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Their Background
Josh and Emily faced a common dilemma among millennials with families: they wanted to live in the moment, travel frequently, and create experiences with their children, but they were unsure how to do so without jeopardizing their long-term financial goals. They also had accumulated some debt (from student loans and credit cards) and had no concrete investment strategy. They had conflicting financial priorities: planning for retirement, saving for their children's future education, and still finding money for the family adventures they wanted to take.
How Victus Can Help
Upon their initial meeting, I recognized that Josh and Emily needed a holistic financial plan that didn’t just focus on saving for retirement but also allowed them to fulfill their goal of enjoying life now. After reviewing their income, expenses, debts, and goals,I put together a plan that addressed both their desire to travel and build memories today, while still securing their financial future.
I worked with them to create a sustainable budget. This included three key buckets: daily living expenses, long-term savings, and an "experiences" fund. The experiences fund was explicitly allocated for family trips, events, and weekend adventures. By setting this aside from the start, they could travel guilt-free, knowing that they were still saving for the future. Additionally, I suggested using travel reward credit cards to maximize points for their planned trips without accumulating extra debt.
Josh and Emily had some lingering student loans and credit card debt. To avoid compromising their travel fund, I recommended consolidating the higher-interest debts and creating an automated debt repayment plan that wouldn’t interfere with their lifestyle goals. This plan prioritized high-interest debt first while paying off lower-interest student loans gradually.
The advisor encouraged Josh and Emily to build a separate emergency fund of 6 months' worth of living expenses to protect against unexpected events. In addition, they were advised to keep a smaller travel reserve fund. This way, they could afford spontaneous weekend getaways without dipping into their long-term savings.
Although Josh and Emily didn’t want to focus only on retirement, they understood the importance of it. I helped them set up automatic contributions to their 401(k)s and Roth IRAs. Additionally, they began saving into a 529 college savings plan for their children's future education costs. By automating these savings contributions, they were able to "set it and forget it," ensuring they were still on track for retirement and education savings while focusing on the present.
Beyond basic retirement accounts, I introduced them to low-cost index funds and suggested dollar-cost averaging as a strategy. This allowed Josh and Emily to build wealth over time, take advantage of market growth, and not feel overwhelmed by the idea of investing all at once. This strategy allowed them to stay invested while minimizing the impact of market volatility.
The Planning Results
Within a year of working with me, Josh and Emily saw significant improvements in both their financial health and lifestyle:
They successfully created a balance between living for today and planning for tomorrow. By sticking to their budget, they managed to pay down a portion of their debt, grow their emergency fund, and regularly contribute to retirement accounts.
They were able to take two family vacations and several weekend trips without dipping into their savings or going into debt. By utilizing travel reward points, they further reduced the cost of travel, allowing for more frequent adventures.
With a clear plan in place for debt repayment, savings, and investment, Josh and Emily felt less overwhelmed and more confident about their financial future.
Thanks to automated contributions and a sound investment plan, the couple remained on track for their long-term retirement goals. They didn’t feel like they had to choose between fun and security.
This is a hypothetical situation based on real life examples. Names and circumstances have been changed. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investments or strategies may be appropriate for you, consult your advisor prior to investing.
Investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.Dollar cost averaging involves continuous investment in securities regardless of fluctuation in price levels of such securities. An investor should consider their ability to continue purchasing through fluctuating price levels. Such a plan does not assure a profit and does not protect against loss in declining markets
Her Background
Sophia, 41, is the owner of a growing digital marketing agency. Like many entrepreneurs, she faced the challenge of balancing her personal financial goals with the demands of scaling her business. She wanted to grow her company, invest in her employees, enjoy life now through travel, and ultimately achieve financial independence well before the traditional retirement age. She also needed help navigating the complex tax landscape to ensure she maximized tax savings, both personally and for her business.
Sophia reached out to Victus Wealth Management to help her develop a strategic plan that integrated her personal, business, and tax-saving goals.
Challenges She Faced
Sophia’s challenges included managing cash flow, deciding how much to reinvest in her business while saving for personal goals, and dealing with the seasonal fluctuations in business revenue. She also wanted to ensure she could enjoy her life now without jeopardizing her financial future. On the tax front, Sophia wasn’t sure how to best structure her business to maximize deductions or how to take full advantage of the tax benefits available to business owners.
Our Strategies
I created a comprehensive financial and tax strategy for Sophia that helped her address her personal and business goals while aiming to optimize her tax savings. The plan addressed key areas such as cash flow management, retirement savings, personal budgeting, business growth, tax optimization, and exit planning.
