Craig Wear, CFP®Craig Wear, CFP® | Expert in Roth Conversions & Tax-Efficient Retirement Strategies for IRA Millionaires

Most people mess up Roth conversions. Not because they’re dumb. But because they’re guessing.

12 Aug 2025 · 1 min

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Short YouTube monologue by Craig Wear, CFP® warning that many people mishandle Roth IRA conversions. He identifies three common mistakes—failing to convert at all, over-converting (paying too much tax up front), and under-converting (converting too little)—and advises planning conversion amounts/timing and considering charitable donations and standard deductions to avoid costly errors.

Chapters

Hey there. You know what I've come to learn is that most people really mess up Roth conversions. Don't be one of them. Roth conversion can save you big but only if you do it right. Don't fall for this expensive Roth conversion trap. Number one they don't even know it exists so no conversions equals a lot more taxes later. Number two they over convert. Yep trying to save too much taxes means paying more tax up front than if they did nothing at all or or number three they under convert out of lack of experience. They simply don't convert enough and they end up paying a lot more tax than they should. So don't just convert blindly. Ask how much should I convert over how many years is the optimal strategy for me? And will my charitable donations reduce my need to convert? What about my standard deductions at the time that RMDs are due? Look a good plan is going to save you taxes, a bad one is going to burn your wallet.