Eric Bottolfsen 💸

Financial Planner for Biz Owners, Solopreneurs, DINKs, Equity compensated, and High-Income Families. Co-Founder of Allwealth Planning. Tweets ≠ Advice

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Securities and advisory services offered through Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, a broker/dealer and Registered Investment Adviser. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.

623) 624-8550
2325 E Camelback Rd, #400 Phoenix, AZ 85016

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

New introduction two days ago. $5–6 million net worth. Great, hardworking couple.

Most of it in appreciated stock from his engineering days at one of the Magnificent 7. Now a founding partner at a startup in a similar space.

He has a big box advisor “managing” a taxable brokerage account. He has a CPA on the business.

What nobody was touching:

→ The concentrated stock position, the majority of his net worth. No tax strategy. No plan for a major price drop/concentration risk.

→ No estate plan. Property in two states, long-term rentals. No trust. No entities. No umbrella insurance.

→ No QSBS conversation. No S corp vs. C corp analysis.

→ No coordination between the biz CPA and the personal plan. One hand unaware of the other.

The big box advisor collects fees on the one 2 million dollar account and advises on nothing else.

If they’re not “managing” it, it doesn’t exist.

This is why people come to us.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Working one more year you don’t need means spending a year of your healthiest time to buy security you already have.

The portfolio barely moves. You’re just adding to a pile that’s already big enough.

But the year? That’s gone. You can always make more money. You can’t make more time.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

1099 consultants have the most powerful planning toolkit out there.

Solo 401(k)s. Defined benefit plans. Entity structure. Tax control a W-2 employee can only dream about.

And almost none of them use it to their max potential.

Not because they can’t, because no employer does it for them, and doing it yourself takes work most people keep putting off.

More freedom. More upside. More left on the table.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Hey Google! 👋
Siri!
Alexa!
Hey Meta!
Hey Gemini!
Hey ChatGPT!
Claude 👋
and now….. Hey Bixby?

Modern life is basically just shouting names into the void and hoping the correct robot answers.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Some people don’t have a retirement problem. They have a permission problem.
The money’s there.

The mindset isn’t. After 30 years of saving, spending feels like failure.

The hardest part of retiring isn’t the math. It’s letting yourself do it.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

The more I really LIVE, the more I realize the goal isn’t working forever to stack as much wealth as possible.

It’s stacking enough to live how I want, when I want, and walk away when I’m ready.

Most people retire with maybe 10 good years left. I want my go-go years to last.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

"I'll get to the estate stuff next year."

I've heard that from business owners for 17 years.

Same sentence. Different year.

Waiting for the calm year is how people end up with no plan at all.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

"My accountant told me to open a SEP IRA."

So they did. Contributed for years. Never questioned it.
It's not bad advice per se.

Often times though they may be leaving tens of thousands of dollars in tax deductions on the table.

Every single year.

Not because their accountant did anything wrong.
Because that's not their job.

A CPA's job is to file your taxes accurately.
A financial planner's job is to build the strategy before the tax return gets filed.

Two different jobs. Both matter. Most people only have one.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

What happens to retirement if...
→ A competitor disrupts your market
→ A health event forces you out early
→ Your key employee leaves and takes clients
→ The industry just looks different in 10 years

These aren't rare. They happen every day.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Here's what I see constantly:
Business is thriving. Lifestyle is great.
But outside the business? Almost nothing.
No investments. No retirement accounts. No plan B.
One illiquid asset. That's it.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

I cringe a little every time I hear someone call legitimate tax planning a “tax loophole.”

The Augusta ⛳️ Rule is not a loophole.

It’s an actual section of the tax code. Congress intentionally created it.

Yet financial marketing turns it into:“SECRET IRS LOOPHOLE BUSINESS OWNERS ARE USING TO AVOID TAXES!!!”

Relax.

The strategy itself is pretty straightforward:

If you own a business and also own your home, your business may be able to rent your home for legitimate business meetings up to 14 days per year under Section 280A(g).

Your business may deduct the rental expense.

You may receive the rental income personally federal income tax-free if structured and documented properly.

That’s not shady. That’s tax planning.

The important part isn’t “finding loopholes.”It’s understanding:

•whether the strategy actually fits your situation
• whether the rental rate is reasonable
• whether meetings are legitimate
• whether documentation exists
• whether your CPA and advisor are coordinating properly

That’s the part social media marketers usually skip over.

Good tax planning rarely looks sexy online. It usually looks like organization, documentation, coordination, and consistency.

Not a guy yelling about IRS secrets from inside a Lamborghini.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Biggest high-earner mistake I see time and time again?

Handcuffing themselves to a house payment that becomes a prison.

The bank’s job is to tell you the maximum loan they’ll approve.

Your job is to decide the maximum life stress you want

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Retirement is supposed to be the reward. But for most people, the worry doesn’t stop.

Which one hits closer to home?

🔴 Running out of money

🔵 Never fully enjoying it because you were too afraid to spend

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Reminder: 'fiduciary' is a word anyone can put in their bio.

Check if your advisor has a contract with an insurance company that pays them based on how much of that company's products they sell.

That's not a fiduciary. That's a salesperson with good branding

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Warren Buffett at 95 still has to remind people:

“The markets are like a church with a casino attached. The casino has gotten very attractive.”

He called one-day options what they are; not investing, but gambling.

Smart people lose wealth chasing returns every single day.

Boring wins. Every time.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Quarterly tax fix for 1099s and business owners:

Pay 100% of last year's tax (110% if AGI > $150K) → safe harbor

Calendar 4/15, 6/15, 9/15, 1/15

Open a separate "tax account." Sweep 25–30% off every deposit. Pay from there.

Never be surprised in April.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

If the person giving you advice only has a life and/or health insurance license they are an insurance agent regardless of whatever fancy financial title they have given themselves.

Licenses and education matter when giving advice.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

Fun fact, there is no "where you should be" financially right now. Everyone's journey looks different.

There is only "where I am today" and "where do I want to be X number of years from now."

Stop the comparison and work on your own goals.

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

It’s wild to me anyone would pay an advisor to simply “manage assets” and review it with them once per year.

No other:
Estate planning
Insurance planning
Tax planning and CPA coordination
Entity Planning
Real Estate planning/analysis
Savings/Income planning

List goes on…

[Eric Bottolfsen 💸 @EricBottolfsen]

We all love tax strategies.

But I’m working with professionals carrying $500K+ in annual income… and the real risk?

What happens if they can’t work.

Not death.
Disability. (Think illness)

The machine doesn’t stop.

Start with insurance. Build the core.