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8 Secrets to Achieving Financial Independence

By Joshua Kennon, About.com

4 of 9

Taxes Matter - A Lot

All income is not equal. The idea that where and how you hold your assets can mean the difference between being somewhat well off and obscenely rich was so important that I covered it in depth in an article entitled Tax Strategy: Asset Placement - Lowering Your Tax Liability Through Intelligent Allocation. The basic premise is that those with little or no wealth generate a lot of taxable income, while those who end up financially independent generate large unrealized gains in the form of real estate appreciation, unrealized capital gains, and profits made through tax-advantaged or tax-free accounts such as a Roth IRA or 401(k).

An illustration is in order. A physician earning $250,000 per year is going to get taxed heavily, probably paying $95,000 in taxes for a net income of $155,000. Yet, if he had earned the same amount from within a pension plan or IRA, he wouldn't pay a single penny in taxes. That's an extra $95,000 per year compounding for him. At 12%, over 30 years, that's an extra $23 million in wealth. That's right - $23,000,000 simply because the money is earned within a tax-advantaged account instead of regular labor. This is why you should do everything you can, within reason, to fully fund your retirement plans.

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