Ep 25 - The ONLY 6 Accounts You Will Ever Need (And How to Use Each of Them Strategically)

Real wealth isn't built on hacks.

It's built on clarity.

What you need is a setup that's simple enough to follow, strong enough to grow with you, and boring enough that you forget about it most of the time.

Because that, in the end, is and always will be the privilege of real wealth.

Hello, friends.

This is Tyler Gardner welcoming you to another episode of Your Money Guide on the Side, where it is my job to simplify what seems complex, add nuance to what seems simple, and learn from and alongside some of the brightest minds in money, finance, and investing.

So let's get started and get you one step closer to where you need to be.

We're going to start today with a little experiment.

I want you to open your wallet or your bank app or whatever you use and count exactly how many financial accounts you've got floating around out there.

There's your checking.

Maybe you have a savings account.

Probably a 401k from three jobs ago that's been slowly evaporating in a target date fund you never picked.

Maybe a Roth IRA you opened during that one week in your 20s when you were feeling particularly responsible.

A brokerage account with $114 and one lonely share of Apple you bought back in 2021 because someone on Reddit said diamond hands.

And then your partner probably has a few more.

And maybe there's a dusty old FSA or HSA somewhere, a thrift savings plan, an annuity, a 529 you forgot the password to.

It might be chaos, and I say that lovingly.

Because most of us were never handed a clear map for any of this.

We didn't learn it in school, as we know.

We more likely than not learned it in a panic.

during open enrollment, or by half reading the HR packet that came stapled to our first W-2 job, or from a YouTube guy in a rented Lamborghini yelling about passive income at 2x speed.

So our financial lives look like junk drawers, half-used tools, expired coupons, some keys to things we no longer own.

But here's the good news.

You don't need 15 accounts.

You only need six.

That's it.

Six financial accounts to run your entire life.

And not because I said so, but because every major goal, saving, investing, buying a home, retiring, leaving something behind, or just making sure you're not selling plasma into your 70s, can be handled with these six.

This episode is about those accounts, the ones that do 99% of the heavy lifting if you just get out of their way.

But I'm not just here to tell you what the accounts are, but rather some strategy behind how and when to use them most effectively.

No gimmicks, no jargon, no new app you need to download, just six tools, used the right way.

But before we get into these six accounts, I would like to ask if this show has helped you simplify your money life even a little or helped you get one step closer to where you need to be.

I'd be truly grateful if you left a quick review on Apple Podcasts.

It means more than you know, and I read every single one and internalize them, and they help others find the show.

So will your financial life become become perfect overnight if you get these six accounts?

Absolutely not.

But it will become a little less chaotic.

And depending on your current state of affairs, that might already feel miraculous.

So let's start with the first one, perhaps the obvious one, the account you're probably using right now, and bluntly, maybe misusing two.

Number one, the checking account, or what I like to call the grand central station of financial accounts.

Now, why it's still called a checking account in the year 2025?

I could not tell you.

I write about as many checks these days as I churn butter, and yet this is the unsung workhorse of your financial life.

It's not glamorous, doesn't pay much, if any, interest, no tax advantages, and yet here it is, front and center.

This is where your paycheck lands.

It's where your rent leaves, and where, somewhere in between, you find yourself staring at the balance, wondering if you'll ever feel like you're actually making money.

Let's be clear about what this account is for.

Movement.

And that's it.

It's not a vault.

It's not a savings plan.

It's a train station.

Money comes in, money goes out.

Do not park your savings here.

Do not let your emergency fund marinate in it like it's 2010 and you're still using ING Direct.

Why?

Because a checking account, as many of you know, earns just about nothing.

The national average in 2024 for APY was 0.07%.

You'd make more putting your money in a wishing well and hoping for a generous genie with compound interest.

And sure, maybe you're nodding along like Tyler.

We know this.

This one's obvious.

But do you?

Because people, smart people, very smart people, still leave thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, sitting there quietly depreciating in what can only be described as stagnant optimism.

Sure, it feels safe.

It feels easy.

And yes, it's where your debit card lives.

But that doesn't make it smart.

Keeping extra money and checking just because it's convenient is like hanging on to 27 boxes of old clothes in the basement.

