Engineers like to know how things work, and money is no different. These posts each explain one part of an engineer's finances the way they'd explain a system.
A common rule of thumb is to save about 15% of your pay for retirement, counting your employer's match. It's a starting point, not a spec. Your real number depends on when you want to retire and what you'll spend. What's your current rate, match included?
Some 401(k) plans let you save beyond the usual limit with after-tax contributions. A few also let you convert that money to Roth inside the plan. Whether yours does depends entirely on the plan. Read your plan's summary or ask HR. It's a short question with a potentially big answer.
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Changing jobs is a good time to tidy up. A short checklist. Check what's vested in your old 401(k). Decide where that money goes. Compare the new employer's match. Make sure there's no gap in health coverage. What else would you add?
Picking up consulting work on the side? Tax usually isn't withheld on that income, so you may need to make estimated tax payments. Self-employment income can also let you open your own retirement plan, separate from the one at your day job. A tax professional can help with both.
Engineers know a design is never really finished. A financial plan works the same way. You plan, you invest, you review what happened, and you adjust. When did you last run a review on yours?
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Nothing posts without your approval.How the system works, from savings rates and 401(k) features to stock pay and side income. Clear rules and numbers with their sources land well.
Use them as a starting point. Change the wording to sound like you, check the figures for the year you post, and run them through your firm's compliance review before they go out.
Use official rules with their source, label rules of thumb as rules of thumb, and keep specific recommendations for one-on-one conversations.
The graphics on this page were made by Watt for Maple Street Wealth, a sample firm. Figures are for 2026 and come from the sources named in each post. Check them for the year you post.