The Personal Finance Guide for Tech Professionals: Building, Protecting, and Transferring Your Wealth

With The Personal Finance Guide for Tech Professionals, You will Gain a a basic foundation of essential personal finance issues and strategies, specifically geared towards tech professionals. The book will build on the concepts, such as going from the basics of investments to more advanced topics like alternative investments and tax strategies.

In the U.S., about 6 million tech startup employees have stock options. The result is that this can often be the biggest source of wealth, sometimes reaching into the millions. Yet there are many financial and tax complications that have been aggravated with the transition to remote work. This can mean lower returns and missed opportunities, and in some cases, employees may even be subject to actions from the IRS and local tax agencies. The Personal Finance Guide For Tech Professionals is packed with actionable advice and covers the main areas that any tech professional will face. You will:

• Track and analyze investments with fintech apps
• Improve the results of freelance work, such as with strategies to lower taxes
• Protect your hard-earned assets with insurance and the establishment of entities like LLCs

Author’s Note:

As I write this Introduction, the stock market has suffered a major decline. True, this has come after a long bull run. But it certainly does not make investors feel any better. Bear markets are awful. They are also a wake-up call. They highlight the importance of diversification. They also show the importance of taking a holistic approach to your personal finances. This means taking into account insurance, tax planning, and estate planning.

And this is what my book is about. It’s not just about the various investments you can put your money in. The goal is to provide a comprehensive approach. The issues for tech professionals can be particularly complex. The bear market, for example, has hit tech stocks the hardest. There are also the issues of dealing with equity compensation, like stock options. There is the risk of having too much of your wealth in shares of a few companies. When working with startups, the planning for benefits, such as for health insurance, can be challenging.

Now this is not to make you depressed! The tech world is exciting. There are many secular changes that will propel growth. But it is still important to build a good financial foundation. This will help you get through the occasional downturns. OK then, so what about my background? Most of my career has been in the tech industry, since the early 1990s. I founded several companies and raised venture capital. Along the way, I got firsthand experience with unique personal finance issues and situations.

To better understand these, I took a tax course and then got my license as an Enrolled Agent. This is the highest designation of the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and allows me to represent people before the agency. In 2002, I started my own tax and financial advisory firm, called PathwayTax.com. I have helped many tech clients. A big part of this has been with tax preparation and planning. But I have also helped people resolve their tax problems, such as with back taxes and unfiled returns. I’ve also done quite a bit of writing on financial and tax matters. I’ve written for publications like Forbes, Barron’s, Kiplinger, Motley Fool, and BusinessWeek.

Contents:

• Stocks and Bonds
• Mutual Funds and ETFs
• Alternative Investments
• Hedge Funds
• Hard Assets
• Asset Allocation
• Benefits
• Equity Compensation
• Estate Planning

The Personal Finance Guide for Tech Professionals: Building, Protecting, and Transferring Your Wealth By Tom Taulli pdf