The Financial Order of Operations: Where Your Next Dollar Should Go
Deciding where to invest is just as important as deciding what to invest in. If you put money into your Brokerage account before maxing your 401(k) match, you are literally throwing away free money. If you max your 401(k) before paying off credit card debt, you are losing a guaranteed 20% return to pay for a potential 8% return. To build the 75% / 25% split efficiently, you need to follow the Financial Waterfall. You pour your income into the top bucket, and only when it overflows do you move to the next. ...