You swear you'll toss them, but there they sit, just in case bell bottoms make a comeback.

And hey, fair enough, according to my wife, They are making a comeback, so maybe I'm the ding-dong here.

And I'm not judging, I never am, because I did this myself for years, letting paychecks pile up like it was my minimalist rainy day fund.

I thought I was being smart and frugal.

I was actually just being lazy and mildly allergic to account transfers.

So here's what I want you to do.

Commit to keeping one to two months of regular expenses in your checking account.

That's your working capital.

Treat yourself like a business.

Enough to avoid overdrafts, autopay panic, or that moment of existential dread when your card declines while buying contact solution.

Everything else, move it somewhere smarter, and we'll talk about where that smarter is in just a second.

And if for some odd reason your checking account is still charging you a monthly fee for the privilege of earning nothing, switch banks today.

That's like paying $100 a person cover charge to get access to a VIP nightclub table, so you have the privilege of now ordering a $1,000 bottle of gray goose, which still might not meet your nightly minimum.

So that's account number one.

Checking necessary?

Yes.

Important?

Absolutely.

Exciting?

Definitely not.

And that's the goal.

You want your checking account to be boring, a quiet, efficient conveyor belt, not a storage shed.

I want that balance to hover just above zero.

That, my friends, means you're doing it right.

That means your money is actually working for you somewhere else.

So now let's talk about that somewhere else.

Because if you still want accessibility, safety, and a little bit of growth, there's one place your cash can stretch its legs and earn more than lent.

Account number two,

the high-yield savings account.

Now that your checking account is finally behaving like a proper transit hub, money in, money out, no one trying to live in the terminal or take a nap in the public restrooms, it's time to figure out where to stash the money that doesn't need to be spent today.

But let's say you're also not ready to invest this money for the next 30 years.

Enter the High Yield Savings Account, or HYSA.

Think of it as a rest stop for your money, but a nice rest stop, the kind you get in, I don't know, Vermont.

Clean bathrooms, decent coffee, possibly a conversation about heirloom garlic with the guy behind the counter.

It's not glamorous, but it's well lit.

low drama, and sometimes even plays Fleetwood Mac softly in the background.

This is where sitting money goes to at least jogging place.

If checking is your junk drawer, your HYSA is the labeled alphabetized storage bin.

Tidy, accessible, and just organized enough to feel like you're winning at adulthood.

So what's it actually for?

Well, this is your short-term holding tank for goals or expenses you can see and name on the horizon.

That's important.

I'll get to that in a minute.

A vacation you're already planning.

Car repairs you know are coming, a security deposit for a move you've already mentally committed to, or that magical, I hate this job and I'm leaving in six months fund.

You need that one.

This is cash you need, but not necessarily today.

And because you're not investing it, you want it somewhere it can at least stretch its legs a little while it waits.

So here's the big win of the HYSA currently.

As of mid-2025, many high-yield savings accounts are still yielding around 4% to 4.5%.

Now, that's not retirement money, but it's certainly better than 0.07% you're getting in checking.

It's the difference between your money slowly evaporating and your money keeping pace with inflation while you figure out what to do next.

But quick public service announcement.

Those high yields, they're not forever.

Banks will tempt you with flashy intro rates, but always check the fine print.

Because if the Fed cuts short-term rates, your high-yield savings account will cut rates.

If the Fed doesn't cut short-term rates, your high-yield savings account will still most likely cut rates.

And no, they don't need to text you first to let you know.

Now, quick digression and extension.

If you'd rather do something like this within your brokerage account, you're going to adopt a money market fund.

So if you want the same access and safety with a little more flexibility, this is where you would consider a money market fund.

Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, they've all got them.

It's not technically a savings account.

It's a short-term investment fund backed by government debt.

Not FDIC insured, but about as safe as modern finance gets without putting your money in a mason jar and burying it next to the compost.

So which should you choose?

Well, if you want simplicity and FDIC comfort, the high-yield savings account.

If you're already investing and want slightly better yield without leaving your brokerage, I'd go money market.

Well, I do go money market just to keep it all under one roof.

