Tax season is coming to a close, which means many will soon have refunds, if not already. We talk a lot about taxes -- how to file them, how to minimize them and how to plan for them, but another really important part of tax planning is making the best use of your refund.
If you’ve filed and know exactly how much you’re getting back, here’s a step-by-step recommendation for making the most of your tax refund.
Those that know me know that I hate the word budget. And I’m not shy about it. Hearing the word actually makes me cringe and conjures up images of my favorite expenses being ripped from my hands while I’m holding on to them for dear life. It’s a word full of restriction.
Many believe that sticking with a budget means that they’ll have to limit their fun but I’ve found the opposite to be true. That’s why I decided to swap the term budget for happiness allocation.
A few summers ago, we took our son on his first overseas trip to England. We decided to go because one of my best friends had just moved to London and as part of our nanny share arrangement (2 kids, 1 nanny) we coordinated vacation time with our wonderful share family so the nanny got some time off.
But with new child expenses (our son starting preschool in the fall) and investing in my business, I was torn about whether or not to take the trip. I had “YOLO” on one shoulder and our savings goals on the other shoulder and they were saying very conflicting things!
There are a lot of similarities between saving and giving. The biggest one? We wait to get started because we assume it will be easier once we earn more.
We get the promotion and the raise, prioritize paying everyone else first, and then there’s still no money leftover for us to save or give.
Or maybe we feel like our twenty dollars a month won’t do much. But much like with saving, it’s about using the muscle. When we start, we begin to view ourselves as someone who gives. We get the ball rolling, momentum builds.
One of the jargon phrases that often gets thrown around in the personal finance world is net worth. Sometimes it’s not mentioned explicitly but when someone says the word “millionaire” or “billionaire,” they are referring to someone’s net worth.
So how do we calculate our net worth? What does net worth mean? It’s actually a very simple equation - it’s a total of what we own minus a total of what we owe. I’ve put together a Net Worth Tracker to make it as easy as possible for you to calculate your net worth and keep track of it going forward. You can also create your own spreadsheet or just write it down - whatever is easiest for you.
Regardless of how much or how little money we have, we only get to use each dollar once. I know… bummer.
Once we realize that, it becomes easier to navigate our spending. We understand that every time we use a dollar, we miss out on the opportunity to use it somewhere else. That’s called opportunity cost.
We deal with opportunity costs all day every day. When I choose a restaurant for dinner, I don’t get to eat at all the other restaurants I didn’t choose. When I say yes to a project, I don’t have the opportunity to use that time for something else.
Cleanses are a great way to hit reset on certain areas of your life. They help you break bad habits, flush toxins, and set yourself up with a powerful plan for the future. I’ve done technology cleanses, sugar cleanses, and closet cleanses that have had these effects.
A 30-Day Money Cleanse is no different than any other cleanse - except that it hits reset on your money.
Maybe you already know you are in need of a Money Cleanse and are ready to take one one. Maybe you know you could improve your financial habits, but you aren’t quite sure that a Money Cleanse is right for you.
With the New Year fast approaching, it’s a great time to look back on the year to see what worked for us and what we hope to improve in the year to come. Whether you’ve made great headway in your financial life or feel like your financial wellness is in dire need of some love, adopting these ten habits will transform your financial health in 2020.
In January, I love to outline my financial goals for the year. Once I know what I want to accomplish for the year, I can then break my goals down by quarter, by month, and by week to help keep me on track.
Things always change and my goals have to adjust, but this initial mapping out of my goals serves as a guide for my goals for the rest of the year. It’s also really fun and exciting to dream about what I want.
