Good Financial Reads: Taxes & More

Following along with the blogs of financial advisors is a great way to access valuable, educational information about finance — and it doesn’t cost you a thing! Our financial planners love to share their knowledge and help everyone regardless of age or assets.

Catch up on the latest posts with this week's roundup:

Do Your Taxes Make You Feel Bad?

by Meg Bartelt, Flow Financial Planning, LLC

"I’m doing my taxes now, and I am just so DONE. I don’t know if I’m doing them right or leaving money on the table. It just makes me realize that I don’t understand my finances as well as I want to."

Sound familiar? Have you heard that same little voice inside your head? I’ve certainly heard it from several people who have reached out to me lately.

Especially if you’re in the tech industry, you probably have several ways that you can make your tax experience much more…not horrible, what with your 401(k)s, high tax brackets, and tendency to have company stock.

Tax returns are a wonderful view into a person’s life. (I say this as an avowed finance nerd.) They tell me not just the obvious things like how much money you make, but also if you sold a bunch of company stock, if you have kids, if you’re saving for retirement, if you have a rental property. It won’t tell me your favorite food or the last book you read, but when it comes to things that affect your financial life, it’s the Holy Grail.

Is it really any surprise, then, that doing your taxes is stressful, confusing, and overwhelming? To do your taxes, you have to delve into almost every part of your financial life. And let’s review who enjoys getting knee-deep into the muck of their own financial life….uhhh, that’d be nobody.

[Read the Full Article]

It's Tax Season: What You Should do to Prepare

by Ben Wacek, Wacek Financial Planning, LLC

It’s tax season in America. By April 18^th, this year’s tax filing deadline, some 250 million individuals and households will have filed their tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

There are two main steps that you’ll need to take to have your federal and state tax return filed by the deadline.  The first is to gather and organize all the necessary tax documents in one place. The second is to complete and file your tax return.  For the second step, you’ll need to decide if you will complete the return on your own, or if you will hire a tax professional to do it for you.

[Read the Full Article]

Get Financially Organized! Where Do I Even Start?

by Paul Sydlansky, Lake Road Advisors

To get what you want out of life, you need to set some goals. But that can be hard to do when you're not sure where all your money goes or how much you even have. Getting financially organized can bring clarity to your money situation so you can develop achievable goals that make sense for your life.

But where do you start? From good old pencil and paper to cloud-based platforms that keep track of all your accounts, there's no shortage of options for anyone who wants to get his or her financial house in order. The good news is that you don't have to spend a penny to start organizing.

That's because what it all comes down to is whether you understand two simple reports and you don’t need to be an accountant to understand them either!. Once you have these under your belt, you'll be better prepared to leverage whatever financial tools you like. Soon you'll be on your way to setting realistic goals, pursuing them, and eventually reaching them.

[Read the Full Article]