Either way, this is where your money waits patiently while you decide what short-term job it needs to do.

Now, here's what people get wrong about this one.

They tend to treat the high-yield savings account like an investment account, or worse, like a long-term storage unit for money they might need in five to 10 years.

Yes, right now you're earning a decent yield, but let's not get amnesia and let's not overexpose ourselves to recency bias.

Because as recently as 2022, short-term rates were 0.25%.

For the past decade, high-yield savings accounts weren't really even a thing.

So please only use this for known short-term goals and only when the yield is actually keeping up or outpacing inflation.

Otherwise, it's just another polite place for your money to slowly die.

And quick rant on emergency funds.

And yes, it's time for a little financial heresy.

I get a lot of pushback on this one.

I get it.

I'll take it.

Because statistically, I'm right.

Just saying.

No, I do not believe that a six to 12 month emergency fund needs to sit in a high yield savings account.

Here's why.

If that money is truly for just in case, and you statistically aren't going to need all of it in any given year, I'd rather let it grow.

I'd put it in a broad, low-cost index fund, not because it's safer, because it's not.

Not because it'll always be there and of the same value when you need it, because it won't.

But because over time, that 7% expected return will fund a whole lot more emergencies than a savings account returning 1% post-inflation.

And statistically, you won't have a catastrophic six-figure emergency this year.

You just won't.

And if you do, it probably won't get solved by your perfectly parked HYSA anyway.

So I'd rather own the volatility and let the long-term math work in my favor.

As always, not advice, just what works for me, do what works for you.

Because if that gives you heartburn and a glass of milk doesn't help, that's fine.

Keep your emergency fund in cash.

I do, in fact, support your right to sleep at night.

But for me, once I get a few months of breathing room, it's index fund and done.

And with that, we move on to the most overlooked account in modern finance, the one with total flexibility, tax efficiency, and almost no restrictions.

Let's move to account number three, the brokerage account.

If the checking account is Grand Central Station, and your high-yield savings account is that well-maintained Vermont rest stop where someone once handed you a local apple and told you to just breathe, Then the brokerage account is the Swiss Army knife of personal finance.

It's practical, it's humble, and full of surprises if you actually bother to open it.

Most people treat brokerage accounts like leftovers.

Nice to have, but not essential.

They're not tax sheltered like a 401k.

They don't offer triple tax voodoo like a health savings account.

We'll get there.

But that's what makes them powerful.

They come with no strings attached, no income limits, no contribution limits, no required distributions.

No, you can't touch this until you're 59 and a half unless you want to cry into your form 5329.

Just money in, invested, then money out.

Most importantly, on your schedule.

And that flexibility?

That's exactly what most real-life financial planning needs.

Not everything fits neatly into a government-sanctioned retirement timeline.

You want to semi-retire at 50?

You want to take a sabbatical to write your weird novel?

or move to Portugal to master custard tarts and regret nothing.

You'll need access to money before 59 and a half.

More importantly, you'll need access to assets that have appreciated before 59 and a half.

Enter the brokerage account.

Open one today through Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, I don't care, any of the classics.

It takes five minutes.

Invest in index funds, ETFs, or stocks.

It doesn't matter.

Let it sit.

And guess what, boys and girls?

It does actually have tax advantages.

Because if you hold your investments for over a year, your gains are taxed at long-term capital gains rates.

0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your income, which means that money you make beyond your principal gets a serious tax break if you just exercise a bit of patience.

This is one of my favorite accounts, personally, because it's mine.

No employer fund lineup to navigate, no early withdrawal penalties.

If I need a little cash, I sell some investments, assuming the market's up because because we're not ding-dongs, and I take the gain at a 15-20% tax rate instead of my ordinary income tax rate of 25 to 30%.

I've done it, and I'll keep doing it.

Used wisely, this account gives you control, not the illusion of control that comes with budgeting apps and color-coded spreadsheets, but real grown-up control, access to your money on your terms.

So why don't more people use it?

Honestly, because most personal finance advice treats them like a footnote.

Everyone's so focused on upfront tax deductions or high interest yields that the humble brokerage gets overlooked, but it shouldn't.

It's the ideal hybrid.

