Un Eff Your Finances

Tax planning happens now. Tax prep happens in April. And unless you've got a DeLorean that hits 88 mph, there's nothing you can change in February.

Most people think year-end planning means checking how their portfolio did. In this episode of Un Eff Your Finances, Nick St. George, CFP®, explains why your portfolio may be the least important thing on the list, and walks through the 8 things to review before December 31st, while you still have time to act.

In this episode:

1. Taxes: What can you still change? Roth conversions, capital gains and losses, charitable giving, income timing, and why minimizing this year's taxes can make your RMD years more expensive.

2. Employer benefits: Stop clicking "same as last year." 401(k) auto-escalators, Roth vs. pre-tax, HSAs, health plans, disability, and group life coverage.

3. Life insurance: Does it still solve the same problem? A back-of-the-napkin way to size your insurable risk, and why insurance is a fire extinguisher, not an investment.

4. Estate planning and beneficiaries: Why "all my children" is a bad beneficiary designation, how TOD and POD work, and why your family needs to know where the documents are.

5. Kids, grandkids, and education: Helping adult kids without compromising your retirement (nobody gives you a loan for retirement), plus what 529s can be used for now.

6. Cash flow and retirement readiness: Using AI to find out what you actually spend. Hint: it's probably 20-30% more than you think.

7. Outlook: Plan for uncertainty instead of trying to predict it. Nobody had a pandemic on their 2020 bingo card.

8. The portfolio: Does it support your plan? The plan should drive the portfolio, not the other way around.

Your year-end review shouldn't just answer "How did my investments do?" It should answer a bigger question: "Am I making the right financial decisions while I still have time to make them?"

Don't eff around and find out with your retirement plan. Book your year-end review before Thanksgiving turns into January.

📅 Schedule a conversation: https://oncehub.com/NICKSTGEORGE

📧 Want Nick's AI spending-analysis prompt? Email: [email protected]

#YearEndPlanning #TaxPlanning #RetirementPlanning #RothConversion #FinancialPlanning #UnEffYourFinances

Nicholas St. George is a Registered Representative with, and securities and advisory services offered through, LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC. This material is for general educational purposes only and is not individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. Please consult your tax and legal professionals regarding your specific situation. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

What does financial advising actually look like when you get beyond investments, charts and market predictions?

In this episode of Un‑Eff Your Finances, Nick sits down with summer intern Ryan Dunn, an All-American golfer and senior at Oglethorpe University to unpack what Ryan learned during his firsthand look at the financial-planning profession.

They discuss why every financial plan has to be personal, the importance of understanding the person behind the portfolio, and why an advisor’s real job often comes down to answering one question: “Am I going to be okay?”

They also get into:

• What college teaches about finance—and what it doesn’t
• Why financial advising is a people business
• Using AI as a tool without letting it do your thinking
• Investing versus chasing social-media trading hype
• The entrepreneurial reality of building an advisory practice
• Why experience and real client conversations matter
• Ryan’s promotion from summer intern to Director of Golf
• The very loud hole-in-one that capped off an unforgettable summer

It’s a candid conversation about planning, people, technology, career lessons and golf—with just enough questionable HR material to keep things interesting.

Subscribe to Un‑Eff Your Finances for practical conversations about retirement, taxes, investing and making smarter financial decisions without all the unnecessary financial-industry nonsense.

Most retirees are asking the wrong tax question.

They ask, “How do I pay less this year?”
But the better question is, “How do I pay less over the next 10 years?”

In this episode, I break down the tax trap that can happen before RMDs begin — when retirees avoid taking IRA withdrawals or doing Roth conversions during low-income years, only to face bigger forced withdrawals, higher taxable income, possible IRMAA Medicare surcharges, and rising living costs later.

We’ll cover:

• What RMDs actually are and why they matter
• How IRMAA can quietly increase Medicare premiums
• Why inflation makes tax planning even more important
• How Roth conversions may help before RMD age
• Why withdrawal sequencing can make or break a retirement income plan
• The danger of planning around one tax return instead of the next decade

The goal is not to pay more tax.
The goal is to pay tax in the right years, at the right rate, with the most control.

Because the cheapest tax year is not always the smartest tax plan.

Listen now: The Tax Trap Before RMDs: Why Paying Less This Year Can Cost You More Later

Before I ever recommend an investment, I ask five questions.

Not about stocks.
Not about the market.
Not about what your neighbor is buying.

Because great retirement planning has very little to do with chasing returns—and everything to do with building a strategy around your actual life.

In this episode, I walk through the five questions I ask every new client to uncover:

• What “work optional” really looks like for them
• Where their retirement income will actually come from
• The tax risks hiding inside their current accounts
• What happens if life doesn’t go according to plan
• What they’re truly optimizing for: lifestyle, legacy, flexibility, or something else

This episode pulls back the curtain on how I work, how real financial planning should feel, and why a portfolio alone is not a retirement plan.

