03/15/2019
Top 50 Tax/Life Lessons
1. If you are making money, you have to pay taxes. Period. There is no magic formula to not paying taxes when you make money
2. If something is too good to be true. It is. Trust me.
3. NEVER take tax advice from someone not signing your tax return.
4. All of your Facebook friends aren’t real friends. Give your real friends a call sometime. Grab a beer. Go golfing. Join a book club. Do something in person.
5. Visit your grandma. I know you are busy. Just do it
6. If someone is trying to sell you a business, always ask for three years tax returns. No excuses, no “wink wink, I actually make more than what is reported on my tax return”. The business price is based on tax return profits. Period
7. If your financial life is keeping you awake at night, talk to a professional. There is help available. Doesn’t matter if it is a CPA, a financial planner or a therapist. They have seen it all.
8. Tax savings articles are more about advertising than saving you money. Sometimes they only tell you half the story
9. If something doesn’t make sense, ask for clarification. If it still doesn’t make sense. Keep asking until it does. People make mistakes trying not to be “perceived” as dumb.
10. If you hate your job or your business, do something different, life it too damn short.
11. Trust but verify
12. Never let anyone sign checks for your business that you don’t review. Every. Single. One.
13. Always review your bank statement and credit card statements personally.
14. Log in and check your bank accounts every day
15. Have a will, health care directive, and a plan for your kids if something happens to you. If you don’t, start the process today.
16. Build a relationship with a good banker before you need money. Find out what THEY are looking for in their clients and be that client.
17. Get a good attorney that you can call after 9PM
18. If you get rejected, that is OK. You won’t die. Being rejected means you are taking action.
19. When overwhelmed, simplify
20. Have too much life insurance. You are dead, so it won’t matter to you, but your family will thank you.
21. Sign up for your 401k and put in 5%. Every year move it up until you are maxing it out. Open a ROTH IRA account, start with $100 per month, keep increasing until you max out the account every year. Keep doing that for as long as you are working.
22. Hire your child in your business. Pay them for real work. Fund a ROTH IRA for them every year. Rinse and repeat. They will thank you some day or be able to afford your nursing home bills.
23. There is a difference between contingency planning and obsessing about things that most likely will never happen. Learn to step back and tell the difference.
24. Being fired, whether from a job or by a client isn’t always a bad thing.
25. Quit saying you are too busy. Do something about it.
26. If someone asks if you are taking new clients, say yes. Even if you are “too busy”
27. Be careful about price shoppers. You won’t be able to consistently make them happy. Let someone else try.
28. If your stomach hurts when the phone rings, you probably should not have that person, client, etc. in your life anymore.
29. Comparing yourself to others is wasted energy. There are lots of people with a Big Hat and No Cattle running around.
30. Waste your money on books and read them. Lots of them.
31. If your kid ever asks you for a book. Buy it. Period.
32. The lives you see people lead on social media are not real. They have the same problems we all do. No one is perfect.
33. Make your estimated tax payments
34. Create a budget for your life.
35. Take lots of vacations. They don’t have to be expensive. You will wish you took more someday.
36. You know that band you have always wanted to see that is coming to town? Buy tickets. Today. If you don’t someday you will regret it.
37. Go to your high school reunions even if you hated high school.
38. I would not buy anything being sold by someone knocking on my door at home. Unless it is boy scout popcorn or girl scout cookies.
39. If you are stressed, go for a walk. Work out. Hug your dog.
40. Pets are not tax deductible. Regardless of that, they are amazing and I would recommend all of my clients have a pet.
41. Don’t always get the cheapest thing. Splurge every once in a while.
42. Take a break from watching the news. It is designed to make you anxious so you keep watching.
43. Reality TV IS NOT REAL.
44. Make sure you have good disability insurance. You are more likely to be disabled than die.
45. Save for your own retirement before you fund your kids’ college education (or private school for that matter). You can always help them pay off their student loans. They have the rest of their lives to work, you don’t.
46. When people talk, listen to them, don’t just wait for your turn to talk.
47. If you failed, if your business crashed and burned, if your personal life fell apart, you need to learn from the experience and forgive yourself. If you can’t figure out how to, find someone that can help.
48. If you are running your business and pay yourself less than you can make working for someone else, stop. Either figure out a way to make your business more profitable or work for someone else. You will be happier in the long run.
49. NEVER fund a business using credit cards. Ever.
50. If your employer won’t pay for your training pay for it yourself. Your next employer will pay for it and appreciate how well trained you are.
51. Invest in your personal development and education every year. Just because you graduated from high school, college, etc. does not mean your education is over.
52. Get a good personal physician. Around your age (If you are over 45). See them at least once per year. Having their cell phone number for an occasional text is ideal.