Liquid, flexible, and if you're smart about tax location, remarkably efficient.

Quick side note for 1.0 listeners.

What is tax location?

I'm glad you asked.

It's just where you put certain types of investments so the IRS doesn't take more than their fair share.

I would put slow growth, low dividend index funds into a taxable account.

They're remarkably efficient at protecting you from realizing annual capital gains.

I would put my bond heavy or dividend gushing funds inside a tax-free or tax-deferred retirement account so that none of those cap gains are realized on an annual basis.

And side side note, if I did want to do any day trading, do it within a Roth IRA or a traditional 401k or IRA, because there again, you don't realize capital gains until you need to.

Boom.

You've minimized now what's called tax drag.

You've maximized control, all without adding another account or app or brain-melting acronym to your life.

The brokerage account is like a cabin in the woods.

It's simple, it's versatile and full of potential if you're willing to think for yourself a little bit.

It won't win awards for excitement, but when you need it, it's there, and it's there with open arms and and no required minimum distributions.

So now let's move on to the traditional workhorse of retirement, the one that does come with a couple rules, but also comes with potential free money from your employer.

This is the pre-tax retirement account, account number four, the traditional 401k or IRA.

If your brokerage account is the do-what-you want wallet, your pre-tax retirement account is the tightly supervised government-sanctioned piggy bank.

It's part tax shelter, part time capsule, and entirely too boring for you to learn about on TikTok or Instagram.

But before you start parroting some rando podcast host who claims 401ks are a scam because you can't touch the money until 59 and a half, remember, you don't want to touch this money until 59 and a half.

It's called a retirement account for a reason.

The only scam is thinking your future self is not going to need this money.

So let's get to the golden rule that should be obvious, but it's ignored by millions daily.

If someone offers you free money, you take it.

Full stop, no follow-up questions, done.

And that's exactly what a company match is.

Free money.

Wall Street may insist there's no such thing as a free lunch.

But if your employer offers to match 50 cents on the dollar, up to 6% of your salary, congratulations.

You've just been handed a raise for being quasi-financially literate.

So don't be the person who leaves money on the table because an insurance agent peddling indexed annuities is telling you that 401ks are government scams.

And here's how it works.

You can contribute up to $23,500 into a 401k if you're under 50.

That's pre-tax, meaning if you make $100,000 and contribute $20,000, the IRS only taxes you as if you made $80,000.

That's lovely.

Fewer taxes now.

And yes, future you will deal with the bill when you're older, and hopefully in a lower bracket, sipping something cold and wondering why your joints make that sound that they do.

And on top of that, you may get a match, often something like 50% of your contributions up to a cap.

And yet people scoff at this.

Ah, it's only a few thousand bucks a year.

Okay, but show me another investment that guarantees you a 50% annual return and doesn't involve insider trading or cryptocurrency speculation on a yacht in the Caymans.

But, to be fair, and there's always a but, this is your learning moment for the 401k that you might not know about.

Your employer picks the investment menu, and sometimes that menu, for lack of better words, looks like it's curated by a sleep-deprived intern with a magic eight ball.

You might not have access to all the sexy low-cost index funds you'd get in a brokerage account.

Some plans only offer actively managed funds with laughably high fees.

So what do you do?

Start by looking for low-cost index funds available.

Aim for expense ratios under 0.1%.

If the best option is 0.25%,

fine.

But as we start creeping over 0.5% or you're only looking at actively managed funds with expense ratios of 1%,

you need to march into HR and politely request they stop being cheapos and upgrade the dang investment lineup.

Or you could just email them and send them a link to this podcast because there is nothing like passive aggression to get someone's attention and eternal antipathy.

Now, many people also ask me about what you would do with a 401k when leaving a job.

Here are three options for you.

Number one, you could leave it where it is.

Yeah, you can do that.

It's still your account.

The pros, it's easy.

The cons, you may now get hit with the admin fees that your employer had been paying, and you're stuck with the same investment options.

That, and many people actually forget about old 401ks.

Seriously, there's actually a website for that.

Number two, you could roll it into your new employer's 401k and roll is just a fancy term for transfer.

Pros, you consolidate.

