Hanna Atala (Kaufman), CFP®

Surviving the waiting room of wealth-building Jun 8, 2026 2:07:32 PM Compound growth is real and it's powerful—but waiting years to see it isn't easy. Here's an honest look at what to expect, and how to make the wait more bearable. Key takeaways It can take a while before you notice results when investing. Money invested now could double in roughly a decade assuming historical stock market returns. But things get exponential when that amount doubles again. The math starts working in powerful ways that our brains simply aren’t wired to fully appreciate. Each decade of compounding growth matters tremendously. It’s one of the biggest advantages for investors in their 20s and 30s. You also don't have to do the heavy lifting alone. Over long stretches, compound growth could grow to outweigh your own contributions. Compound growth is arguably the key ingredient to building wealth, but it takes a while for momentum to build. And waiting years to see meaningful returns on your investments is genuinely hard. It's a leap of faith that lasts longer than a lot of our relationships. So before we dive into the math, it's worth acknowledging the psychological ask here is real. This isn't a pep talk. It's more an honest look at how your ROI actually works, why it's worth the wait, and a few ways to pass the time more easily. The honest timeline (and how to survive it) How long it takes to see results when investing depends largely on timing. Markets naturally swing between phases of expansion and contraction. Start investing during a downturn, and it’ll take longer to see your returns start stacking. Your actual market returns will vary, of course, and investing always involves risk. But as a rough illustration, money invested in the stock market at-large has historically taken a decade to double. A decade. That's a long time to wait for a payoff you can be proud of. So it can help to redefine what "progress" looks like early on. A better gauge of success isn't "How much have my investments grown?" but "How consistently am I contributing?" When the moments of doubt hit—and they will—you can use our Forecaster tool to make the future feel real. Seeing a range of possible outcomes can help turn that leap of faith into a plan you can stick with. Last but not least, celebrate smaller milestones deliberately. Your first $1,000 invested. Your first $5,000. These moments won't make any headlines, but they're meaningful markers that you’re moving in the right direction and compound growth is taking root. Your brain isn't built for what happens next Humans are pretty good at thinking linearly—1, 2, 3, and so on—but we’re genuinely bad at wrapping our heads around exponential growth. MIT professors can patiently explain how one penny, doubled each day, becomes $21 million in just a month, and we’re mystified. The prof might as well be Oz the Mentalist. But that’s basically how it works. Doubling on doubling. Layer on your regular investing contributions, and the charts can quickly move into hockey stick territory. The point isn't any eye-popping numbers, however. It's that the potential growth you experience in your 20s pales in comparison to your 30s and onward. A lot of people quit (or don’t even start) before the math has a chance to show up. Similar to redefining success, another reframe can help here: saving isn’t a solo climb. Compound growth is the world’s best climbing partner, and over a long enough ascent, it can even do the majority of the work for you. That changes the calculus on saving up a large sum of money. You're not trying to sweat and toil all the way to the finish line. You're trying to get enough in the ground, early enough, that time and compounding can take over. The one advantage worth more than market conditions Baby boomers hold the bulk of wealth right now, but their window for compounding is closing. Yours isn't. It can be hard to keep that in mind early on. Not if your economic prospects seem so uncertain. Not when your balance seems stuck in slow motion. But that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. Assuming you’re investing consistently, it means you're in the early—and most important—stages of building wealth.

