GRIP Financial Planning: Growth, Retention, Income, Protection

The framework

The GRIP Financial House

Six floors that show how the pieces of your financial life fit together, from the bottom up.

A family relaxing together on the front porch steps of their home
LEGACYTAX EFFICIENCYDISTRIBUTIONTurning savings into incomeACCUMULATIONGrowing what you savePROTECTIONGuarding against lossFOUNDATIONCash flow & budgeting

Select a floor, or tab to it and press Enter. Arrow keys move between floors.

Legacy

The top of the house: making sure what you have built goes where you want it to go.

  • Wills and beneficiaries
  • Estate planning basics
  • Passing on what you have built

We’ll cover these topics in the future.

Explore the Legacy floor

Tax efficiency

Taxes can quietly take a big bite. The roof is about keeping more of what you earn and grow, within the rules.

  • Roth vs. traditional
  • Capital gains basics
  • HSAs
  • Asset location

We’ll cover these topics in the future.

Explore the Tax efficiency floor

Distribution

Turning what you have saved into income you can live on, and making it last. This is the Income in GRIP.

  • How much you need to retire
  • The 25x rule and the 4% rule
  • Social Security timing: 62, 67 or 70
  • Retirement income and withdrawals

Episode: How Much You Need to Retire

Explore the Distribution floor

Accumulation

Putting money to work over time so it can grow. This is the Growth in GRIP.

  • 401(k) basics and the employer match
  • Roth and traditional accounts
  • How to start investing
  • Index funds and ETFs
  • Compound interest and the Rule of 72
  • Rent vs. buy

Episode: Don't Leave the Company Match on the Table - It's Free Money

Explore the Accumulation floor

Protection

Protecting what you have now and in the future from loss of life or income, and from large market losses.

  • Insurance basics (life, disability, renters)
  • Protecting your income and your family
  • Managing market risk and diversification
  • Planning for the unexpected

We’ll cover these topics in the future.

Explore the Protection floor

Foundation

Everything else rests on this floor. Know where your money comes from and where it goes, then build a buffer so surprises do not knock you over.

  • Cash flow analysis
  • Budgeting (50/30/20)
  • Emergency fund & high-yield savings
  • Credit scores
  • Paying down debt

We’ll cover these topics in the future.

Explore the Foundation floor

Why a house?

Build from the bottom up

A house stands only if the foundation is solid. In the same way, advanced ideas like investing for growth or planning retirement income work best when the basics underneath are in place. You do not have to finish one floor before touching another, but it helps to know which floor you are working on.

Every episode is tagged with its floor, so you always know where a lesson fits.

How it connects to GRIP

Growth lives mostly on the Accumulation floor. Retention shows up in the Foundation and in Tax efficiency. Income is the Distribution floor. Protection has a floor of its own.

Every floor, in detail

Top of the house

Legacy

What you leave behind

The top of the house: making sure what you have built goes where you want it to go.

Topics

  • Wills and beneficiaries
  • Estate planning basics
  • Passing on what you have built

We’ll cover these topics in the future.

The roof

Tax efficiency

The roof

Taxes can quietly take a big bite. The roof is about keeping more of what you earn and grow, within the rules.

Topics

  • Roth vs. traditional
  • Capital gains basics
  • HSAs
  • Asset location

We’ll cover these topics in the future.

Floor 4

Distribution

Turning savings into income

Turning what you have saved into income you can live on, and making it last. This is the Income in GRIP.

Topics

  • How much you need to retire
  • The 25x rule and the 4% rule
  • Social Security timing: 62, 67 or 70
  • Retirement income and withdrawals

Episode: How Much You Need to Retire

Floor 3

Accumulation

Growing what you save

Putting money to work over time so it can grow. This is the Growth in GRIP.

Topics

  • 401(k) basics and the employer match
  • Roth and traditional accounts
  • How to start investing
  • Index funds and ETFs
  • Compound interest and the Rule of 72
  • Rent vs. buy

Episode: Don't Leave the Company Match on the Table - It's Free Money

Floor 2

Protection

Guarding against loss

Protecting what you have now and in the future from loss of life or income, and from large market losses.

Topics

  • Insurance basics (life, disability, renters)
  • Protecting your income and your family
  • Managing market risk and diversification
  • Planning for the unexpected

We’ll cover these topics in the future.

Ground floor

Foundation

Cash flow & budgeting

Everything else rests on this floor. Know where your money comes from and where it goes, then build a buffer so surprises do not knock you over.

Topics

  • Cash flow analysis
  • Budgeting (50/30/20)
  • Emergency fund & high-yield savings
  • Credit scores
  • Paying down debt

We’ll cover these topics in the future.

Browse episodes by floor