If you are earning well into the six-figure range, owning a successful business, or thriving in a demanding career. You’ve worked hard, made smart choices, and saved consistently. On paper, everything looks good—yet behind closed doors, you’re still wondering if you’re making the best possible financial decisions.
You’re not alone.
In fact, many high-income professionals quietly worry about missed opportunities. Am I overpaying taxes? Are my investments optimized? Is my money truly working as hard as I am?
Today, we’re sharing the story of Mark and Erin—a successful veterinarian and a private physician who asked these exact questions before finally gaining clarity and control over their financial lives. By the end of this article, you’ll discover powerful insights to help you identify similar opportunities to optimize your own wealth-building strategy.
The Hidden Challenges of High-Income Professionals
Here’s the truth: having a high income does not automatically translate into financial security or confidence. If anything, high earners often face more complex financial decisions—and higher stakes.
When Mark and Erin first approached Truly Aligned, they were successful by almost every measure. Yet despite their strong income, they shared common worries:
- Were they paying more taxes than necessary?
High-income professionals, especially business owners and physicians, often unknowingly leave tens of thousands on the table due to overlooked tax strategies. - Was their retirement structured for maximum efficiency?
It’s easy to contribute regularly to a retirement account. However, knowing the right blend of Roth vs. traditional contributions—and how it impacts future wealth—is another matter entirely. - Did they have a clear strategy for surplus cash?
Surplus cash sitting idle isn’t harmless. With inflation consistently eroding purchasing power, not having a clear plan could mean slowly losing wealth over time. - Did they have a proactive partner anticipating their needs?
Many professionals find themselves reacting to financial issues rather than proactively managing their financial future. This reactive approach often leads to costly mistakes or missed opportunities.
Does any of this sound familiar?
These aren’t isolated concerns—they’re extremely common among the successful professionals we work with every day. In fact, many high-income individuals find themselves grappling with the very same financial uncertainties that Mark and Erin faced, particularly around taxes, retirement optimization, and the effective management of surplus cash.
You’re not alone—and there are clear, strategic steps you can take to address these challenges.
Turning Challenges into Opportunities: Strategies that Changed Everything
Mark and Erin’s turning point was choosing Truly Aligned as a partner that didn’t just react but actively anticipated their financial needs. Let’s explore the strategies that helped them take control.
Strategic Tax Planning and Entity Structuring
One of the biggest breakthroughs came when we restructured Mark’s veterinary practice and optimized Erin’s deferred compensation strategy. By carefully examining their business structure and tax situation, we identified specific changes—like transitioning Mark’s business entity to an S-Corp—that saved them tens of thousands in annual taxes.
Important Insight: If you’re a business owner or have significant business-related income, choosing the right entity structure (LLC vs. S-Corp) can dramatically affect your tax bill. High earners with deferred compensation plans can also benefit greatly from strategic withdrawal and contribution planning.
Retirement Account Optimization
Many professionals simply “set and forget” their retirement contributions. But truly optimizing retirement savings involves more than just meeting annual contribution limits. We implemented an intentional, tax-sensitive approach to their retirement planning, balancing Roth and Traditional accounts based on their specific financial and tax situation.
Important Insight: Your retirement plan should consider your current and future tax brackets, expected withdrawal strategy, and legacy planning goals. Roth contributions can provide valuable tax diversification, especially for high earners expecting substantial income in retirement.
Proactive Surplus Cash Management
Instead of allowing surplus cash to slowly lose value to inflation, we redirected their excess income into a diversified portfolio—including taxable brokerage accounts and alternative investments. This ensured their money was actively working toward their long-term goals.
Important Insight: If you have surplus income, actively invest it rather than allowing inflation to erode your wealth. Diversifying into taxable brokerage accounts and alternative investments can offer growth, liquidity, and tax-efficient opportunities.
Alternative Approaches: Which Wealth Strategy Is Right for You?
Every high-income professional’s situation is unique. While Mark and Erin found success with strategic entity restructuring and retirement optimization, different approaches might resonate more strongly with your situation:
- Backdoor Roth IRAs and Mega Backdoor Roth contributions: Ideal for high earners who’ve maxed out traditional retirement plans but still want tax-free growth.
- Tax Loss Harvesting: Useful for those with substantial taxable investments, allowing them to offset capital gains strategically.
- Defined Benefit Plans: Highly beneficial for business owners looking to contribute significantly beyond traditional retirement limits.
Understanding which strategy aligns best with your financial goals and circumstances is critical to your long-term success.
FAQs for High-Income Professionals
How can high earners reduce taxes effectively?
Entity structuring (such as S-Corp elections), strategic retirement account contributions, tax-loss harvesting, charitable giving strategies, and leveraging deferred compensation plans are effective methods for reducing your tax burden.
What should I do with excess cash sitting in savings?
Rather than letting cash lose value due to inflation, allocate surplus cash into diversified taxable investments, alternative assets, or retirement accounts to maintain purchasing power and grow your wealth.
Is an S-Corp better than an LLC for reducing taxes?
For many high-earning business owners, an S-Corp can offer significant tax savings by minimizing self-employment taxes. However, it’s essential to evaluate your specific situation with a professional to determine the optimal structure.
How often should high-income earners review their financial plan?
High-income professionals should revisit their financial plans at least annually—or whenever major life or economic events occur—to ensure strategies remain optimized and aligned with evolving goals.
Your Next Step to Strategic Wealth Alignment
Mark and Erin’s story resonates because many high-income professionals quietly face the same uncertainties. If you’ve ever felt unsure about your tax strategy, questioned whether your retirement accounts are optimized, or wondered if your surplus cash could be doing more, you’re not alone—their journey likely mirrors your own.
But here’s the takeaway: uncertainty doesn’t have to be your norm.
At Truly Aligned, our goal isn’t just to manage investments or insurance—it’s to build comprehensive, deeply personalized strategies that proactively align your finances with your life goals. We don’t require a minimum investment level to work with us, and our flat-fee approach ensures our advice remains focused solely on your best interests.
If you’re ready to replace uncertainty with clarity, complexity with structure, and good intentions with actionable strategy, let’s have a conversation. It could be the most valuable financial decision you ever make.
Ready to Transform Your Financial Future? Schedule a consultation to explore your personalized wealth strategy today.
There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk. Alternative investments may not be suitable for all investors and should be considered as an investment for the risk capital portion of the investor’s portfolio. The strategies employed in the management of alternative investments may accelerate the velocity of potential losses. Traditional IRA account owners have considerations to make before performing a Roth IRA conversion. These primarily include income tax consequences on the converted amount in the year of conversion, withdrawal limitations from a Roth IRA, and income limitations for future contributions to a Roth IRA. In addition, if you are required to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) in the year you convert, you must do so before converting to a Roth IRA. This is a hypothetical example and is not representative of any specific investment. Your results may vary. 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. This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax or legal advisor. Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through The Wealth Consulting group, a registered investment advisor. The Wealth Consulting group, WCG Wealth Advisors and Truly Aligned, INC are separate entities from LPL Financial. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.