How to pay less in taxes!

Tax season. A time when filers scramble around to collect various tax documents, like Form W2, 1099s, and any tax- deductible receipts they can get their hands on.

While it may be a bit too late to make many tax saving changes now, there is still one trick you may be able to pull out of the hat...a deductible contribution to a Traditional IRA. Most think the contribution must be made before they hit the send button on their return. That is not the case-

You can actually use your refund as your contribution. Just make sure to have the funds deposited into a qualified account by the filing deadline (April 18th for 2022).

A bit confused still. Let's break it down...

Tips and Tricks to Help You Create a Sustainable Spending Plan

Need some help creating a spending plan? What about just making some minor adjustments to the one you already have? Well, good news...I've got you covered-

Creating a spending plan may seem a bit daunting at first, but can actually be quite easy. The areas that give most people grief are categorizing their expenses into various buckets, like groceries, housing, transportation, and cash items. 

What if you could just separate these expenses into two categories...discretionary and non-discretionary expenses (wants and needs)? Would that not make it much easier? I'll show you how.

Here are some tips and tricks to help save money without having to resort to a steady diet of Ramen?

Check out the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoeAIpbe2hc&t=731s

Expenses That Kill Your Finances

What are some expenses you may not realize that can kill your finances? You know, ones that sneak up on you, and keep you living paycheck to paycheck? I was recently asked this question and my recommendations on how to correct the problems. Here’s what I suggested…

Don’t pack on debt with the holiday pounds

An unintended budget killer I come across when working with clients is holiday spending. Not the obvious ones like Christmas and birthday gifts, but things like Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. Many tend to think of holiday budget expenses in terms of gift giving. You know, a tangible item. The additional food expense that is required at these festive family events is often overlooked.

The Baby Boomer Boomeranger: Adult Children Returning Home

Jeopardizing Your Retirement By Financially Helping Adult Children

As parents, we want to give our children more than what we were given growing up. Whether it’s the latest technology, the newest clothing trends, or the most memorable vacations. That’s human nature, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But at what point is it time to cut the financial umbilical cord?

The Boomeranger

One-third of baby boomers are still helping their adult kids in their 20’s and 30’s financially. Actually it appears many of these baby boomers gave birth to boomerangers…adult children returning home to live with their parents. Not only are these parents stuck covering the cost of a roof overhead, but at times also a cell phone, car payment, car insurance, and health insurance.

At what cost do these extra expenses have on the parents? More often than not, a hit to their retirement savings. Whether it’s less being put back, or funds being borrowed or disbursed, not as much is getting holed away.

Which Debt Should You Pay Off First?

When it comes to the best techniques and ideas for paying off debt, there are about as many out there as there are chocolate chip cookie recipes. And while it may take a few recipes until you find the tastiest one, finding the best fit for you when it comes to debt payoff may also take a few tries.

When you break it down, there are really three basic ways to pay off debt:

Getting Schooled On Student Loans

A few days before leaving on my trip to Germany, we received a call at the office from a local news station wanting to do an interview regarding student loans. Since Gary was out of town, and I'm a Certified Credit Counselor, I thought it only right to step up to the plate and help out.

Prior to the interview, I asked what the interviewer might want to know in case any specific details would be needed. One of the questions was fairly simple: Why are graduates having to live paycheck to paycheck upon finishing school?

The question sounds simple enough, right? The answer, however, is a bit more complicated. 

How much can you afford

I used the example of purchasing a vehicle. Before shopping around, someone has (or should) a pretty good idea of the monthly payment they can afford. Secondly, there are many financial calculators online that allow you to plug in that monthly payment amount, interest rate, and term to discover what purchase amount will fit into your budget.

So once you have the amount of car you can afford in mind, you can begin the car shopping experience. If your budget is in the $18,000 range, obviously you wouldn't want to begin that journey at the Mercedes dealership, but something a little more conservative. 

Protecting your money and staying on budget with prepaid cards

Sometimes I like to pass the time by playing games on my iPad. I have downloaded various apps for puzzles, slots, and of course Angry Birds. A few months ago my friend, Keith, decided to hijack my iPad and partake in some of this frivolous entertainment as well. 

Now before I get too far in to how the events went down, let me start by saying this was his first time playing these games. Let me also preface that he is not very technologically savvy. At least not with the mobile devices.

While he was pretty content playing solitaire, I mentioned there were plenty of other games he could try. Being the kind person he is, he didn't want to "mess up" my high score. I insisted he give them a try, and said "let the games begin".