Soojin Jun's wealth plan: three paths that target $101K to $385K in year one

Disclaimer: This is education, not tax, legal or financial advice. Every figure below is a target written into Soojin's plan, not a result. Talk to a qualified professional before you act on any of it.

Who this plan is for

Soojin Jun's plan covers the 2026 tax year. It does not give one answer. It lays out three paths: conservative, moderate and aggressive. Each path asks for more time, money and outside help than the one before. Each one also targets a bigger first-year value.

The plan's numbers assume a household that files jointly. It has a workplace 401(k) with an employer match and family health coverage with a health savings account. The plan does not list Soojin's job, income or home state, so this page does not guess at them.

The goal is to pick a level that fits Soojin's time, cash and comfort with risk, then step up over the next few years.

What the plan targets in year one

"First-year value" is the plan's own measure, and it is wider than tax saved. It adds tax saved to money put into tax-advantaged accounts, employer match and other gains in the first year of a path. So it is not the same as cash in hand. The plan rates audit risk as minimal for the conservative path, low for the moderate path and moderate for the aggressive path.

The plan, step by step

1. Start with the conservative path

This path uses accounts many workers already have. It maxes the 401(k) at $23,500, puts $7,000 into an IRA and maxes a family health savings account at $8,550. It also collects the full employer match, harvests small investment losses and gives to charity if itemizing makes sense. The plan puts this at about 15 hours and $200 to $500 a year, for $101,000 of first-year value. Setup takes about 30 days: raise the 401(k) in week 1, open the health savings account in week 2, fund the IRA in week 3, and review tax withholding and automate saving in week 4.

2. Add a rental and an S corporation for the moderate path

The moderate path keeps everything above and adds bigger moves. It buys a $300,000 rental with $60,000 down and orders a cost segregation study on it. It elects S corporation status once business profit reaches $80,000, which the plan says nets $4,620 a year after payroll costs. It also adds a $20,000 Roth conversion, a backdoor Roth IRA for the higher-earning spouse and a $15,000 gift to a donor-advised fund. The plan targets $212,000 of first-year value, about 60 hours a year and $8,500 in professional fees. It sets this up over about 90 days: advice on the business setup in month 1, the S corporation and payroll in month 2, and the rental purchase and study in month 3.

3. Stack advanced moves for the aggressive path

The aggressive path uses nearly every tool in the plan. It runs the business through an S corporation, holds three property LLCs under a holding company and adds a family limited partnership. It also adds:

• Cost segregation on three properties worth $2,000,000 together
• Real estate professional status, which takes 750 or more hours a year
• A defined benefit pension plan with a $100,000 contribution
• A $40,000 mega backdoor Roth
• A 1031 exchange to put off tax on a $150,000 gain
• The Augusta rule for 14 days, $50,000 in oil and gas drilling, and a conservation easement

The plan targets $385,000 of first-year value on this path. It needs $450,000 of capital, about $35,000 a year for a professional team and about 180 hours a year.

4. Step up over about five years

The plan does not push Soojin to start at the top. It suggests the conservative path in year one, then stepping up as skills, systems and the professional team grow. Its timeline targets $101K in year 1 and $150K in year 2 with some moderate pieces. It reaches the full moderate path at $212K in year 3. Year 4 adds some aggressive pieces for $280K, and year 5 reaches the full aggressive path at $385K.

So the $385,000 is the first-year value of the aggressive path. But the plan expects to reach that path in about year five, not in the first year.

What has to go right

Each step up needs more cash. The moderate path needs $128,500 of capital and the aggressive path $450,000, including property purchases and the pension contribution. The aggressive path also needs a full team of professionals and about 180 hours a year. And the records have to be strong. Large losses, many entities and conservation easements draw IRS attention, so the plan calls for professional opinion letters, time logs and appraisals on that path.

What to take from this

Soojin's plan is a menu, not a promise. The wide range, $101,000 to $385,000, comes from how much time, money and risk Soojin takes on. The plan itself suggests starting small and building up. The first-year value also counts more than tax saved, so it should not be read as cash in the bank.

These are targets in a plan, not results. What Soojin ends up with depends on which path is chosen and how well it is carried out. A CPA should review any path before Soojin, or anyone in a similar spot, acts on it.