A fifth-year associate with a clear partnership timeline and a capital contribution that will be due when it arrives. Steady base, volatile bonus, and no mechanism yet that treats the two differently.
Predictable base. Unpredictable bonus.
Base compensation was $265,000, paid evenly. The annual bonus ranged from $40,000 to $110,000 and arrived as a single December deposit that was consistently absorbed into spending by March.
Partnership was expected in five years, with a capital contribution the firm estimated in the low six figures. Nothing had been set aside for it, and there was no separate place for it to go.
Two incomes. Two rules.
The session split the problem in two. Base pay got a standard percentage allocation across checking, savings, Roth and brokerage. The bonus got its own rule: a fixed percentage routes automatically to a dedicated high-yield account labelled for the buy-in, before it can be spent.
Because the buy-in has a known date, the brokerage side stays conservative for that tranche and ordinary for everything else. Both rules run without a login.
The new allocation.
Set once, in the session. It has run on every paycheck since without a login.
A partnership buy-in is a deadline. The allocation is how you meet it without noticing.
- Checking60%$13,250
- Brokerage15%$3,313
- High-Yield Savings15%$3,313
- Roth IRA10%$2,208
The bonus follows a separate rule: 60% to the buy-in account, 40% to brokerage. Set once, in the session.
The client scenario and figures on this page are an illustrative composite based on typical engagements. They do not represent a single real individual, and no outcome is a promise of yours.