Debt doesn't have to keep you caged—here's how to save your way out Jun 8, 2026 12:48:39 PM Paying down debt and building your savings aren't mutually exclusive—here's a simple framework for juggling both at once. Key takeaways Getting your financial footing early in your career has never been easy, but today’s high-debt, low-hire job economy adds to the struggles. But you don't need to be debt-free before you start saving. They can run on parallel tracks. Some debt can sit on the backburner while you put your money to work elsewhere. It all hinges on how high of an interest rate a loan carries. Quick number crunching beats a high-maintenance budget. Size up your cash flow, then direct your discretionary spending with a few guiding principles. Between college, cars, and credit cards, debt is a simple fact of life for a lot of us, especially those early in their careers. But waiting until you’re debt-free to start saving means missing out on one of your biggest advantages as a saver: time. So let’s reset expectations. With a clearer picture of your cash flow, you can chip away at debt, find your financial footing, and start enjoying some meaningful financial freedoms all at the same time First: Figure out what you're working with Do you really need a budget? We’d say yes, but it doesn’t need to be a detailed spreadsheet or elaborate app. Crunch a few numbers, then get on with it. Because before you can decide where your money goes, you need to know how much you have to direct in the first place. Start with your take-home pay, what lands in your account after taxes. Then subtract bare necessities like: Housing — your total costs will vary depending on whether you rent or own Utilities — electricity, internet, phone, etc. Transportation — car payment, insurance, gas, or transit Groceries — actual at-home food spending, not delivery Health insurance — assuming you're not on a parent's plan What's left is your discretionary income. For a lot of people in their 20s, that number is smaller than they'd like. That's okay. Even a little is enough to get started. From there, split what's left into two buckets: Freedom fund — for saving, debt paydown, and building toward bigger goals (more on this below) Fun fund — for shame-free spending like going out, trips, whatever makes your life feel like your life If you have a decent chunk of discretionary spending to work with, a 50/50 split between these two buckets is a solid starting point. If things are tight, lean toward the freedom fund for now. This is your money's first real job—not just covering expenses, but starting to build something. Then: Build your freedom fund Financial freedom comes in many shapes and sizes, but the most impactful aren't always the most exciting. So when setting up your freedom fund, it’s often best to focus first on preventing backsliding. 1. Cover your minimum payments and capture any employer match Missing minimum debt payments can lead to late fees, credit score dings, and balances that quickly balloon—small problems that become expensive ones quickly. If your employer offers a 401(k) match, contribute enough to get it. That match is treated as part of your total compensation. Leaving it on the table is like giving yourself a pay cut. 2. Attack high-interest debt while building a starter emergency fund Not all debts are created equal. Those with higher interest rates—roughly 8% or higher based on the current rate environment and market forecasts—can snowball fast. So paying them down aggressively is often the higher-ROI move. Lower-interest debt, on the other hand, is less of an emergency. You don't need to pour every available dollar into paying it off. Steady, on-time payments can be enough while you work toward other goals. At the same time, consider building a small cash cushion as you go. Without one, a single surprise bill can send you right back to square one. Even $500 in a high-yield cash account makes a meaningful difference. Cash Reserve offered by Betterment LLC and requires a Betterment Securities brokerage account. Betterment is not a bank. FDIC insurance provided by Program Banks, subject to certain conditions. Learn more. 3. Start designing the life you want This is where the line between your freedom and fun funds starts to blur. You’ve laid the foundation with the previous two steps, now you can dream big with moves that make sense a few years out or beyond. Sometimes that’s a literal move—to your own place, or a new city—or stepping away from work for a while for your mental wellbeing. Eventually, it can mean working less for the money, and more for the meaning. Because as your nest egg grows, you may very well feel empowered to pass on jobs that don’t align with your values. Either way, these types of long-term goals are better-suited for low-cost, globally-diversified investing, and apps like Betterment make it easier than ever to get started. A good-enough system beats the perfect plan When you’re just starting out, you’re often working with less than you’d like. But you can still build momentum by starting small and staying consistent. You don't need to have it all figured out. You just need a clear enough picture of your cash flow and a few sensible priorities to work from. Cover your minimums. Build a small cushion. And put what's left to work. The rest will follow.

