by Daniel Kittell | Accounting News, Budget, Financial goals, News
The beginning of a new year has long been associated with starting from a blank slate and setting new goals for the year ahead. While 2020 taught us that plans and goals can quickly veer off course through no fault of our own, maybe 2021 can teach us the value of planning anyway—even in the face of the unknown. The financial tasks set forth below will help you pay down debts, save money, and better prepare you for whatever 2021 has in store.
File Your Tax Return ASAP
Not only does filing early help stave off refund-hungry thieves, but, generally, the sooner you file the sooner you get your refund. If you’re planning on owing the IRS, it’s better to know early and make arrangements for payment.
Given the unemployment plunge of 2020, keep in mind that unemployment checks are typically taxable, so if you received extended jobless benefits, be prepared to face a potentially greater-than-expected tax bill.
Check Your Withholding
You can use an online income tax calculator to estimate how much you’ll owe in federal taxes. Use your prepared 2020 tax return and your first pay stub from 2021 to check that you’re on track with tax withholding. If not, the calculator can help work out adjustments to your paycheck, and you can contact your employer if you need to make changes.
If you’re a business owner, you may need to make estimated quarterly payments. Tax professionals can help you work out amounts and details.
Get Organized
There’s no time like the present to organize your financial life. All those paper receipts and statements scattered on desktops or tossed into random drawers? Corral them into labeled file folders, baskets, or envelopes. If you want to shed the paper clutter all together, go digital with an accounting software like QuickBooks. A digital snapshot of your finances will help you gain a better grasp for where you are financially before setting new goals.
Commit to Saving in a Realistic Way
Instead of just thinking about saving, commit to establishing a habit of saving by striving for a concrete goal. Set the amount and time frame for your goal, then come up with actionable steps on how you’re going to reach it. For instance, set up an automatic draft from checking into savings, take on a side hustle, and/or comb through your budget to see where extra funds could be found. In order to set yourself up for success from the get-go, be sure to be realistic. A goal of $100,000 in five years might be realistic for some people, while beginning with a goal to save $50 a month will be more on par for others.
Create a Budget
First, look back over bank and credit card statements from last year to help identify spending patterns and areas of improvement. Next, set a budget. Think of your budget as a roadmap of how you’ll save and spend your money, starting with essentials, such as mortgage, food, utilities, and healthcare; then move to recreation and savings. Keep in mind that your budget has movable parts, meaning life circumstances can change, even month to month.
Start an Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is exactly what it sounds like—funds set aside for an unexpected cost like car or home repairs. At the minimum you should aim for $1,000 to be put into an emergency fund, and try to work your way to saving three months’ worth of income.
Spend Your Medical FSA Early Rather than Later
If you have an employer-provided flexible spending account, spending it as early in the year has possible has a few advantages, including:
- Acquiring medical expenses early in the year can help you meet insurance deductibles, so the rest of your health care can cost less.
- If you leave your job at any point during the year, you can spend the full amount you had planned to contribute—up to $2,750—and aren’t required to finish making the full FSA contribution.
- You mitigate the risk of not using the full amount by the deadline and potentially losing money.
Consult a Financial Advisor
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be a millionaire to seek professional guidance from a financial advisor. Whether you’re looking for a one-time consultation or on-going advice, someone in the know can help set you on the path for long-term planning.
by Daniel Kittell | News, Tax, Tax Planning - Individual
Spring cleaning isn’t just for closets, windows, and garages. After tax season is a great time to take a look at your personal finances and spending habits, and make adjustments where needed.
Organize Spending Habits
Take stock of your spending routines and target changes you want to make. Always treat yourself to a latte on Fridays? Meet friends for dinner on Saturdays? How about using coupons or promo codes before the expiration date for FOMTS (Fear Of Missing The Sale)? When you take a keen eye to your spending habits, you’ll be able to spot target areas where your spending reflects nothing more than routine. Now is the time to change up that routine to better reflect your financial goals moving forward.
Polish Your Budget
If you have no budget to dust off, now is the time to create one. Come up with a plan for how you want to save and spend your money, and track your spending habits to help reach your financial goals. The key is to be consistent and stay on budget. Make sure you’re polishing—er, updating—your budget monthly or even weekly.
Catch Up on Late Payments by Turning Trash into Dollars
Are you behind on any payments? Now is the perfect time to slow down and work on a plan to pay things off. Tried-and-true methods for getting some quick cash to help jumpstart this plan is to host a garage sale, post unwanted items on your local Facebook Marketplace, or sell on eBay. A spending freeze—a temporary pause on purchasing anything but essentials—can also help with with saving funds for paying off old bills.
