01 · Now
Founder
Thermal Finance
A personal finance dashboard for people with accounts scattered across brokerages, banks, cards, and crypto.
About · Written by
Andres
Alonso.
High Earner Playbook is written by Andres Alonso, a software engineer and founder of Thermal, a personal finance dashboard. This site is where I share the strategies I use on my own finances, and the research behind them.
Background
How I got here
02 · Previously
Director, Software Engineering
Epic Games
Engineering leadership for the Epic Games Store.
03 · Earlier
Language Infrastructure
Language and internationalization work.
04 · Education
BE, Electrical Engineering
Cooper Union
Studied engineering in New York.
§ 01 · Why
Why I write this
Most personal finance advice targets a median household. That stops being useful once direct Roth IRA contributions phase out, a single RSU vesting event swings your marginal rate ten points, AMT enters the picture, or you're choosing between a $695 annual fee card and a $0 one and the math is non-obvious.
I write for the audience I had to teach myself to join: professionals earning enough that the standard playbook breaks, with enough complexity that generic advice is worse than no advice.
§ 02 · Coverage
What I cover
Tax
Tax strategy
RSU timing, backdoor and mega backdoor Roth, estimated tax safe harbors, income phaseouts, 529s, short-term rental tax treatment.
Points
Points & miles
Card selection for $5K-15K/month spenders, premium card math, business cards, hotel and airline status.
Wealth
Wealth building
Asset allocation, emergency fund sizing, Monte Carlo retirement planning.
Intersection
Where they collide
Paying estimated taxes on a business card for the points, deducting business travel, tax-efficient rewards redemption.
§ 03 · Voice
How I write
I try to be specific. Real numbers, worked examples, stated assumptions. If I'm citing a rule or a limit, I link the source. If a strategy has a catch, the catch comes first.
I'm an engineer, not an advisor. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. For anything consequential, talk to a CPA or fiduciary who can see your whole picture.
§ 04 · Questions
Questions readers ask
Are you a licensed financial advisor?
No. I'm a software engineer who writes about the personal finance strategies I use and research for my own situation. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. For anything consequential (a large Roth conversion, a cost-segregation study, deciding whether to exercise ISOs), talk to a CPA or fiduciary who can see your whole picture.
How do you make money from this site?
The site participates in the Amazon Associates program. When I recommend a book in an article, the link goes to Amazon with my affiliate tag (highearnerpla-20). If you click through and buy something within 24 hours, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Each article that contains affiliate links discloses them inline at the section where the links appear. I am not part of CardRatings, Bankrate, or any direct issuer credit card program. I do not accept paid placements, sponsored posts, or issuer-written content. Future affiliate relationships (such as Bilt, Robinhood Gold, or tax software) will be added to this page when they go live.
Do you have affiliate relationships with any credit card issuers?
No. I'm not part of CardRatings, Bankrate, or any direct issuer program, so I have no financial incentive to recommend one card over another. If that changes, I'll update this page and every card review before any affiliate link goes live.
Do you actually use these strategies yourself?
Yes. That's where most of the articles come from. The backdoor Roth guide, the RSU withholding math, the business-card stack, the estimated-tax safe harbor calculations: I've run each of these on my own return. When I haven't personally used a strategy (for example, the short-term rental tax treatment), I say so in the article and link to primary sources.
How often do you update content?
New articles publish roughly weekly. Existing articles get refreshed when tax law, contribution limits, or card benefits change, at minimum once per tax year. Every article shows a publish date and, if updated, an "Updated" date above the content.
What is the relationship between High Earner Playbook and Thermal?
I run both. Thermal (thermalfinance.com) is a personal finance dashboard I built. High Earner Playbook is the writing side of the same work. They share an audience but nothing else. No data passes between them, and you don't need a Thermal account to read anything here.
How do I suggest a correction or topic?
Message me on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/andrescalonso). If you spot a factual error, I want to fix it. Corrections get a dated update note at the bottom of the article.
§ 05 · Contact
Get in touch.
Find me on LinkedIn or see what I'm building at thermalfinance.com. If something here helped, or if I got something wrong, tell me.
Disclaimer
Content on this site is for educational purposes only and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Tax laws vary by jurisdiction and change. Always consult qualified professionals before acting on anything you read here.