Cons, this only really makes sense if the new plan is so solid and you really like your new investment options.

Number three, you roll it into a traditional rollover IRA through a company like Vanguard Fidelity Schwab.

Pros, usually the best option because you have more control, more investment choices, fewer fees, and you get to consolidate everything.

Cons, yeah, you got to spend about 15 minutes to a half an hour on the line with somebody transferring money.

Pro tip, always call the person to whom you're giving money to help you move the money.

They'll be a little friendlier.

Note, this is what I do.

I have a rollover IRA, and after leaving my first job ever, I opened it, and now every single 401k from old jobs has been directly rolled over into that account.

Now there is also one final door and I hope you never ever end up using this door unless you really need to.

You could liquidate the account and take the cash because that $14,000 might look like the down payment on a midlife crisis.

But you'll pay ordinary income tax and, if you're under 59 and a half, a 10% penalty.

Meaning by the time you buy that new leather couch, you've essentially torched torched 30 to 40 percent of your balance for the privilege of doing so.

Bottom line, the pre-tax retirement account isn't sexy, it's not flashy, it's like a slow cooker.

You don't check it every hour, you just load it up with good ingredients, walk away, come back in 30 years to an awesome meal.

And if you're self-employed, you've still got options.

The SEP IRA, the Solo 401k, even the inexplicably named Simple IRA, which is in fact anything but simple.

The idea is the same for all three.

Defer taxes now, invest smartly, pay later.

I use a SEP IRA.

It lets me sock away a generous chunk each year and invest it however the heck I want, which yes, still means I put it in low-cost index funds.

And now that we've talked about saving money before taxes, let's talk about what happens when you pay taxes up front and never again.

And no, I'm not talking about infinite banking.

It's time to meet the account that every financial influencer loves more than their ring light.

Account number five, the Roth IRA, or the Roth 401k.

I know you think you're immortal, but there's a version of you out there, probably older, maybe retired, maybe a little sunburned from too much gardening, who will be quietly thrilled you opened, funded, and invested in a Roth account.

Not because it comes with a tote bag or a referral code, but because it's one of the few unicorns in the tax code, a way to legally grow your money, withdraw it later, and pay zero taxes after age 59 and a half.

Let's walk through it.

A Roth IRA, or a Roth 401k, which more employers are now offering, is funded with after-tax dollars.

You don't get taxed again.

All that means is you fund it and can't take the deduction, in that your paycheck was already taxed.

That means you've already paid taxes on any money going in.

But from that moment forward, it grows completely tax-free, and you can pull every cent of it out, gains included, without owing the IRS so much as a thank-you note after 59.5.

You can also take back direct contributions anytime, penalty and tax-free.

And biggest perk for me, unlike pre-tax retirement accounts, Roth IRAs do not come with required minimum distributions.

This is big for many.

There's no tax bomb waiting for you at 73, no bureaucratic calendar dictating when you must drain it.

It just sits there, compounding until you need it.

Now, some of you might be muttering, but I make too much to contribute to a Roth.

No, no, you don't.

You make too much to contribute directly to a Roth.

What you do is you put money into a traditional IRA instead.

No income limits to do that.

Then you convert it to a Roth.

Legal, common, slightly annoying to execute if you're using a big bank built on fax machines.

So I'd use Fidelity or Vanguard, and you can probably do it in about 20 minutes.

In fact, there's a button for that.

Now, let's talk strategy.

The Roth is especially powerful during your low income years, career gaps, or the early retirement window before Social Security kicks in.

Because remember, pulling from a 401k or traditional IRA in retirement is taxed as ordinary income.

But Roth withdrawals, totally invisible to Uncle Sam.

So if I were in my 20s, 30s, or early 60s, I'd absolutely get funds into a Roth.

So my future self has a pool of money that grows tax-free and exits tax-free.

And that brings me to one final and all-too-communic about the Roth versus the traditional.

Which one is better?

To which I always respond, yep.

Here's what most people, and a fair number of financial influencers, get completely wrong.

If your tax rate is the same going in and coming out, Roth and traditional end in a mathematical tie, not close to one another, an exact draw.