Three ways to put your bonus to work Mar 16, 2026 7:30:00 AM Here's how to work with your urge to splurge, while still moving your money goals forward. Key takeaways Bonuses can help you take a big leap forward with your money goals. But if a spending spree sounds tempting, consider splitting your bonus 50/50 between “present-day” you and “future” you. Saving your bonus via a 401(k) and/or IRA can unlock special tax advantages. Stashing it in a high-yield cash account can help build your emergency fund or save for a near-term goal. Year-end bonuses are a blessing. And while there’s no guarantee you’ll get one—just ask Clark Griswold—if you do, they can have the power to supercharge your savings goals. So while you wait for that bonus cash, read up on three ways to handle small cash windfalls such as these. Go 50/50: Treat yourself now and save for the future Let’s address the elephant in the room: A lot of us spend the bulk of our bonuses. But there’s a psychological workaround to this temptation: Think of yourself as two people. There’s “present-day” you, flush with cash and eyeing a few items on your wish list. Then there’s “future” you and all of their dreams for major purchases or financial freedom. Since both of you can rightly lay claim to your bonus, the only fair thing to do is split it 50-50. So go ahead: Splurge guilt-free with one half of your bonus, and save the other half. Tax-savvy saving: Use your bonus to get a tax break A lot of companies withhold taxes on bonuses at the IRS-recommended rate of 22%. Less commonly, some companies lump it in with your regular paycheck, and your regular withholding rate applies. Either way, and contrary to popular belief, bonuses aren’t taxed at a higher rate. But seeing your bonus shrink due to any amount of taxes is still rough. Thankfully, you may able to minimize your tax hit with the help of a tax-advantaged retirement account: Boost your 401(k) contributions. In some cases, companies allow employees to make 401(k) contributions with their bonuses. If that’s the case for you, consider funneling “future” you’s half of your bonus into your traditional or Roth 401(k), up to the IRS limits. Traditional for a tax break now, Roth for a tax break later. Max out your IRA. Depending on how much income you make, you may be eligible to take advantage of the tax perks of a traditional or Roth IRA. Better yet, you have until Tax Day of 2026 to max out your 2025 IRA! Stash the cash: Start earning interest today Tax breaks aren’t the end-all, be-all, of course. In some scenarios, saving your bonus in a high-yield cash account like our Cash Reserve account might take priority. If you lack an emergency fund, for example, or if you’re planning for a major purchase in the near future. Cash Reserve offered by Betterment LLC and requires a Betterment Securities brokerage account. Betterment is not a bank. FDIC insurance provided by Program Banks, subject to certain conditions. Learn more. However you save or invest your bonus, rest easy knowing you’re striking a good balance between today and tomorrow. Unless your bonus came in the form of jelly, in which case you’re on your own, Clark.

Save more, sweat less with recurring deposits Jan 28, 2026 5:00:00 AM How one click—and the power of dollar cost averaging—can boost your returns Healthy habits like exercising, eating well, and saving are hard for a reason. They take effort, and the results aren’t always immediate. Except in the case of saving, there’s a simple hack that lowers the amount of willpower needed: setting up recurring deposits. So kick off those running shoes, because you barely have to lift a finger to start regularly putting money into the market. $2, $200, it doesn’t matter. This one deposit setting, along with a little help from something called dollar cost averaging, can lead to better returns. Our own data shows it: Betterment customers using recurring deposits earned ~4% higher annual returns. Based on Betterment’s internal calculations for the Core portfolio over 5 years. Users in the “auto-deposit on” groups earned an additional 0.6% over the last year and 1.6% annualized over 10 years. See more in disclosures. Three big reasons they fared better than those who rarely used recurring deposits include: When you set something to happen automatically, it usually happens. It's relatively easy to skip a workout or language lesson. All you need to do is … nothing. But the beauty of recurring deposits is it takes more energy to stop your saving streak than sustain it. When you regularly invest a fixed amount of money, you're doing something called dollar cost averaging, or DCA. DCA is a sneaky smart investment strategy, because you end up buying more shares when prices are low and fewer shares when prices are high. A steady drip of deposits helps keep your portfolio balanced more cost-effectively. Instead of selling overweighted assets and triggering capital gains taxes, we use recurring deposits to regularly buy the assets needed to bring your portfolio back into balance. Now it’s time for an important caveat: The benefits of dollar cost averaging don't apply if you have a chunk of money lying around that’s ripe for investing. In this scenario, slowly depositing those dollars can actually cost you, and making a lump sum deposit may very well be in your best interest. But here’s the good news: While DCA and lump sum investing are often presented in either/or terms, you can do both! In fact, many super savers do. You can budget recurring deposits into your week-to-week finances—try scheduling them a day after your paycheck arrives so you’re less likely to spend the money. Then when you find yourself with more cash than you need on hand, be it a bonus or otherwise, you can invest that lump sum. Do both, and you may like what you see when you look at your returns down the road.

