I’m about to give some readers – those who are remote workers – the single most important piece of financial advice they will receive in their entire lives.
How? By showing them how they can easily achieve a seven-figure net worth without spending a penny less each year than they already do.
Let me explain…
For years, I’ve pointed out that the path to total financial independence is straightforward.
All you need to do is live beneath your means, save the difference between your income and your outgo, invest it wisely – something we specialize in at The Oxford Club – and let the money compound over a period of years, preferably decades.
The rub?
Most people are unwilling to live beneath their means because it requires living in a smaller house, driving an older car, avoiding designer labels, skipping exotic trips or eating out less often.
I understand this. Life is to be enjoyed. And that takes money.
It’s hard for most of us to have and do everything we want and still save a significant amount of money each year.
But there is a step that millions of remote workers can take that will allow them to spend just as much as they currently do and still save enough to enjoy a multimillion-dollar retirement.
They need only move to – or spend at least half the year working from – Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington or Wyoming.
Each of these states has no state income tax.
If you become a resident of any of them, you won’t have to pay state income taxes anymore.
Let me walk you through a typical scenario to demonstrate what this means in actual dollars and cents.
The median household income in the U.S. last year was $79,900. The average state income tax is about 6%.
(Although it is as high as 10.75% in New Jersey, 11% in Hawaii and 13.3% in California.)
The median household – in the 41 states that have an income tax – paid approximately $4,800 in state income taxes last year.
If that $4,800 was instead invested and earned nothing more than the 10% average annual return of the S&P 500, it would be worth $12,449 in 10 years, $32,292 in 20 years and $83,757 in 30 years.
But that’s just the result of one year’s tax savings.
A remote worker in a tax-free state will save that much every year – or more given that personal incomes and state taxes rise over time.
After just 12 years of tax savings – and a few decades of compounding – he or she will likely have a seven-figure net worth.
And if the money was invested in a Roth IRA, that million dollars is exempt from federal taxes too.
That’s an easy way to build a seven-figure fortune with no state or federal taxes due.
Best of all, these remote workers didn’t spend any less. There was no downsizing or penny pinching with this plan whatsoever.
They merely took the money they’re currently forking over to the state government and put it to work for their own benefit.
There are two potential snags here.
The first is that some remote workers – who have the freedom to work from wherever they like – already live in one of the nine states that don’t have a state income tax.
Those individuals have to default to Plan A: spending less in order to save more.
Other remote workers live in high-tax states but don’t want to move away from their family, friends or neighbors.
However, most states only require you to live out of state for half the year – generally six months and a day – to qualify for residency elsewhere and thereby avoid state income taxes.
That means a remote worker in New York or Massachusetts, for example, could spend the six colder months in sunny Texas or Florida and then return during the milder seasons and spend time with old friends or extended family.
Some won’t want to make that sacrifice. And I understand that decision.
People often have important personal reasons for staying right where they are.
But for those who have the flexibility, it means reaching financial independence without sacrificing current spending.
And that’s a pretty big deal.
If you are one of the thousands of subscribers reading this who work remotely, have trouble saving (or need to save more) and have the flexibility to move, give this idea serious consideration.
Workers in those nine states have a huge advantage when it comes to reaching their retirement goals.
And – trust me – 10… 20… or 30 years from now, moving to a no-tax state will seem obvious… if not brilliant.
Good investing,
Alex