If you can’t clearly answer these five questions… you may be guessing more than you think.

Most high-income W-2 employees are doing exactly what they were told to do:

Max out the 401(k). Save aggressively. Keep building.

The problem? Almost nobody is showing them what happens later.

In this episode, I break down one of the most overlooked tax strategies I see with professionals in their 40s and 50s—and why waiting too long to address it can create a massive tax problem in retirement.

We cover:

• Why “tax deferred” doesn’t always mean “tax efficient”
• The hidden future risk of large pre-tax retirement accounts
• How backdoor Roth strategies work
• Why Roth conversion planning matters before RMDs begin
• The difference between tax preparation and actual tax planning

If you’re building wealth but haven’t thought about what your tax bracket could look like at 70… this episode is for you.

Because retirement planning isn’t just about growing your money.
It’s about keeping more of it.

You don’t mess up retirement at 65…
You lock in the mistakes at 45.

In this episode, I break down why I focus on the Retirement Red Zone—the 10–20 years before you retire—and why that’s where the biggest financial decisions actually get made.

It’s that time again — the leaves are falling, pumpkin spice is attacking everything, and your money might be feeling a little… crispy around the edges.

So here’s your 5-step Fall Money Fire Drill to go from Hot Mess Express to Game Day Ready:

1️⃣ Cash-Flow Reset – Give your money a job. Bills. Buffer. Goals. (No freeloaders allowed.)
2️⃣ Subscription Sweep – Those “free trials” that grew into $14.99 zombies? Time to cancel ’em.
3️⃣ Debt & Rate Reality Check – Anything over 7% interest is your enemy. Choose your weapon: Avalanche or Snowball.
4️⃣ Safety Nets You’ll Actually Use – Beneficiaries, insurance, credit freeze, digital vault. Do it before Netflix asks if you’re still watching.
5️⃣ Tax Moves Now, Not December – 401(k) match, HSA, Roth check, and maybe a DAF play if you’re feeling generous and strategic.

💥 Run this checklist and your finances go from chaos to calm — no New Year’s resolutions required.

👇 Comment “CHECKLIST” and I’ll send you the full Un-Eff Your Finances: Fall Money Fire Drill guide.

💼 Open Enrollment: The Annual Game of “Guess What These Benefits Actually Mean”

Every fall, HR drops that mysterious email: “It’s time for open enrollment!” And suddenly, you’re scrolling through options that sound like they were written by a committee of lawyers and robots.

☠️ “High-Deductible Health Plan” sounds scary. 💰 “Health Savings Account” sounds like a trap. 💡 And “Flexible Spending Account”? Not flexible enough when you forget to use it by December. That’s where planning actually pays off. In this week’s video, I break down how to make smart benefit elections that fit your financial plan, not just your employer’s brochure. Because open enrollment shouldn’t feel like a pop quiz you didn’t study for.

The Parent 529 Playbook: How to Pull Money the Right Way (and What to Do with Leftovers)

If you’re paying college bills with a 529, this is your 4-minute, no-nonsense guide. You’ll learn exactly when to take distributions, what actually qualifies, how to keep an audit-proof paper trail, and smart moves for leftover funds (yes, including the Roth IRA path). No fluff. No “my kid needed the laptop for Netflix.”

What you’ll learn

Timing rules: Match the 529 distribution to the expense in the same calendar year

Qualified expenses: Tuition, required fees, on-campus room & board, school-billed meal plans, required books/software

Off-campus housing: Eligible up to the school’s published allowance

Two clean payment paths: 529 → school (simplest) or reimburse yourself (with prompt, documented receipts)

Paper trail that won’t crack under audit: Bills, confirmations, housing docs, receipts, 1098-T, and a simple spreadsheet log

Leftovers: Change beneficiaries, use for grad/trade programs, scholarship exception, and the 529 → Roth IRA strategy (within rules)

Pro tip: Coordinate grandparent-owned 529s to avoid financial-aid landmines

Retirement Red Zone: The 20-Year Game Plan (From the 20 to the Goal Line) 🏈

You can’t “cram” for retirement. That’s not a plan—that’s a Hail Mary with a flat football.
In this video, I (Nick St. George, CFP®) lay out a clear, yard-by-yard blueprint from 20 years out to 24 months before retirement—so you’re not guessing at the goal line.

What you’ll learn

How to set your savings rate, kill high-interest debt, and build smart tax buckets (pre-tax, Roth, brokerage)

When to use Roth strategies, avoid concentration risk, and optimize benefits (HSA, ESPP, deferred comp)

How to defend against sequence-of-returns risk and start income design early (pensions, RSUs, options)

Why Social Security timing (62 vs. FRA vs. 70) is a math problem, not a vibe

The 5-to-2-year “two-minute drill”: targeted Roth conversions, Medicare/IRMAA planning, mock paychecks

The final 24-month checklist: cash reserves, withdrawal guardrails, paperwork order—so Day One feels boring (which is beautiful)