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Financial Symmetry: Balancing Today with Retirement

When considering retirement, do you wonder what financial opportunities you may be missing? Busy lives take over and years pass without taking advantage. In this retirement podcast, the Financial Symmetry advisors unveil financial opportunities, to help you balance enjoying today so you are ready to retire later. By day, they are fiduciary fee-only financial advisors who answer questions about tax savings, investment decisions, and how to save more. If you’ve been putting off your financial to-do list or are just not sure what you’ve been missing, subscribe to the show and learn more at www.financialsymmetry.com. Financial Symmetry is a Raleigh Financial Advisor. Proudly serving clients in the Triangle of North Carolina for over 20 years.
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Now displaying: October, 2019
Oct 21, 2019

There’s a lot of conflicting information about buying a timeshare. Some call it the worst financial decision you could make. But is that true? On this episode, we invite Allison Berger to discuss the pros and cons of buying a timeshare. If you’ve ever been roped into one of those high-pressure sales meetings you’ll want to listen to consider if you made the right decision.

Short YouTube video: https://youtu.be/RqfiAvdPS-I

In this episode of Financial Symmetry, host Chad Smith talks with Allison Berger about strategies for spotting timeshare scams and thinking through decisions about timeshares.

If you have ever been on vacation at a nice resort you may have sat in on a timeshare presentation. These high-pressure sales meetings are designed to make you a buyer and they pull out all of the stops to get you to sign on the dotted line. They claim to only need 90 minutes of your time, but those 90 minutes can be pretty intense. According to the American Resort Development Corporation, 2018 was the 9th consecutive year of growth for timeshare sales. Out of 127 million households in America, 9 million own at least 1 shared vacation product. So 7% of families are also timeshare owners. That means they must not be too bad, right? But what exactly are you buying? What is a timeshare?

If you have ever stayed at an upscale resort, you may have sat in on a timeshare presentation. These high-pressure sales meetings are designed to make you a buyer and they pull out all of the stops to get you to sign on the dotted line. They claim to only need 90 minutes of your time, but those 90 minutes can be pretty intense.

According to the American Resort Development Corporation, 2018 was the 9th consecutive year of growth for timeshare sales. Out of 127 million households in America, 9 million own at least 1 shared vacation product. That means they must not be too bad, right? But what exactly are you buying?

We all know about the incentives to get you to buy a timeshare (or even just to sit in on the sales meeting), but what other positive experiences can be had from buying a timeshare? You will guarantee yourself a vacation each year if you buy a timeshare. The accommodations are typically very nice and often include two-bedroom suites with a kitchen. This beats staying in a cramped hotel room. Typically the break-even point of buying a timeshare is between 8-14 years, so if you vacation every year for 20-30 years you’ll come out ahead. 

But there are many negatives that come along with timeshares. Even though the average maintenance fees are only about $1000 a year, the average sales price is $21,000. If you change your mind and wish to resell the timeshare you may be out of luck. There isn’t much of a market for timeshare resales. Timeshares are complicated and can be challenging to book. If you don’t know the jargon of the timeshare company you could be lost and stuck vacationing somewhere you never wanted to be. Tell us about your experiences with timeshares. Shoot us an email, we’d love to hear your stories. 

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

Oct 7, 2019

Every year there are approximately 140 million tax returns filed with the IRS and of those, 4 million will receive an IRS letter stating that there is a discrepancy. Your first instinct might be to panic, but don’t overreact. Grayson Blayzek is here to help us understand what you can do if you receive the dreaded CP2000. You’ll want to listen in not only if you have received a letter, but also to learn what you can do to prevent receiving one in the first place.

Short Youtube video recap here: https://bit.ly/2NBiVkm 

You can take a proactive approach or a reactive approach to receiving an IRS letter

There are 2 different approaches when dealing with an IRS letter. You can take a proactive approach or a reactive approach. The reactive approach happens after you receive the letter, but a proactive approach helps you get in front of any tax confusion and reduce the chances that you will receive a letter. Here’s what you can do to take the proactive approach. 

  1. Keep accurate and complete tax records, including W2’s, 1099’s, and investment documents. 
  2. Make sure you receive all the tax information before you submit your tax return. Be patient as you go through the filing process.
  3. Check your records as they come through. Make sure the information looks accurate.
  4. Include all of your income. Make sure you don’t underreport any income
  5. Follow the instructions when you fill out the 1040 and fill it out completely and accurately. 

How can you amend your tax return? 

The first step to amending your tax return is to realize where your mistake was. Did you transpose a number? Did you receive a tax document after your return? A tax professional can help you look at your return and find the problem. Sometimes a backdoor Roth strategy is the culprit in a tax return error. Funds that were converted to IRA’s might get reported on the tax return when they shouldn’t. The process of filing an amended tax return is similar to filing an original return. But instead of filing a 1040, you’ll file a 1040X. 

What should you do if you do receive the dreaded IRS letter?

If you do receive a letter from the IRS it will come via snail mail. They will never email you, text you, or send you any other type of message. The letter you will probably receive is a CP2000. 4 million taxpayers receive a CP2000 each year. Basically this form is stating that something in your tax return doesn’t match the IRS records. It isn’t a bill, but do realize the burden of proof is on you to correct the error. Here’s what to do if you receive the CP2000:

  1. Review the letter and determine what the IRS is saying and make a note of the response date. 
  2. You typically have 30 days to respond. If you don’t respond to the 30-day letter they will issue a notice of deficiency or 90 day letter. At this point, you’ll have fewer rights to appeal, so it’s very important to respond to the first letter in a timely manner.
  3. You can agree or disagree with the letter. If you agree, then complete the response form, send in the taxes due and you’re done.
  4. If you disagree you’ll need to gather the relevant information and mail it to the IRS. 
  5. After you have responded to the notice it will typically take 6-12 weeks before you get a response. 

Don't overreact

Taxpayers spend the first 3-4 months of the year gathering documents and working through the tax filing process so it can be frustrating to receive an IRS letter stating that there is a discrepancy. But make sure that you don’t ignore it. Read it carefully and don’t overreact. Take time to digest the information to get a clear understanding of what the IRS is proposing. Get tax advice if you need it. No one likes paying taxes but it is a function of our society. Annual tax planning can reduce your tax burden but we still have to pay the appropriate level of tax fro our level of income. Maintaining appropriate tax records is a great way to avoid a tax notice from the IRS.

Outline of This Episode

  • [1:40] Every year there are approximately 140 million tax returns are filed with the IRS
  • [3:22] What should you do if you get a letter?
  • [8:40] How do you amend your tax return?
  • [12:54] All information you receive from the IRS will be through the mail
  • [15:30] What steps should you take if you receive a CP2000?

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Grayson Blazek

Connect With Chad and Mike

Subscribe To This Podcast

Apple Podcasts <> Stitcher <> Google Play

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