First, I helped Sophia clearly separate her personal and business finances. I established a structured salary for Sophia, with a goal to ensure she paid herself regularly and could pursue her personal financial goals without relying on inconsistent business cash flow. This step also made tax planning much easier, as it distinguished what was business income versus personal income.
I conducted a thorough cash flow analysis of Sophia's business and created a plan that allocated a percentage of profits to reinvest in the business and another portion toward personal savings and goals.
60% of profits were directed toward business growth initiatives such as hiring new employees, upgrading technology, and increasing marketing efforts.
40% of profits were reserved for personal financial goals, including retirement savings, an emergency fund, and lifestyle spending.
This balance aimed to allow Sophia to focus on growing her business without sacrificing her personal financial well-being or lifestyle.
A key component of the plan was helping Sophia implement a tax strategy that aimed to minimize her liabilities and take advantage of available deductions. I reviewed Sophia’s business structure and made several recommendations to pursue tax efficiency:
Business Structure Optimization: I educated Sophia on the different business entities that were available to her, with a focus on Sole Proprietorship and Corporations. We then consulted with an attorney who helped Sophia choose the right business structure for her goals.
Maximizing Deductions: I helped Sophia take full advantage of business-related tax deductions. These included deductions for business travel, home office expenses, software and tools, marketing expenses, and even part of her personal travel when it overlapped with business purposes. They also made sure to track employee expenses and any professional development costs, ensuring that she was maximizing the tax-deductible benefits for her employees as well.
Retirement Contributions and Tax-Deferred Growth: I introduced her to a Solo 401(k) plan, which allowed her to make both employer and employee contributions to her retirement account. This strategy maximized her retirement savings while reducing taxable income. By making maximum allowable contributions to the Solo 401(k), Sophia reduced her taxable income each year while building long-term, tax-deferred savings for the future.
Section 199A Deduction (Qualified Business Income Deduction): As an owner of an S-Corp, Sophia was eligible for the Section 199A deduction, which allowed her to deduct up to 20% of her qualified business income. This additional deduction helped reduce her effective tax rate, boosting her personal take-home pay without compromising business growth.
Depreciation on Business Equipment: I ensured that she took advantage of Section 179 deductions, which allowed her to deduct the full cost of new equipment (such as upgraded computers and office furniture) in the year it was purchased, instead of depreciating it over several years. This further reduced her tax burden and allowed her to reinvest more capital back into her business.
While Sophia’s primary focus was on growing her business, she also wanted to pursue financial independence. I helped her automate retirement contributions through her Solo 401(k) and developed an investment strategy using a mix of low-cost index funds and ETFs. This strategy allowed Sophia to help build wealth outside her business while enjoying tax-deferred growth.
I also introduced Sophia to a SEP IRA (Simplified Employee Pension Plan) for her employees, which not only helped her retain top talent but also provided another tax deduction for her business.
Sophia was keen on maintaining a balance between enjoying life now and saving for the future. I helped her set up separate emergency funds: one for personal expenses and one for business needs. We also created a “lifestyle fund,” allocating a portion of her salary to be used exclusively for travel and personal enjoyment.
As Sophia wanted to eventually step back from the business or sell it altogether, I helped her develop a long-term exit strategy. I created a plan to increase the value of her business over time, in an effort to help make it attractive for future buyers or investors. This included refining her financial reporting, creating recurring revenue streams, and ensuring she had the right team in place to run the business with or without her.
To ensure the sale or transition of the business was tax-efficient, I also began discussions around the use of tax-advantaged strategies like installment sales and opportunity zone investments, which could allow Sophia to defer capital gains taxes upon selling the business.
The Planning Results
Within 18 months of working with me, Sophia saw significant progress in both her business and personal finances, all while better managing her tax burden:
Her company grew year over year, with a healthy reinvestment in employees, technology, and marketing. By streamlining operations and effectively managing cash flow, Sophia was able to reinvest while paying herself a consistent salary.
Sophia saved in taxes annually by transitioning her business to an S-Corp, maximizing retirement contributions, and taking full advantage of available deductions, including the Section 199A deduction.
By automating retirement contributions and adhering to a disciplined budget, Sophia grew her retirement savings and built up a personal emergency fund.
With a clear exit plan and valuation strategy in place, Sophia is on track to either sell her business or step back into a less active role within the next 5-10 years, all while ensuring the sale is structured to help minimize taxes and maximize her return.
This is a hypothetical situation based on real life examples. Names and circumstances have been changed. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investments or strategies may be appropriate for you, consult your advisor prior to investing.
Investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.
For a comprehensive review of your personal situation, always consult with a tax or legal advisor. Neither LPL Financial nor any of its representatives may give legal or tax advice.
