Photo of Kevin Estes smiling and wearing a dark suit with a black tee shirt. Behind him is an out of focus wooden background.

Hello, I’m Kevin - a financial planner who helps tech professionals and their families live great lives.

Make yourself at home - we'll get to a potential steps for October in a moment.

But first - here are some links you may want to save for later.

Is It Worth Holding Employer Stock?

Pros and Cons of a Health Savings Account

Schedule Your PTO ASAP

Now, let's get on to the blog! 😀

It’s Fall!

The days are getting shorter. Pumpkin spice lattes are flowing. High schools are playing football. Fall has come to the Pacific Northwest. 🍁

However, we still have a quarter of the year left. Finish strong!

Potential Steps for T-Mobile Employees This Month

Financial steps T-Mobile employees might take in October include:

Evaluate stock purchased at a discount
Book holiday plans
Complete open enrollment
Update beneficiaries and estate plan
Plan year end health expenses

1. Evaluate Stock Purchased at a Discount

T-Mobile’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offering period just ended 9/30/2024. For participating employees, shares of TMUS should arrive in Fidelity accounts over the next few days.

It’s worth considering what to do with those shares. 🤔

How the Employee Stock Purchase Plan Works

T-Mobile’s ESPP takes 15% off the lower of:

the beginning and
end of each six-month offering period.

The 4/1 to 9/30 period just ended. Those close prices were:

$162.67 on 4/1
$206.36 on 9/30

Since the lower of the two is $162.67, the purchase price was 15% off about $162.67 - around $138.27. 👏

Impact of Selling Right Away

If someone was willing and able to sell right away for $206.36, they’d realize a $68 gain. That’s nearly an 49% return for six months! 🎉

Any realized gains would be taxed as ordinary income at the employee’s marginal tax rate. Of course, an employee may not want - or be able - to sell right away.

Fewer Shares Than in April

ESPP contributions are limited to the lower of 15% of qualifying compensation or $25,000 each year. That’s a federal rule so please don’t complain to your supervisor, HR business partner, or CFO about it! 😉 The same goes for the 15% discount.

Anyone who’s contributed the full 15% and earned at least $166,667 from 10/1/2023 to 9/30/2024 (including bonus) hit the $25,000 cap.

Also, the previous offering period included the annual bonus back in February. Don’t be surprised if fewer shares are deposited into your account than in April.

For more, check out:

How Does an ESPP Work?
Are Employee Stock Purchase Plans Underrated?
Own Stock or Contribute to ESPP?

New RSU Vest

As of February 2024, new T-Mobile Restricted Stock Units grants vest every six months, which is good news. Many employees just had some stock vest! Those shares might fund an emergency and opportunity account.

For more, check out:
Is It Worth Holding Employer Stock?
What to Do With RSUs?
How Are RSUs Taxed?

2. Book Holiday Plans ❄

Now is a wonderful time to book holiday flights and lodging:

Vacation rentals tend to book.
Flights prices start to rise.
Calendars get full.

It’s not just the calendars of friends and family. You need to consider your coworkers’ as well!

Scheduling your Paid Time Off (PTO) early is like calling dibs on days off. 🎀

Speaking of PTO, remember that full time employees can normally only roll over a couple weeks (80 hours) into the new year. However, that shrunk to as little as one week (40 hours) once during my tenure.

Avoid the drama. 🎭 Schedule your holidays now.

3. Complete Open Enrollment

T-Mobile’s benefits open enrollment is just around the corner!

Now’s a good time to plan for 2024:

Will your family have large medical expenses that might be better served by a lower deductible healthcare plan? 🏥
Is your youngest child turning 13, ending dependent care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) reimbursements?
Do you need more, less, or about the amount of life and disability insurance?

You can start planning for open enrollment even before T-Mobile’s 2024 Benefits Guide is released.

For more, check out:

How Disability Insurance Works!
Pros and Cons of a Health Savings Account

4. Update Beneficiaries and Estate Plan

Could there be a better time to check your beneficiaries than around Halloween? 🎃

Doing so is critical because account titling and beneficiary designations almost always take priority over a last will & testament!

Is Your Estate Plan Up to Date?

Has anything changed since the last time you updated your estate plan?

Welcomed a new family member? 👶🐕
Lost a close family member or friend?
Relocated to a new state?
Bought a property?
Grown your net worth?

Each of these can have major implications should something happen to you.

Will You Owe Estate Taxes?

Although the federal exclusion for federal taxes is $13.61 million, some states tax much lower thresholds.

Will You Owe Estate Tax?

Seven states’ exemption or exclusion is below $5 million:

5. Plan End of Year Health Expenses

Now’s a great time to plan medical expenses for the remainder of the year.

If your family’s already incurred many healthcare costs this year, you may have already met your:

deductible or
out of pocket maximum.

Your costs for additional tests and procedures may be limited.

Unfortunately, other people also recognize now’s a good time for medical treatment financially.

My wife scheduled skin cancer surgeries for years. Appointments get scarce at the end of the year. In addition to the increase in demand, there’s also a decrease in supply as healthcare professionals take time off for the holidays. 🏂

Hey, thanks for reading my post on what to do with $100k.

Just a reminder, I share a lot of resources that can help you.

Potential Financial Steps for T-Mobile Employees in October