdrawn. 
  • Spend Some - The Lewis's were work-hard, play-hard kind of people and they wanted to use part of the $50,000 "spend some" money for a magnificent vacation. After discussing it for a while, they decided to charter a catamaran - with a captain/cook, no less - in the Virgin Islands for two weeks (one week with the kids, and one week as a couple). There, they hiked, swam, and snorkeled around St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. With the balance of the money, they decided to upgrade the basement of their home. 
  • Give Some Away - We spent a lot of time with Huey and his wife talking about this category. They were already tithing to their church and the $50,000 they wanted to help others with was a lot of money. We explained how they could bring the kids into the charitable giving discussion if they made charitable giving a family tradition. Huey really liked that idea and we helped them make that a reality. Rather than giving the money away all in one-year, we had them donate the money to a donor advised fund. Through it, they were eligible for an immediate income tax deduction, even though the Lewis's expected to make charitable distributions of that money over a three year period. 
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Contact us to learn more. 

* Huey Lewis is a fictional name for a real client. 
Strategic Wealth, LLC | 5957 Shiloh Rd, Suite 114 | Alpharetta, GA 30005 | (678) 456-5060