Plain-English financial guides for technology employees.
Restricted stock units, 401(k) match formulas, ESPPs, deferred compensation, the AMT trap on ISOs — the things tech compensation packages quietly assume you already understand. We explain them in writing, with free calculators to run your own numbers.
Equity compensation
What is Amazon's RSU vesting schedule, and how are Amazon RSUs taxed?
The 5/15/40/40 schedule, why Year 3 is a tax cliff, and how Amazon RSUs are taxed at vest and at sale — for engineers, PMs, and anyone with a four-year grant.
RSU taxes: a tech employee's guide to tax on restricted stock units
How RSU income is taxed at vest, why under-withholding is the most common mistake, and what to do — for tech employees with significant equity comp.
Employee benefits
Apple employee benefits: a comprehensive guide
A plain-English walkthrough of Apple's employee benefits — RSUs, ESPP, 401(k) match, HSA, and the parts most engineers and operations staff under-use.
Microsoft employee benefits, explained
How Microsoft's on-hire stock award, annual stock award, ESPP, and 401(k) match fit together over a multi-year career — without the HR jargon.
Oracle employee benefits, explained
Oracle's 401(k), stock plan, deferred compensation, and the levers most employees never use — explained in plain English.
What this site is
Progress Wealth Management is a small, independent publication. We write long-form, plain-English explainers on the parts of financial life that technology employees disproportionately encounter — equity compensation, employer retirement plans, concentration risk in a single stock, and the planning decisions that follow from a few high-earning years.
We are not advisors. We do not manage assets or give personal recommendations. Every page is an article or a calculator: read it, understand the mechanics, and bring better questions to your CPA, your benefits team, or a fee-only advisor of your choice.