Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Always put a Zero on your W-4!!!

So it's tax time and this is always my favorite time to look into the eyes of people that are either extremely happy or extremely sad. Those that are getting a refund are the happy ones and those that have to pay are the sad ones.

I know what the theory says you want to get a zero dollar refund because that means you had your money the whole year. This means you could have invested it and made interest throughout the year. I'm an soon to be CPA I know all this stuff.

The problem is that nobody actually invest those few extra dollars they get through the year. Do you know what happens when I get $30 extra dollars in a week. I spend it on fast food and stupid stuff. I know you might think, I wouldn't do that, but most people do, so don't fool yourself. If you actually do invest $30 per week, you will end up spending all your money on transaction fees.

Now if I give you $1500 dollars that you might actually do something good with that. Pay a little extra on your car payment, pay some more student loans, or maybe actually invest it.

My approach to finances, is to know yourself, and know the theory then make a commitment you can actually stick with. I need the forced savings of the IRS to help me make good decisions.

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