Merry freaking Christmas to us! We did it! With this last paycheck of the year we finished maxing out both our Roth IRAs for the year! Are there too many exclamation points for just the first three sentences? I think not!!!

It feels great to accomplish one of our first financial goals. We started residency in July and began our journey in the world of adulting. I originally had the goal of maxing it out before tax season (April 15, 2020), but it worked out and we were able to do it early.

Remember, contributing to your Roth IRA during residency is a great move because as residents we are in the lowest tax bracket of our financial careers and we want to maximize that. This is because the money you contribute to a Roth IRA is (generally) after tax money. When you contribute to a traditional 401k (the other common retirement account) you are taxed when you take that money out when you are retire. There are rules to when you can withdraw the money, but what I want to point out is for a Roth IRA you pull the money out without paying taxes on it and for a traditional 401k you pull it out and are taxed on it.

All in all, goal setting is key. Braden and I live in a more reasonable cost of living area and do not have kids. But regardless of your circumstances, financial success is linked to wealth building habits. Your income helps, but without good habits you aren’t going to be where you want to be financially.

What is one financial goal you were able to accomplish this year? Comment below!