Traditional vs. Roth: Should you take your tax break now, or later? Sep 23, 2025 12:15:12 PM Picking up where the standard guidance leaves off There can be endless decisions to make when investing. Chief among them: Whether to save for retirement through a traditional IRA and/or 401(k), or the Roth variety. With traditional accounts, you typically invest with pre-tax money, then pay taxes on withdrawals later in retirement. This lowers your taxes today and frees up more money to invest. With Roth accounts, you contribute money that's already been taxed, then enjoy tax-free withdrawals once you turn 59½, with no required minimum distributions. When it comes to which is better, here’s the advice you’ll often hear: Traditionals make more sense if your current tax bracket is higher than where you expect it to be in retirement. And vice versa with Roths. It's a start, but not always helpful in practice. Tax brackets can be confusing, for one, and nobody knows what they'll look like decades from now. People's incomes also ebb and flow with age, as do their tax brackets. Luckily, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics can help us eyeball these shifts and plot out when each account type tends to shine brightest. The upward and downward slopes of spending When we look at American's average spending by age, we see it often peaks in middle age and declines as we approach our traditional retirement years. Connecting the dots, this means that traditional contributions often make more sense during the middle portion of workers’ careers. They’re likely earning and paying more in taxes than they will in retirement, so it makes sense to shift some of that tax obligation to a lower bracket down the road. For those with lower incomes, pairing those tax-deductible deposits with the standard deduction can also help squeeze more of their taxable income into the 12% tax bracket. The next bracket takes a big step up to 22%. As one’s income rises, however, another wrinkle may come into play. The IRA income limit exception If your income grows to a certain point (see the table below), you’ll face one of those so-called “champagne problems”: the tax deductions of a traditional IRA will begin to phase out, meaning it’s Roth or nothing if you want at least a partial tax break. Earn even more, and your Roth access will eventually dry up too, although there’s a handy “backdoor” option that’s worth checking out. A 401(k), as a side note, has no income restrictions for either contribution type. 2026 IRA income limits Traditional IRA* Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Roth IRA Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Full tax deduction $0-$81,000 (single filers) Full contribution $0-$153,000 (single filers) $0-$129,000 (married filing jointly) $0-$241,999 (married filing jointly) Partial tax deduction $81,001-$90,999 (single filers) Partial contribution $153,001-$167,999 (single filers) $129,001-$148,999 (married filing jointly) $242,000-$251,999 (married filing jointly) No tax deduction** $91,000 and up (single filers) No contribution $168,000 and up (single filers) $149,000 and up (married filing jointly) $252,000 and up (married filing jointly) *If covered by a retirement plan at work **Anyone is eligible to make non-deductible contributions to a traditional IRA See the income limits for more tax filing statuses Source: IRS This is why blanket statements like “Roths are better” don’t hold much water. The decision boils down to your personal income situation, and that’s subject to change. With Betterment, however, our Forecaster tool does much of the work for you. Simply scroll down to its “How to save” section, and we’ll use your self-reported financial information to suggest not only the optimal order of retirement account types, but whether traditional or Roth contributions make more sense based on your projected future tax bracket. Just be sure to update your info as needed (raises, marital status, etc.) for the most accurate estimates. Now or later? Now that’s one less call to make The traditional vs Roth debate will likely rage on for years. But between content like this, and tools like Forecaster, we do our best to help you quickly clear this common investing hurdle. If your income is trending anything like the averages above, traditional deposits may make more sense, but the advantage will be slight, and it never hurts to hedge. Having both Roth and traditional funds gives you more flexibility when managing your income in retirement. Plus, you can spend less time stressing over the two, and more time building momentum toward your goal. Cash Reserve offered by Betterment LLC and requires a Betterment Securities brokerage account. Betterment is not a bank. FDIC insurance provided by Program Banks, subject to certain conditions. Learn more.