Your Book Questions, Answered

Your Book Questions, Answered

When I wrote The 30-Day Money Cleanse, I didn’t share much of my journey along the way because I was completely terrified of becoming an author and having my book out in the world. I wanted you to know about it but I also wanted to hide.

This time, I promise to take you along for the wild ride and to share in the joy and success of this book because I couldn’t do it without you. I’ve compiled all of your book process questions and answered them here. Don’t hesitate to keep them coming. I can always add to this list.

5 Things You Should Include in Your Budget

5 Things You Should Include in Your Budget

One of the most important parts of our financial lives is our budget or spending plan. For those of you who are maybe just starting your financial journey, or in your first years of independence after graduating from school, or in the first couple of years of working for yourself and making our money, it can be a struggle.

We asked Mykail James aka “The Boujie Budgeter,” what are five things that every 20- something should include in her budget? Here’s what she had to share.

Roth vs. Traditional IRA - which should I choose?

Roth vs. Traditional IRA - which should I choose?

True story. My first job offered both a Roth and a Traditional option for a retirement plan. I had no idea what that meant but remember hearing that diversity was good. So I put half of my money in each. I did the same thing with the investment options. 5% going to each of the 20 investment options. My retirement portfolio had a lot going on, to say the least.

We don’t learn about this stuff and then we’re faced with choices that will make a big difference in our financial future. It makes sense that one of the most common questions I get is “what’s the difference between a Roth and Traditional IRA?” I wish I’d known a lot sooner, but it’s better to learn late than to never learn.

We don’t learn about this stuff and then we’re faced with choices that will make a big difference in our financial future. It makes sense that one of the most common questions I get is “what’s the difference between a Roth and Traditional IRA?” I wish I’d known a lot sooner, but it’s better to learn late than to never learn.

What’s a 401(k)? And how does it work?

What’s a 401(k)? And how does it work?

You may be invested in a 401(k) plan without really knowing what it is or what’s happening with your money. It’s a task many of us avoid because the whole process can be confusing and overwhelming. Even though it’s better to have started than to wait to understand it all, it’s ideal to have a handle on what exactly is happening with your hard-earned cash. Hello, financial adulting! Here’s everything you need to know about your 401(k).

A 401(k) is a company sponsored retirement plan. That means, you can’t open one up on your own. If your company doesn’t offer a 401(k) (or 403(b) if it’s a non-profit), you can open up and invest in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Or, if you are an entrepreneur, there are an array of options available to you.

Why and How to Rollover Your 401(k) 

Why and How to Rollover Your 401(k) 

Some of us build up a collection of 401(k)s from past employers. We might even get emails about them, and they seem like they’re doing fine. We’ve heard diversifying is good, so maybe having multiple accounts is serving us well? But we also hear we should roll over our old 401(k)s? What should we do?

When you leave a company where you had a 401(k), you have four options.

What’s an ETF?

What’s an ETF?

One of the reasons investing can feel daunting is that it comes with a whole language of jargon. ETFs, mutual funds, expense ratios - the list goes on and on. It’s enough to make your eyes glaze over.

Unfortunately, if we’re going to invest and grow our money (yes, please!), we’re going to want to understand some of this jargon so we can invest confidently and competently. But the good news is that like with any language, we can get more comfortable with the vocabulary over time. Today we’re starting with “ETF”. Here’s everything you need to know (and then some).

Tax Prep Q&A with Accountants of Color

Tax Prep Q&A with Accountants of Color

The tax filing deadline was extended to May 17th this year which has given us more time to procrastinate doing our taxes. Hooray! But the deadline is still coming. If you feel annoyed and confused about filing your taxes, I’m with you. I always feel like I’m making a mistake or doing something wrong.

I am excited to share a Q&A with some brilliant CPAs to answer all of your questions, but first I want to tell you why your taxes are so complicated to begin with. Tax prep companies like TurboTax (owned by Intuit) and H&R Block lobby millions of dollars each year to keep our taxes complicated. What?!

Set up your system for 2021 taxes

Set up your system for 2021 taxes

When we’re preparing to file our taxes for this year, it’s the perfect time to create a system to make the process easier next year. Why? You might be thinking, “Ashley, why add to my torture? I could finally celebrate being done!?

Taking the time to create systems while everything is fresh in our minds is far easier than trying to remember what was important and what we needed. Taking the time to set up a system for our 2021 taxes will save us lots of stress, time, and (perhaps) money.