Why Me
When I first started preparing taxes for people, one of the things I realized was that a lot of people have financial difficulties that can be overcome. Sometimes, we can be so overwhelmed by our problems that we cannot find our own way out. I noticed that many people would take out loans—many against their own 401K—and then receive refunds of several thousand dollars. This is essentially taking away from one's retirement in order to pay current bills, all the while loaning money to the IRS (interest free). Another common problem I found was that people failed to pay estimated taxes or didn’t have enough taxes withheld from their paycheck; therefore, they owed large sums of money at tax time. I was able to help many of these people adjust their withholdings so that they had ample money to live on throughout the year while avoiding a large tax bill at year-end. From these experiences I developed a true mission in my work: To help people understand and gain control over their finances by reviewing their tax situation, developing a solution to minimize taxes and educating them on what changes to make.
I believe the building blocks to a sound financial life are as follows:
- Budgeting, tax planning and bookkeeping
- Paying off debt
- Savings/emergency fund
- Investment for the future
Budgeting, tax planning and bookkeeping enables us see how much money we have to work and how our money is being used. People tend to spend more than they can afford by using debt and debt adds risk to our lives which often causes anxiety when we realize how much we owe; many people find themselves wondering how they have so little in savings when they make so much money (and work so hard). Savings of 3 to 6 months is recommended in order to protect against unforeseen circumstances that could arise. Investment for the future is the savings for college, large purchases and wealth building.
The first building block has to do with tax planning and record keeping. This is the piece center of a sound financial life--the keystone of financial control. The keystone is the stone in the top center of an arch—it is the stone that keeps all of the others in place. Basic tax planning and record keeping act in a similar way to support the other building blocks of our financial life.
Let’s work together to build a strong foundation for your financial life.