Pare Down Debt
Staying in debt is like trying to swim against the current: you might be moving your arms and kicking your feet but you’re not moving forward. Now is the time to draft a debt repayment plan: make a list of all your debts and rank them in the order you want to pay them off (some people rank from lowest to highest amount owed, while others rank from highest to lowest interest rate). Whichever way you choose, build your plan into your budget, focus on one debt at a time, stay diligent, and watch your debt diminish each month.
Clean out clutter
In most cases you only need to hold onto your tax returns documents for three years, but the IRS has up to six years to initiate an audit if you’ve neglected to report at least 25% of your income. For this reason, taxpayers who receive multiple 1099s from a variety of income sources might want to hold onto documents for at least six years as it can be easy to miss or overlook reporting some income. Keep documents for seven years if you filed a claim for worthless securities or a bad debt deduction.
Maintenance Cleaning: Plan for your Future
Now is the time to plan for your financial future by creating or updating a financial plan with clear goals set on a timeline. A certified CPA or financial planner can help you identify areas of improvement and keep you on track to meet your financial goals.
by Jean Miller | Accounting News, News, Resources, Tax, Tax Planning - Individual, Tax Preparation - Individual
Beginning in 2018, the new tax laws are officially implemented, which could spell a shift in take home pay for many workers. And, if your employer has begun using the new withholding tables, you could see a change in pay this month. The Congressional Budget Office has approximated that employers could withhold around $10-15 billion less from employees each month by utilizing the new withholding tables.
Many taxpayers may be wondering if they will actually see any of that $10-$15 billion on their regular paychecks? An increase in take-home pay will be based on the number of allowances you take, how often you are paid and if you file jointly or are a single filer. So, for the average single filer who makes between $46,000-$162,000 and is paid bi-weekly, your paycheck will likely increase between $40 and $190. For married filers who make between $61,000-$167,000, you could see a bi-weekly pay increase between $30 and $172.
However, there are other factors in play that could offset any pay increases taxpayers might see. While the federal tax cuts might increase take-home pay for the average workers, other changes in deductions might counteract a boost in pay. Although the federal tax rates changed, some state or local taxes may have increased for some workers. Many companies make health benefits or other benefit changes at the start of a new year as well, which would ultimately influence a worker’s final take-home amount.
Whether you see a pay increase or not, all employees should consider re-evaluating their withholding allowances. Why? Withholding tables are intended to provide a ballpark figure of how much tax should be taken from your pay, but this year’s estimation could be a bit looser than previous years.
The new tax laws change elements that affect how many allowances workers claim. For example, some personal exemptions have been eliminated, itemized deductions have been reduced and tax credits have been altered. The new withholding tables do incorporate the tax code changes, but taxpayers were not required to fill out a new W-4 form. Therefore, the number of allowances selected when your last W-4 was filed could be rather inaccurate now.
How do you know if your allowances need to be modified? Taxpayers can speak with a tax adviser to decide the correct withholding amounts. Another option is to use the new withholding calculator the IRS plans to release at the end of February, which is designed to help employees calculate if they are claiming too little or too much in light of the tax changes. If you do decide to change withholding amounts, you will need to submit new instructions to your employer.
by Amanda O'Brien | Accounting News, Bookkeeping, Tax Planning, Tax Planning - Individual, Technology
A new survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports for the Consumer Federation of America ? the COUNTRY Financial Security Index – shows a gap between what Americans think they’re spending and what’s happening in reality.
Only 9 percent of the 3,000 respondents of the survey said their lifestyle is more than they can afford, yet 21 percent say they spend more than they make at least a few months every year.
The survey suggests the so-called “perception gap” could shrink if more people used a household budget. Those who budget are more likely to set monthly savings goals (61 percent) than those who don’t (30 percent), COUNTRY Financial says.
Other tips:
Review your spending behavior. Take a look at where the money goes every month and make adjustments where needed, Brannan says.
Start a spending and savings plan. Put money in jars or envelopes or start a Christmas fund. When the money’s gone, stop spending. Some people are even stashing their extra cash under their mattress or in a bedframe outfitted with a safe. In fact, safe sales are up 40 percent from a few years ago, SmartMoney reported.
