Why I’m Skipping the Roth Hype—and Keeping My Money Compounding on My Own Terms
Everyone says to convert everything to Roth. I’m choosing a different path—and here’s why.
If you’ve spent any time reading financial blogs or scrolling through investing forums, you’ve probably seen the same advice repeated over and over.
“Roth is king.”
“Convert everything now.”
“Pay the taxes today so you never have to worry about them again.”
For many people, that may be the right move.
For me, it isn’t.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned throughout my investing journey is that personal finance is exactly that—personal. There isn’t one strategy that works for everyone. What makes perfect sense for a 25-year-old just starting a career may be completely different for someone approaching retirement with a pension, decades of investing experience, and a carefully planned financial roadmap.
When I first started investing, I assumed there had to be one “right” answer. Every book, article, and financial expert seemed convinced their strategy was the best. But over the years, as my wife and I continued investing and our retirement picture became clearer, I realized something important:
No one else was building a retirement that looked like ours.
That realization changed my mindset.
We stopped asking, “What is everyone else doing?” and started asking, “What strategy gives us the highest probability of reaching our own goals?”
That’s why I no longer chase whatever investment strategy happens to be trending. I build my plan around my own circumstances.
My Investing Philosophy
My philosophy is simple.
I’d rather keep every available dollar invested today than voluntarily hand part of it over in taxes before I have to.
During my highest earning years, every pre-tax dollar I contribute stays invested and continues compounding.
With traditional retirement accounts, I receive a tax deduction today while allowing the full contribution to grow for decades before taxes are eventually due.
With Roth contributions or conversions, taxes are paid upfront, leaving less money invested from day one.
I like to think of it this way.
Traditional: You plant the whole apple and let it grow into a giant orchard. The IRS collects its share of the harvest years later.
Roth: The IRS takes a bite out of the apple before you plant it, so you’re starting with a smaller seed.
Here’s a simple illustration.
Suppose I have $30,000 available to invest.
If I contribute the entire $30,000 to a traditional account and it compounds at an average annual return of 10% for 30 years, it grows to approximately $523,000 before taxes.
If I instead paid a 24% tax first and invested the remaining $22,800, that investment would grow to roughly $397,000 over the same period.
That’s more than $125,000 of additional capital compounding over time before I even begin managing taxes in retirement.
Now, this isn’t proof that traditional accounts are always better. If your tax rate is much higher in retirement than it is today, a Roth may very well come out ahead. That’s exactly why I believe every investor should run their own numbers instead of blindly following someone else’s advice.
For my situation, I’d rather manage taxes later on a larger portfolio than reduce the amount that’s working for me today.
Why Our Strategy Looks Different
Let’s look at our own numbers.
In 2025, our household earned approximately $270,000.
By maximizing our traditional pre-tax retirement accounts and taking advantage of available deductions, we reduced our taxable income to roughly $200,000.
That’s nearly $70,000 that stayed invested instead of immediately going to taxes.
Even better, our effective federal tax rate came in at only about 16%. Since we live in Florida, we also pay 0% state income tax.
For us, that’s a powerful combination.
It allows us to keep our current tax burden relatively low while letting more of our money remain invested and compounding.
Our Two-Bucket Strategy
Bucket One: Traditional Retirement Accounts
This is our foundation.
We maximize our traditional retirement accounts because they lower today’s taxable income while allowing every dollar to continue compounding.
With roughly eight years remaining before our planned retirement, our goal is to let that engine grow uninterrupted for as long as possible.
Bucket Two: Taxable Brokerage Accounts
Everything beyond our traditional retirement contributions goes into taxable brokerage accounts.
This provides flexibility retirement accounts simply don’t offer.
We control when we recognize capital gains, harvest losses when appropriate, and access our investments without required minimum distributions.
There’s another advantage.
Current retirement laws require many high-income workers to make certain catch-up contributions as Roth dollars rather than traditional pre-tax dollars.
Rather than forcing more of our savings into after-tax accounts than we’d prefer, we direct additional savings into our brokerage account where we maintain complete control over how and when taxes are recognized.
The Endgame Is Smart Tax Planning
Choosing traditional accounts doesn’t mean ignoring taxes.
It means planning for them.
Our goal is to use the years between retirement and required minimum distributions as our tax valley.
During those years, we’ll have much more control over our taxable income. That gives us opportunities to withdraw money strategically while remaining in lower federal tax brackets.
We’re also exploring real estate investing outside our retirement accounts.
If our future investing qualifies under the tax rules that apply to active real estate investors, depreciation may offset a portion of our taxable retirement income.
That’s part of our long-term planning—not a guarantee, but one of several strategies we’re evaluating.
In other words, we’re not trying to avoid taxes.
We’re trying to manage them intelligently over our lifetime.
Don’t Follow the Crowd
The financial world loves simple answers.
Always buy this.
Always avoid that.
Always convert to Roth.
Real life is more complicated.
The right strategy depends on your current tax bracket, expected retirement income, pensions, Social Security, lifestyle goals, estate plans, and many other factors.
For my family, maximizing traditional accounts while planning thoughtful withdrawals later makes the most sense.
Your answer may be completely different.
And that’s perfectly okay.
The real edge isn’t finding the “perfect” retirement account.
It’s building the strategy that’s right for your life.
One final thought: Always do your own due diligence when it comes to your money. No blog, financial influencer, social media post—or even this article—knows your financial situation better than you do.
Learn the principles.
Run the numbers.
Question conventional wisdom.
Then build the retirement strategy that fits your own life—not someone else’s.