Have you ever thought about your money like a garden?
Every dollar you earn is like a seed. You can either pay taxes when you plant it… or when you harvest the fruit later.
That’s the big difference in retirement funds when asking yourself ‘Roth or Traditional IRA’?
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With a Traditional account (like a Traditional IRA or 401(k)), you don’t pay taxes when you plant the seed. These type of accounts are referred to as Tax Deferred. You pay taxes later, when your garden is full and you’re ready to enjoy the harvest.
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With a Roth account, you pay taxes now, when you plant the seed. But when it’s time to pick your fruit (aka withdraw in retirement), it’s all yours—tax-free.
How Your Roth or Traditional IRA Garden Grows
Just like a real garden, the kind of soil (your account type), the weather (your income and tax bracket), and how you care for your plants (consistent investing), and time, all play a role in how much fruit you’ll enjoy later. Some people choose to water their garden now and enjoy a tax-free harvest later (Roth), while others hold off and deal with the rainstorm of taxes down the road (Traditional).
Either way, the choices you make today will shape the size—and sweetness—of your future harvest. The best gardeners don’t wait for perfect weather—they start planting now.
This whole idea comes from the farming concept of taxing the seed or the harvest. Here’s a deeper read from Forbes if you’re curious.
Let’s look at an example. 🌸
Say you invest $100,000 today, and over time, it grows to $300,000 by the time you retire.
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If you used a Traditional IRA, you’d owe taxes on the full $300,000 when you withdraw it.
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But with a Roth IRA, you paid taxes upfront on the $100,000, and now the full $300,000 is yours—tax-free.
Which would you rather pay taxes on—$100,000 or $300,000?
If you think tax rates might go up in the future, or if you just like the idea of keeping more of your money later, a Roth might be the way to go.
The key is starting now. Even one seed can grow into something amazing with time and care.
So, sis—what are you planting? And when do you want to enjoy the fruit?
To help you understand the tax differences and rules between Roth or Traditional IRA’s, check this out: