An essential part of financial planning begins with ascertaining your resources, debt, and dreams for life, which is the basis for financial goal setting. The best advice for setting long-range financial goals is to start early to have the most time to achieve them. But what about short and mid-range goals?
Even though we don’t like to talk about it, our finances and money management habits are a primary way to ensure economic security - or the lack of it - for ourselves, our families, and retirement. Let’s look at the time-honored practices of good money management and how to use them effectively to create a bright and comfortable financial future.
Many people think of spring as a special time for getting your income tax refund. We dream about how we want to spend it all year, on anything from a vacation to splurging on an expensive item we couldn’t usually afford. And why not? It’s an unexpected windfall from the government, right?
How old do you have to be to start thinking about planning for your retirement? It’s never too early, but when is it too late? Even later in life there are a number of ways to prepare for retirement, but what if you’re self-employed? You may be surprised to hear that you have many similar options as those who are employed by others.
Today’s market can be volatile, and there are many good reasons to diversify ways of generating income. To consider the tax benefits of multiple income streams, first, let’s look at the general reasons to have more than one source of income:
Tax laws have gotten complicated in recent years and professional CPAs not only keep up with tax law changes, but also know how to use them to a client’s advantage. In fact, there are many situations in which hiring a CPA could save you a lot of money.
In order to save money you may do your own personal income tax every spring. While that might seem like good money management, there are a lot of ways you can pay too much without knowing it. Read on to learn a few signs that may indicate whether you are paying more than you need to.
I tell all my clients that the true key to building wealth lies in building assets. Regardless of how much money you make, you can build wealth over time through assets. Think about how much of your life involves bills, taxes, purchases, contracts, etc. When it comes to financial planning, why not take advantage of the time you spend preparing for your tax filing and reconnect with your CPA to develop a financial plan for building wealth.
It's no secret that the last quarter of any year is a busy one for those who wants to get a jump on tax planning and preparation. With holidays and shopping competing for your attention it’s easy to lose your focus on long-range financial planning. I understand completely. However, it's smart to look at ways you might minimize your tax liability.
As a CPA I help lots of individuals with tax preparation and filing. Many of them are interested in building assets through investing. From a tax perspective, investments are a solid way to increase longterm assets. I advise my clients to work with a financial advisor. It takes time and patience to build wealth.