With careful management, any amount of money you make can work hard and increase in usefulness and the ability to create wealth, stability, and comfort for you and your family for generations. Conversely, even with an incredibly generous income, if not strategically managed, you can end up with cycles of debt, and chronic financial anxiety.
Many well-intentioned people think they are following sound financial advice when in reality, they’ve bought into some dangerous money management myths. This can lead to real financial trouble. If this sounds eerily familiar, then keep calm and read on. Here are some of the most common myths.
Debt has become more the rule than the exception in the financial lives of most Americans. The best financial advice anyone can offer, however, is to free yourself from a seemingly endless cycle of debt accumulation and repayment. Debt can hinder other financial goals and get in the way of investing in your future.
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.