MoneyRx for CRNAs and NPs
Go behind the scenes with host Brett Fellows, CFP®, as he explores the unique financial opportunities and challenges facing Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and Nurse Practitioners on the path to financial independence. Each episode delivers expert insights and actionable advice to help you lower taxes, invest smarter, and retire on your terms.
Brett's firm, Oak Capital Advisors, specializes in high-earning CRNAs and nurse practitioners and is currently accepting new clients. From retirement income strategy and tax planning to Social Security timing, Medicare, and estate planning, they offer comprehensive financial planning that goes far beyond investment management. If you're ready to work with someone who truly gets your world, the link to schedule a discovery meeting is in the show notes.
MoneyRx for CRNAs and NPs
The CRNA Crystal Ball Test: What a "Perfect" 403(b) Fund Pick Is Really Worth
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Retirement charts inside a 403(b) can eat hours of attention. Five-year returns, ten-year returns, expense ratios, lined up side by side and compared fund by fund.
Brett Fellows, CFP®, runs the numbers on what a decade of picking the single best-performing fund would add to a CRNA's account. He also shows where a bigger opportunity sits, in an oversized cash cushion earning next to nothing.
Brett covers:
- What a decade of picking the single best-performing fund in a 403(b) lineup would add to a CRNA's account, in dollars
- Why that number translates to about $30 a month in retirement income once it's run through a conservative withdrawal rate
- Why an oversized cash cushion builds up so easily on PRN and locum income
- How redirecting unused cash into a 403(b) and backdoor Roth IRA over eighteen years can grow to roughly $180,000
- The 2026 contribution limits for a 403(b) and backdoor Roth IRA, and how much space typically goes unused
- A bank statement exercise for finding a real emergency fund number this week
Key Timestamps:
(0:18) The pull to find the "perfect" fund in your 403(b)
(1:04) Running the crystal ball test on a decade of fund picks
(3:10) The stable value fund vs. bond fund gap in a real 403(b)
(4:09) The real number: under $9,000 difference over ten years
(5:00) Turning $9,000 into actual monthly retirement income
(6:27) Where fund selection still genuinely matters
(7:46) The high-stakes decision most CRNAs get backwards
(9:26) Why unused 403(b) and Roth IRA space is use-it-or-lose-it
(10:07) 2026 contribution limits for a 403(b) and backdoor Roth IRA
(12:33) Sarah's example: redirecting $450 a month into retirement
(13:32) $450 a month grows to roughly $180,000 by 60
(15:44) Pressure-testing the number with a more conservative return
(17:27) The same math at a smaller dollar amount
(20:35) The bank statement exercise to run this week
(24:17) The bigger lesson: where to spend your decision-making energy
(26:51) Closing thoughts and how to work with Brett
For more information and resources related to this episode, please visit the show notes.