Series

Practical Cents

Everyday money decisions made simple: mortgages, 401(k)s, taxes, and benefits, explained in a few minutes each.

12 episodes

Every episode of Practical Cents

Video

#12: Why We Love Indexing

Cullen Martin explains why Presilium favors indexing over active management. He cites long-term data showing most active managers fail to beat their benchmarks, notes the cost advantage of index funds, and describes how indexing frees up time to focus on tax planning, estate planning, and other parts of a financial plan.

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#11: Are You Ready for Retirement?

Cullen Martin explains that retirement readiness involves two questions: whether you have enough saved, and whether you are personally prepared for the transition. He encourages soon-to-be retirees to think through who they will spend time with and what will bring them purpose, alongside the financial planning details.

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#10: Should You Participate in Your Company's ESPP?

Cullen Martin examines employee stock purchase programs, which let employees buy company stock at a discount of up to 15 percent. He explains how concentration risk and the tax treatment of ESPP gains can offset the apparent benefit, and offers alternatives such as 401(k) contributions, debt paydown, and savings.

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#9: Taking Advantage of a Down Market

After several strong market years, this video looks at how a future downturn could open planning opportunities. It covers three strategies that become more effective when markets are down: executing Roth conversions at a lower dollar value, taking inherited IRA withdrawals while asset values are reduced, and gifting stock or ETFs so the gift stretches further. The emphasis is on having a plan ready rather than predicting when a downturn will occur.

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#8: Your Income Explained

As tax season approaches, this video clarifies three often-confused terms: adjusted gross income, modified adjusted gross income, and taxable income. It explains how each is calculated, why tax-exempt interest can still affect Medicare surcharge thresholds through MAGI, and how deductions and progressive tax brackets determine what's actually owed. Understanding these definitions is framed as useful context for retirement withdrawals and broader tax planning.

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#7: Rethinking Company Stock in Your 401(k)

Employees at publicly traded companies often feel a natural pull to hold their employer's stock inside their 401(k), but this video explains why that can create concentrated risk on top of a salary, benefits, and career already tied to the same company. It reviews historical examples, including Enron, where concentrated company stock ownership contributed to significant retirement losses, and encourages weighing this added exposure carefully.

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#6: How Should My 401k Be Invested

For those a few years from retirement whose 401(k) has become their largest asset, this video argues that investment choices should follow from a financial plan rather than come first. It covers how a plan helps determine safe withdrawal amounts, a cushion for market downturns, and what may be left for loved ones, and why allocation should be driven by personal goals rather than generic age-based rules.

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#5: Creating More Tax-Free Savings for Retirement

High earners who quickly max out their 401(k) deferrals often assume they've hit a ceiling on tax-advantaged retirement savings. This video explains how some employer plans allow additional after-tax contributions up to a separate annual limit, and how converting those dollars to Roth status lets them grow tax-free going forward. The strategy, sometimes called the Mega Backdoor Roth, depends on the specific plan and requires the conversion step to actually happen.

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#4: Health Considerations Before You Retire

Many pre-retirees assume they must wait until age 65 for Medicare before they can retire, even when they would prefer to stop working sooner. This video discusses how healthcare coverage fits into a retirement plan and how partnering with a healthcare consulting resource can help identify options before Medicare eligibility, so retirement timing is a choice rather than a default.

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#3: What to Know About the New Senior Tax Deduction

This Practical Cents episode explains a new $6,000 tax deduction available to taxpayers turning 65 between 2025 and 2028 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Cullen Martin walks through the income phase-out thresholds for single and married filers and outlines planning levers, like Social Security timing and Roth conversions, that can affect whether someone qualifies.

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#2: Charitable Giving Strategy: The 2026 Tax Law Changes You Need to Know

This Practical Cents episode explains two 2026 tax law changes affecting charitable giving. Itemizers will need to clear a new floor of half a percent of adjusted gross income before deductions count, making 2025 gifts more valuable, while standard-deduction filers gain a new cash-only deduction that could make waiting until 2026 the better move. Cullen Martin walks through the math for each group.

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#1: When Does It Make Sense to Refinance Your Mortgage

This first episode of Practical Cents walks through when a mortgage refinance actually pays off. Cullen Martin explains how to estimate a break-even point using typical closing costs, offers a general rule of thumb of a rate at least 1% lower than your current one, and works through an example where a $500,000 mortgage refinance saves $328 a month.

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