Rethink expenses. When Joe Mihalic earned an MBA from Harvard Business School that resulted in more than a $100,000 debt, he vowed to repay his debt quickly. He blogged about giving up dinner dates and movies, missing parties and weddings, ending 401(k) contributions, and staying home for Christmas. He stopped buying clothes, sold a second car and motorcycle, rented a spare bedroom, and started a side business. He told Fortune magazine, “A lot of people in this country – regardless of socioeconomic status – have an unhealthy obsession with things and experiences and statuses. We shop brands; we drop names. We try to keep up with the Joneses. We comfortably tolerate an unhealthy level of debt.”
Involve your children in your financial plan. Explain your goals for retirement savings and other things you value, Laura Scharr, principal of Ascend Financial Planning LLC in Columbia, South Carolina, told Fox Business. “Be honest and upfront with your children,” she said.
The COUNTRY Financial survey says budgeters and those who don’t budget do have one thing in common: They miss the mark on their savings goals. Of budgeters, 57 percent achieve their savings goals half the time or less, while the number is 54 percent for the non-budgeters.
How are Americans making ends meet when the budget runs out?
- 36 percent raid their savings accounts.
- 22 percent use credit cards.
- 14 percent adjust their spending next month.
Full Article: http://www.accountingweb.com/topic/cfo/survey-shows-americans-need-spend-less-save-more-set-budget
by Stephen Reed | Accounting News, CPA, IRS, Tax, Tax Planning, Tax Planning - Individual, Uncategorized
Most businesses these days are looking to cut spending. Accounting firms are in a unique position to not only help their small business clients trim the fat and manage their money, but to do the same for themselves.
Before any company can delve into strategic ways to save money, it must first set aside time to devote to money management. Even if a company is small, this step is crucial to a company’s success – no other advice is more important.
“You have to be focused enough to dedicate the necessary time weekly, if not more frequently,” said Robin Bell, CPA, member in Brown Smith Wallace (BSM) Tax Services group. “Bill frequently, collect often, and stay on top of billing and receivables. Pay attention to it.”
Set up a budget, then each month, compare the actual to the budget to see where improvements need to be made, suggests Patricia Schreiber, a New Orleans-based CPA.
And if you don’t have the time, delegate.
Look at what you need to have versus what you want to have when determining cash outflow, whether for your clients or your own firm. Once you have what you need, don’t pay more for it than is necessary to effectively operate your business.
“Segregation of duties: Learn it love it. Otherwise, stuff walks out the door,” says Chris Spivey, who has worked as a consultant to the accounting profession for several years.
If you’re an entrepreneur with tons of action items on your plate and collections isn’t your competency, refer it to someone else.
Bell’s longtime retail clients, who are used to bulk-buying seasonal products, have recently experienced difficulties managing their cash flow. Instead of stocking up on the “hot trends” for the season, Bell teaches its retail clients not to purchase more than they need. That way, they don’t have spend money to house products in a warehouse. However, when retail companies do this, they also must pay attention to what their customers might need in the near future. This ensures the retailers’ customers won’t have to wait too long if a product is out of stock.
According to Bell, some retail companies survey their clients to gauge what they’ll want to buy, or they beef up their marketing campaigns. This could put them at an advantage because most companies tend to trim their advertising and marketing dollars when times are tough. It’s not a matter of spending more, it’s just reallocating dollars to draw in more prospects, she said.
Do You Really Need That?
Look at what you need to have versus what you want to have when determining cash outflow, whether for your clients or your own firm, Bell said.
For example, look at telephone costs. If you’ve been using the same telephone provider for years, you might not think about changing vendors. But what about calling your provider to talk about your plan and whether it still makes sense given your current needs. You could also contact other providers to see what they offer.
Ask, “Do I have what I need, and am I paying for what I need versus paying more than what I need to operate my business,” Bell says.
Other potential areas to trim include:
Employee benefits. Can you save money without raising premiums if you have a group of employees who are healthy? “Especially in really small companies, it’s very easy to assess your pool and ask, ‘If I raise my deductible, how much can I save on my premium?’,” Bell said.
Mileage reimbursement. Encourage employees to travel less by visiting several clients on the same day who are based in the same area. Ask employees if they really need to fly nonstop or if they can fly on off hours or off days, Bell added.
While discussing money management is clearly a way to help your clients better manage their money, if they don’t ask you about it, how can you broach the subject?
BSW took a proactive approach by offering its clients a “health checkup,” which included a five-page questionnaire that asked some thought-provoking questions. It also provided BSW financial data that allowed the firm to see client trends and to learn what keeps business owners up at night, Bell said.
“Most clients were interested in seeing what we can do for them,” she said.
Clients want the help, so why not broach the subject?
Full Article: http://www.accountingweb.com/topic/accounting-auditing/money-management-possible-even-todays-economy