No winner, just the financial equivalent of watching the English patient on mute.

But that's not how real life works.

In real life, jobs change, incomes shift, tax laws evolve, Roths provide flexibility, and flexibility is its own form of return.

Plus, Roth IRAs can be passed down to heirs tax-free.

That's not just retirement planning, it's legacy planning.

If the traditional IRA is like a sensible Toyota Camry, the Roth is a Subaru outback, reliable, adaptable, and built for whatever slippery off-road tax policy chaos comes next.

So yes, if you qualify, or even if you don't qualify, especially if you're younger or in a lower tax year, use the Roth.

Future you will thank you.

And Future You will also thank you for account number six, the unicorn of tax shelters, the health savings account.

This is the unsung hero of financial accounts, the one that sounds boring, but has the tactical power of a ninja accountant.

It doesn't get splashy branding.

It sounds like a government coupon for Ibuprofen.

But it's the only account in the U.S.

tax code with triple tax benefits.

Number one, pre-tax contributions lower your taxable income today.

Number two, tax-free growth while the money is invested and appreciates.

Number three, tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.

That's three tax advantages in one account.

It's like finding a maple creamy that also does your taxes and will pay your dental bill when you need it.

So what's the catch?

There's a catch.

You do need to be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan to qualify.

That's a health insurance plan with lower premiums, but usually higher out-of-pocket costs and deductibles.

It's not ideal for everyone, but if you're relatively healthy and not facing any imminent big medical bills, it's a pretty solid pairing.

And here's where most people miss some magic.

You can invest your HSA funds, just like with a brokerage.

You can let it grow.

tax-free.

And then, if you've kept your receipts from qualified medical expenses, you can reimburse yourself years or decades later for past expenses.

Seriously, buy Band-Aids in 2025, save the receipt, let the HSA grow for 20 years, then pull out that money in 2045, tax-free.

You can't do that with a 401k.

And if you're wondering whether this actually adds up, here's some quick math.

If you max out your HSA contribution, that's 4,300 for individuals or 8,550 for families as of 2025, and invest it over 25 years at a real return of 7%,

you could have close to $300,000 saved for medical expenses.

Which is handy because guess what?

The average couple is projected to need about $300,000 for healthcare in retirement.

So this account is an optional, it's essential.

One final caveat.

Don't confuse the HSA with an FSA.

FSA is a flexible spending account.

That one has a use it or lose it rule, but the HSA is yours forever.

Portable, investable, keep it through retirement kind of good.

In short, if the Roth is your tax-free future, the HSA is your tax-free health plan with benefits.

In closing.

Six accounts.

That's it.

No gimmicks, no overwhelm, just a system that works.

Number one, a checking account to move money through your life.

Number two, a high-yield savings account or money market fund for short-term cash that you know you'll need.

Number three, a brokerage account for freedom, flexibility, and long-term growth, and for me for emergency purposes.

Number four, a pre-tax account to lower your tax bill and potentially capture a free match.

Number five, the Roth IRA for tax-free compounding and flexibility in retirement.

And six, the HSA to cover health care and stealth savings power.

These six cover everything.

Your bills, your goals, your emergencies, your taxes, your health, your freedom.

And just so we're abundantly clear, you do not need whole life insurance, fixed annuities, infinite banking, or anything that sounds like a Hogwarts spell for your retirement.

If you want insurance, get term insurance and only if someone depends on you.

Then take the rest and invest it in a Roth IRA like an adult.

Because real wealth isn't built on hacks.

It's built on clarity.

What you need is a setup that's simple enough to follow, strong enough to grow with you, and boring enough that you forget about it most of the time.

Because that, in the end, is and always will be the privilege of real wealth.

Thanks for tuning in to your money guide on the side.

If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to visit my website at tylergardner.com for even more helpful resources and insights.

And if you are interested in receiving some quick and actionable guidance each week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter where each Sunday I share three actionable financial ideas to help you take control of your money and investments.

You can find the sign-up link on my website, tylergardner.com, or on any of my socials at Social CapOfficial.

Until next time, I'm Tyler Gardner, your money guide on the side, and I truly hope this episode got you one step closer to where you need to be.