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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: March, 2018
Mar 26, 2018

On this episode of Financial Symmetry, we’re getting you ready for tax time! We've been helping clients check their taxes for many years and we know that there are two types of people that file their tax returns. The optimists try and get their taxes done as quickly as possible and probably have already filed their taxes. Those of you that are pessimists are waiting until the last minute and probably haven’t filed yet. If you fall into the latter category then you will definitely want to listen to this episode before you file your taxes. On this episode, we cover the top ten tax return filing mistakes. Remember, the IRS will never send you money that you missed on your tax return. Make sure you listen to this episode to avoid these common tax return mistakes.

What can you do to become more organized in your tax returns?

Many times people make tax return mistakes simply because they are disorganized. They misplace paperwork and often do not have all the data at hand to complete their 1040 correctly. One thing you can do to avoid making costly mistakes on your tax return is to keep a file handy where you can put all of your tax documents for the coming year. That way as you receive documents throughout the year you can just place them into the file and have them ready when it is time to prepare your taxes. Getting your tax documents organized is one way to avoid tax return mistakes. Listen to this episode to hear other ways to avoid making mistakes on your taxes this year.

Do you have a checklist to keep track of new tax rules and help to avoid tax return mistakes?

Having a checklist can help you become organized and avoid costly tax return mistakes. This can help you not to overlook anything. Without a checklist, you may forget to enter correct data or follow up on new tax rules. Some capital gains rules have changed and the custodian of your accounts does not have to keep track of all of the costs. These new changes could lead to costly mistakes. Listen to this episode to hear how these changes could affect you and your tax return. If you are looking to avoid costly tax return mistakes you will want to hear the best ways to avoid them!

What should small business owners be doing to avoid tax return mistakes?

Are you a small business owner? Do you do any side work that involves a 1099? If so, that means you are! When you begin your small business or even if you simply have a couple of side gigs to bring in extra income then you need to pay attention to all the rules for filing your 1099 so that you can complete your tax return correctly and save money. Knowing what is taxable income and what isn’t is important and can save you thousands of dollars on your tax return. Listen to this episode of Financial Symmetry to hear about all the ways you can save money by avoiding these tax return mistakes.

Did you know that credits are more important than deductions?

Many people think that finding deductions is the best way to save money on their tax returns, but that is not the case. Finding relevant tax credits is actually more important than finding deductions. You need to understand all the credits that apply to you and your family to make the most out of your tax return. If you have a college student you may be making a big mistake when filing your tax return. On this episode of Financial Symmetry, we discuss the top ten most common tax return mistakes that we see on our clients’ taxes. If you want to get the most out of your tax return, you’ll want to listen in.

Outline of This Episode

  • [1:11] What are the two types of people that file tax returns?
  • [3:44] What can you do to become more organized?
  • [5:00] Do you have new dependents this tax year?
  • [6:58] Capital gains rules have changed!
  • [9:31] Your 1099R may not be taxable, here’s why
  • [11:32] Why is it so important to keep good records?
  • [14:55] What should small business owners be doing?
  • [16:30] What can you be doing for your non-working spouse?
  • [19:05] So many people miss this credit!

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Mar 12, 2018

We’re jumping into the March Madness spirit by seeding our top 8 big financial life decisions. We have weeded through all the challenging financial decisions that you will come across in your life and ranked the top 8. By carefully choosing how you decide these 8 factors you could change the trajectory of your potential to build wealth over your lifetime. These decisions can make differences in the millions of dollars! Problem is, you don’t get a lot of practice at many of these decisions, making most of them only a few times over your life. So listen in, to hear a few ideas on many of these decisions that you’ve already, are currently or plan to make.

These 2 big financial decisions may surprise you!

Number eight on the list affects everyone differently since the type of car you drive can say a lot about the type of person you are. With the average cost of a car at $31,400, this is often the second largest purchase that most people make. What does the type of car you drive say about you? Spend some time carefully deciding what to drive, how often to replace your vehicle and whether to lease or buy. Number 7 is a costly choice, but it is a gamble that can bring the ultimate return on investment. You’ll want to listen in to hear how to bring about the best return on this important family investment.

How and why you borrow money is always an important financial decision

How much and how you borrow money over your lifetime will have a lasting effect on your ability to create wealth. How you get a loan, how much can you afford, and what the overall cost of the loan are all critical factors when borrowing money. You’ll also want to be able to decipher between what is good and bad debt? How much debt to take on is an important factor when trying to build wealth over a lifetime. Everyone has a different opinion about debt, listen to this episode to hear ours and to learn how debt can affect your financial stability.

Have you considered all the factors when thinking of purchasing a home?

Buying a home is laden with emotional influences that can hijack your rational decision making. When you buy a home, you’re not just purchasing a house so what are all the factors you should consider? What part of the country you live in can drastically affect how much you may spend on a home. Even further, choosing a neighborhood will have a larger impact than you may initially think. Choosing some neighborhoods could leave you feeling he pressure to keep up with the Jones. This is where it’s important to remember that the less house you buy, the more disposable income you will have to spend on your hobbies, your family, and your savings. Listen to this episode to hear all the considerations that you need to think about when purchasing a home.

How do you save your money?

The fourth item in our top eight ranking is how you choose to save your money. Many of today’s headlines are ripe with reasons to not invest in stocks, nine years in to a bull market. But investing in stocks is an important way to build wealth over a lifetime. Having a diversified portfolio increases the cumulative returns that you will see over time.  So why do so many struggle to maintain an appropriate allocation to stocks? Many understand that investing early in your life can more than double your investment returns over a lifetime.  But our emotions often have different plans when tough times surface. Listen to this episode to hear how important stock returns are to your wealth accumulation. I’m sure you’re wondering what our top 3 picks are, but you’ll have to listen in to find out!

Outline of This Episode

  • [0:27] It’s March Madness! Here are our top 8 financial life decisions
  • [3:39] What kind of car you drive
  • [6:26] How many children will you have?
  • [8:38] How much and how you borrow money over your lifetime
  • [12:07] The home purchase
  • [15:26] The average allocation to stocks that you have
  • [20:48] Having a compatible spouse
  • [24:00] Your savings rate
  • [27:47] Your human capital

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect With Chad and Mike

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Apple Podcasts <> Stitcher <> Google Play

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