Weekly writing on equity compensation, taxes, and financial decisions for senior tech professionals.https://www.austincreekcapital.com/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/what-financial-independence-actually-means-for-a-bay-area-tech-employee/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/what-financial-independence-actually-means-for-a-bay-area-tech-employee/Financial independence in the Bay Area is not a retirement age, it is a number that buys options. Here is how to calculate yours, and reach it faster.Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/what-happens-to-your-financial-plan-when-one-of-you-wants-to-leave-tech/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/what-happens-to-your-financial-plan-when-one-of-you-wants-to-leave-tech/One of you wants out of tech. Here is how to model the income gap, time it around your vests, and stress-test the household before anyone gives notice.Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/the-childcare-math-nobody-talks-about-bay-area-family-life/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/the-childcare-math-nobody-talks-about-bay-area-family-life/Bay Area childcare can top $30,000 a year per child. How dependent care FSAs, 529s, and cash flow planning make the family math work for tech earners.Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/his-rsus-her-rsus-one-financial-plan-from-two-equity-packages/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/his-rsus-her-rsus-one-financial-plan-from-two-equity-packages/Two tech salaries, two RSU grants, one household. Coordinate vesting, manage your combined concentration risk, and build one shared financial plan from both.Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/two-tech-incomes-tax-problem/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/two-tech-incomes-tax-problem/Your incomes add up the way you'd expect. Your taxes don't.Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/liquidity-event-90-day-action-plan/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/liquidity-event-90-day-action-plan/You got a liquidity event. Here's the 90-day action plan: cover the tax bill, diversify on a schedule, and protect your optionality.Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/how-much-of-your-net-worth-should-be-tied-up-in-your-employer-s-stock/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/how-much-of-your-net-worth-should-be-tied-up-in-your-employer-s-stock/If your employer's stock dropped 40% tomorrow and your team's headcount got cut the same week, would that be a bad month or a redrawn life?Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/the-83-b-election-a-two-page-form-that-can-save-you-hundreds-of-thousands/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/the-83-b-election-a-two-page-form-that-can-save-you-hundreds-of-thousands/What if a single piece of paper, mailed to the IRS within thirty days of a date you may not even have circled on your calendar, was worth more than your next three years of bonuses combined?Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/your-company-is-going-public-what-do-you-do-with-your-options-before-the-ipo/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/your-company-is-going-public-what-do-you-do-with-your-options-before-the-ipo/What if the most expensive financial decision of your career is the one you make in the twelve months before your company goes public, not the day it does?Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/selling-concentrated-stock-without-a-giant-tax-bill-strategies-that-actually-work/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/selling-concentrated-stock-without-a-giant-tax-bill-strategies-that-actually-work/What would you do if you woke up tomorrow with $500,000 worth of a single stock, and selling it meant writing a check to the IRS for $150,000?Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/selling-at-a-loss-isn-t-losing-for-tech-employees-it-s-a-tax-strategy/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/selling-at-a-loss-isn-t-losing-for-tech-employees-it-s-a-tax-strategy/What if the investments that are down in your portfolio are actually one of your most valuable tax planning tools?Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/how-to-find-a-fee-only-financial-advisor-for-bay-area-tech-employees/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/how-to-find-a-fee-only-financial-advisor-for-bay-area-tech-employees/If you work in tech and you've started thinking seriously about your financial life: the RSUs, the equity comp, the California tax bill, the question of whether you'll ever actually feel financially…Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/how-bay-area-tech-employees-can-shelter-an-extra-47-500-a-year-in-a-roth/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/how-bay-area-tech-employees-can-shelter-an-extra-47-500-a-year-in-a-roth/Most tech employees at Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta have access to one of the most powerful tax-advantaged savings tools available to high earners. Most of them have never used it.Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/the-bay-area-high-earner-s-tax-situation-is-different-here-s-why/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/the-bay-area-high-earner-s-tax-situation-is-different-here-s-why/When was the last time you actually added up every tax you pay?Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/holding-your-company-stock-is-not-a-strategy-here-s-what-is/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/holding-your-company-stock-is-not-a-strategy-here-s-what-is/If your company gave you $500,000 in cash tomorrow, would you put all of it into your employer's stock?Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/you-have-stock-options-do-you-know-which-kind/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/you-have-stock-options-do-you-know-which-kind/Most tech employees have never read their stock option agreement.Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/500-000-a-year-two-incomes-both-in-tech-and-they-felt-like-they-were-barely-getting-ahead/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/500-000-a-year-two-incomes-both-in-tech-and-they-felt-like-they-were-barely-getting-ahead/That's not a spending problem. That's a math problem, and it's more common than you think.Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/rsus-are-not-bonuses/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/rsus-are-not-bonuses/A household earns $600,000 per year.Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/navigating-pre-ipo-tender-offers-a-tax-strategy-guide/https://www.austincreekcapital.com/vested/navigating-pre-ipo-tender-offers-a-tax-strategy-guide/In the world of high-growth tech, the 'Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT