1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt, 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:25,639 Speaker 1: and today we're discussing how to massively cut your tax bill. Joel, 3 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: what's not man? Hey, body, are you feeling healthy? It's 4 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: after the holidays now, when we're done being sick. Anybody 5 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: who's got young kids knows that sickness travels around constantly. 6 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: It feels like somebody in your family is always sick 7 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: and they're giving it to the next person. And you 8 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: have three young kids, and so you're bound to be 9 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: sick with three different things, probably at the same time. Really, 10 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: we just embrace it because there's no way that where 11 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:50,160 Speaker 1: you're just not going to catch whatever is going around, 12 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: And so what's the point in trying to sterilize everything 13 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: and live and fear instead of just trying to be 14 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: like a good parent and loving on them. So that's 15 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: our approach. Now. I used to be a German phobe. 16 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: No longer. You can't be a German totally. Oh, Matt, 17 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: I wanted to mention that in our Facebook group. By 18 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 1: the way, we have a Facebook group. If you guys 19 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: don't know about that, it's how to Money. Just search 20 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: that on Facebook and you'll find our Facebook group, and 21 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: it's great because people can interact with each other that 22 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: listen to the podcast and there's all sorts of awesome 23 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: information that that everyone is throwing out at each other. 24 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: And Sharisa actually had a question about refinancing her car loan, 25 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,400 Speaker 1: and I thought it was a great question. Ultimately, it 26 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: turned out that she needed to do a little more shopping, 27 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: I think, to try to find a lower rate. And 28 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: usually the best rates for a car loan refinance are 29 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: going to be at your local credit union. You know, 30 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: you and I we've talked about credit unions, how great 31 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: they are, and how sometimes their their loans, the loans 32 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: that they write are are written at at the best 33 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: interest rate possible, and the customer services usually pretty solid. 34 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: So we recommended that to her, and that led me 35 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:55,279 Speaker 1: on a wild goose chase to kind of look at 36 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: what was going on with our credit union right now, 37 00:01:57,920 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: the credit union that you and I are both members 38 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: of locally, and they're running a promotional rate of a 39 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: fifteen year mortgage for three Yeah. That is pretty much 40 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: the best rate that I've seen in the past two 41 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: years or so. Yeah, So they have a normal rate 42 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 1: of four percent, and they said, you know, what for 43 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: the next month and a half, we're opening up this 44 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,799 Speaker 1: promotional rate of a full point lower. That's insane, which 45 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: is incredible. So I believe I called you immediately. Yeah, 46 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,959 Speaker 1: you called me and you said, dude, I've got big news. 47 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: And I didn't know what had happened. Maybe when the lottery, 48 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: because you play that every single day. I just, yeah, 49 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: that's where all your money goes. Uh, And you said, 50 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 1: our credit union is offering an awesome rate three percent 51 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,079 Speaker 1: fifteen year fixed. I'm not gonna lie. I was a 52 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: little disappointed us. I thought something maybe a little bit 53 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: cooler hit happened, but for nerds enough to where that 54 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: did get us excited. We both have mortgages through that 55 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: credit union. They keep the costs low, and that's just 56 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: what's so awesome about a credit union. They're able to 57 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: keep the cost load. They're not spending all this money 58 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: on advertising. I doubt anybody knows about that rate unless 59 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: they've been to the website and just saw it on 60 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: their website, right, Like, they don't advertise, they're not blitzing 61 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: it on TV. Yeah, yeah, exactly. But in the end, 62 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: they're able to pass that savings onto us as owners 63 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,400 Speaker 1: of the credit union, right like we are part owners 64 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: and yeah, you do you think you're gonna try to 65 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: take advantage of that? Oh yeah, oh yeah, I definitely. 66 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: I feel up the application today. I'm ready to make 67 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: it happen, so I know, so I love it. That's awesome. 68 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: Just definitely, word to the wise, check your local credit union. 69 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: You know, if I had just gone to bank Rate, 70 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: even which I think is a great site for rate shopping, 71 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: if you're looking to especially refinance a mortgage, this rate 72 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: wouldn't have shown up because it's a hyperlocal offering. And 73 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: so check out your local credit union, especially for mortgage 74 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: refinances and for car loans, car loan refinances, that's just 75 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: the best place to go. They have amazing rates, amazing 76 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: customer service. So yeah, just make sure you check out 77 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: a local credit union. All right, Joe, quick game for you, 78 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: the play some frugal or cheap You're ready? Why not? So, 79 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: it's been about five years since I've been to the 80 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: dentist Frugal or cheap that uh, that certainly borders cheap 81 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: right there, So I think you should get in there 82 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: and get it checked up. Five years a long time. 83 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: It is a long time, but here's the reason why 84 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: I feel like it's being frugal, and it's because I'd 85 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: never get cavities my entire life. I've gotten maybe I 86 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,039 Speaker 1: don't know, like two cavities seriously my entire life, but 87 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: you probably have six right now and you just don't 88 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: know about it. No. No No, when I start to feel them, 89 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: I just brushed them out right. Yeah, did you know? 90 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: That's the thing? No. I mean, maybe it's not really, 91 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: but but no, it's the truth. I I really don't 92 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: get cavities. The last time I went to the dnist 93 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: was about five years ago, and before that it was 94 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: maybe seven years and five years ago when I went. 95 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 1: The whole time I was sitting there, I thought, man, 96 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: this is a huge waste of time and a waste 97 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: of money. I had sort of gotten guilted into going 98 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: by a dentist friend. They they were just explaining to me, how, no, 99 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 1: you you have to go to the dentist, and so 100 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: I thought, Okay, they know what they're talking about. But 101 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 1: in the end, it was good to know that I 102 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: didn't have any sort of mouth diseases, but I also 103 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,039 Speaker 1: don't have any cavities, and so basically it was just 104 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: an expensive cleaning. Oh. I will say though, when I'm 105 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: sitting there and getting worked on in my mouth and 106 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 1: they're kind of scratching and doing different stuff, I like that. 107 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: What do you think about that? Nobody nobody likes. Nobody 108 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: likes going to the dentist, But for whatever reason, when 109 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:17,840 Speaker 1: I'm sitting there, I'm just able to relax and it's 110 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: kind of like getting a massage, but not quite as nice. 111 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: How could you even say that? How could you equate 112 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,159 Speaker 1: that too? Yeah? I don't know. Maybe I'd like enjoy 113 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: surgery as well if I was just laying there and 114 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,839 Speaker 1: someone's got their scalpels inside of me. Volunteered to the 115 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,720 Speaker 1: local medical college to be a cadaver so they can 116 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 1: they can like mess around with your insides. Yeah. Man, 117 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:39,239 Speaker 1: So in the end, when you go to a dentist, 118 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: what do they tell you? They say, pressure teeth and 119 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: floss and that stuff that you can do at home. 120 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: And so I'm going to stick to my guns and 121 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: say that the fact that I haven't been to the 122 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: dentist in five years, I'm being frugal as long as 123 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 1: it doesn't end up costing me more money down the road. 124 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:57,280 Speaker 1: And I'm not putting this burden on anybody else around me, 125 00:05:57,480 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 1: you know, all the things that we talked about in 126 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: our frugal Versus Cheap episode. All right, So, speaking of teeth, 127 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: Selma my daughter, my oldest in kindergarten, she just lost 128 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:07,919 Speaker 1: her first tooth. She was super pumped about it, and 129 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: she's got another one that's like ready to come out too. 130 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 1: And so this is the first time that we had 131 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: to be the tooth fairy, right and to determine how 132 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: much money Selma gets for losing a tooth. And she 133 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: had specifically requested chocolate too, so just assuming that maybe 134 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 1: the tooth Fairy might bring that, So we gave her 135 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: a dollar four quarters in particular with her she's kissed, 136 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: And I think that's a pretty fair tooth fairy amount 137 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: to give for a kindergartener. What do you think a dollar? 138 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:37,160 Speaker 1: I have a feeling that most folks these say they're 139 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: paying a little more than that. Probably I'm with you, though, 140 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:42,159 Speaker 1: because it doesn't really matter to them at this age. 141 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: And what what someone likes in particular is having multiple 142 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: different pieces of money. So it's it's about more about ut. 143 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,160 Speaker 1: If I gave her a twenty dollar bill, she wouldn't 144 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,039 Speaker 1: have thought it was nearly as cool as four quarters. 145 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:57,480 Speaker 1: So at the same time, I got her a new 146 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: piggy bank for Christinas And this is has like a 147 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: little digital reader on top, so every time you drop 148 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: the money and it counts and it tells you how 149 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:07,919 Speaker 1: much you have in there. Nice and so I'm just 150 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: really excited too that I think that will help her 151 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: maybe understand saving money a little bit more. She's only five, 152 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: but I think this is a good way for her 153 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: to kind of understand all right, I'm putting it in here, 154 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: I'm watching it grow, and that's just kind of like 155 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: one of the tactics that I'm gonna use with teaching 156 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: her how to think about money, and by watching that 157 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: kind of amount grow over time and she stocks it 158 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: away for the future in this piggy bank. I'm excited 159 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: about that, and I think it was just like a 160 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: perfect present for for a five year old for Christmas. Dude, 161 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: that's awesome. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm really excited about 162 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: teaching our girls about money. I feel like we jumped 163 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: the gun a little bit last year, or even may 164 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: have been two years ago. We got our oldest who 165 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: was not five, She wasn't four, she may have been 166 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: three and a half. But we got her the financial 167 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: piece junior kit or set up that's like the Dave 168 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: Ramsey thing, right, and man, I think it totally went 169 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: over her head. She was interested for a little bit, 170 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: but for the most part just kind of something she 171 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:03,679 Speaker 1: just didn't really get into yet. And so we are 172 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: getting closer to them being six years old this year, 173 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 1: and yeah, it's going to be an awesome year to 174 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: start cementing some of those principles saving, working hard for 175 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: your money, just all the things that we want to 176 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: be able to teach our children when it comes to finances. Yeah. 177 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: Well you got her a calculus book too at the 178 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: same time, and that was just overkill for sure. I Mean, 179 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: I don't know what you're expecting out of her, but 180 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: you you've you've high, lofty goals set up for your 181 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: for your kids. Yeah. Man, I'm half Asian, so of 182 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: course I do. She's gonna be a doctor, alright, Joel. 183 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:35,560 Speaker 1: And every week on the show we enjoy a craft 184 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: beer because man, that is one of the things we 185 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: love to do is drink craft beer and lots of it. Alright, 186 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:45,679 Speaker 1: not too much, but yeah, the amount just the right 187 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,559 Speaker 1: amount um and I am so pumped that we have 188 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: some beer from Southern Swells Brewing Company. This is a 189 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,240 Speaker 1: brewery that you and I discovered randomly while we were 190 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: down at the beach down in Jacksonville, Florida. I remember 191 00:08:58,440 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: the moment we were driving in the car. We were 192 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: hitting in the grocery store to pick some stuff up, 193 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:04,679 Speaker 1: some provisions for the family, right, and we were just 194 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: googling to see what brewers were in the area, and 195 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: we found like three and then just showed up on 196 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: top though, well then we know, and then we looked 197 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: on on tap to kind of see to verify how 198 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: good are the beers these each of these brewers are making. 199 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: And it turned out Southern Swells beers, right, we're getting 200 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: great rating. Yeah, you're driving and I remember telling you, 201 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: oh dude, oh these are all great. We need to 202 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: go there right now. And we're supposed to get to 203 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: Publix to pick up some groceries for the beach, and 204 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: instead we did a little detour in Southern Wells were 205 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: drinking is a pleasure. Its swung into there and it 206 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: was really sweet of Kate the Coat, one of the 207 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:41,719 Speaker 1: co owners of Southern Swells, to to send us a 208 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,839 Speaker 1: little gift basket of Southern s Wells beers. Honestly, they're 209 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 1: making some of the best I pas in the Southeast. 210 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: They're so good. Yeah, they're so good, mind blowingly good. 211 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: And so we had one of those beers on our 212 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 1: show with our wives that we recorded at the beach. 213 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:59,080 Speaker 1: We are excited to be drinking today karate in the garage. Alright, buddy, 214 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,559 Speaker 1: take a seven. Give me a one word description of 215 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 1: your take on this beer. Oh man, dude, just as 216 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: good as I remember it last summer. I love how 217 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 1: a beer can kind of take you back to a 218 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: time in a place. Yeah, I love that. I love that. Okay, 219 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 1: my one word is going to be hazy. How about you, man, 220 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,320 Speaker 1: you got a word for me? Yep? Alright, my one 221 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: word is going to be bomb. So yeah, we'll explain 222 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: the reason we chose those words at the end of 223 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,319 Speaker 1: the show. But for now, Matt, let's get into the 224 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 1: subject in hand, because we've got a lot to cover. 225 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: The topic that we wanted to talk about today is 226 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 1: how to massively cut your tax bill. So yeah, this 227 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:36,199 Speaker 1: whole episode is going to be about lowering your adjusted 228 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: gross income because that is the biggest lever you can 229 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: pull in lowering your tax bill, And specifically, with the 230 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,680 Speaker 1: new tax law being in full effect, it changes a 231 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:48,719 Speaker 1: few of the basic ways that we think about how 232 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: we optimize our taxes. Just the way an individual conceptualizes 233 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: how they file taxes has completely changed based on the 234 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,319 Speaker 1: new way that the standard deduction is set, and estimates 235 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: now say that only ten percent of foakes are going 236 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 1: to itemize their deductions compared to under the previous way 237 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 1: that tax code was written. Hey, Jel, that's right. We 238 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,280 Speaker 1: have a higher standard deduction and we're gonna actually get 239 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: into that more on our next episode next week, and 240 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 1: we're actually gonna dive more into the specifics of that 241 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 1: standard deduction versus itemized deductions. Wait, are you telling me 242 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: to tax episodes back to back? I mean, if you're lucky, 243 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 1: we can make it like six or seven episodes back 244 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: to back. I'd be really really amazing. Right, let's captive too, 245 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:35,840 Speaker 1: I think we would see our listenership drop tremendously. But yeah, So, 246 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 1: regardless though of whether you take the standard deduction or 247 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 1: if you automize your deductions, there is another way to 248 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 1: reduce your tax bill, which is what you already said 249 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: by reducing your adjusted gross income, and this is by 250 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 1: taking advantage of above the line deductions. Technically they're not 251 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 1: actually deductions, but adjustments that you can make to arrive 252 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,599 Speaker 1: at your adjusted gross income. And reducing your a g 253 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,199 Speaker 1: I is important because the I r S you is 254 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: it as a threshold for assessing if you qualify to 255 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: take other tax credits and itemize deductions or you know, 256 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 1: the below the line deductions. So typically the lower your 257 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: a g I your adjusted gross income, the better, but 258 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: that's not always the case though, right, So yeah, of 259 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: course having a lower adjusted gross income is going to 260 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: be better for your taxes right now, Right, the lower 261 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: of an income that you're reporting to the I r 262 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: S means that you are going to pay less than taxes. 263 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: That's just common sense. Yeah. Plus you get the benefits 264 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 1: right to be able to qualify for college financial aid, 265 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:36,839 Speaker 1: You get subsidies through the a c A to help 266 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:39,720 Speaker 1: pay for healthcare. There's a lot of benefits. Yeah, yeah, 267 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: other benefits potentially of having a lower a g I 268 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:44,319 Speaker 1: not just paying less in taxes, right, but the ones 269 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 1: you mentioned. But then in addition, there are tax credits 270 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: that exist that are only available to lower income individuals, right, 271 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: And I kind of put that in air quotes while 272 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:54,959 Speaker 1: I said it. That's because it's all based on your 273 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,559 Speaker 1: a g I, not your total income, but on your 274 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: adjusted gross income that you report for since, like the 275 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,080 Speaker 1: Savers credit, if you make under a certain amount, the 276 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,079 Speaker 1: government will in fact subsidize how much you contribute to 277 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: retirement accounts. I think that's amazing. Well, yeah, we'll talk 278 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: a lot more about that next week. Right, credit the 279 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,200 Speaker 1: main focus of next week's episode. But I did want 280 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: to throw one caveat because this whole episode is about 281 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: lowering your a g I and there's a lot of 282 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: benefit in doing so, but you also have to factor 283 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 1: in your overall multi year tax plan. Right. For instance, Matt, 284 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: you and I we talked about investing in a roth 285 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: Ira over a traditional I array, and investing in a 286 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:35,719 Speaker 1: traditional ira will lower your tax bill for this year, right, 287 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,080 Speaker 1: But investing in a roth Ira will not. You're investing 288 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: post tax income when you invest in a wrath. So 289 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: I would say the one caveat. As you're thinking through 290 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 1: this and looking to potentially lower your a g I 291 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: lower your current tax bill, you want to think about 292 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: it holistically about how your tax bill might look in 293 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: years to come, and it might make more sense for 294 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: you to contribute to a roth ira as opposed to 295 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,840 Speaker 1: a traditional ira. Even though your age I will look 296 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,440 Speaker 1: higher this year, it's because you're looking long term. I'll 297 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: never pay taxes on that roth Ira money ever again, 298 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:09,679 Speaker 1: which is pretty sweet. That's a sweet deal. Yeah, exactly. 299 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,080 Speaker 1: I personally love the rath me too. I think La 300 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: roth has a lot of benefits. At some point, Matt, 301 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: we should do an entire episode on how amazing the 302 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 1: roth Ira is. Oh and Joel. Another example is if 303 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: you get your adjusted gross income down too much, it 304 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: can hurt you when it comes to getting alone. This 305 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:27,760 Speaker 1: is something I want to share because this is what 306 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 1: Kate and I dealt with personally. We had recently started 307 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: our business. This is about ten years ago. The housing 308 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 1: market had just crashed and we didn't have much income 309 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: to show because we did our taxes and like most people, 310 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 1: we tried to get our taxes as low as possible. 311 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: And dude, I tell you what, it was so freaking 312 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: hard to get alone for anything, not like a high 313 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: fancy loan for for some expensive house. It just made 314 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: it incredibly difficult. And that was one instance, when I 315 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: thought it would be nice if adjusted gross income was higher, 316 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: if we were paying more in taxes. But man, the 317 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 1: fact is, most banks these days are willing to lend 318 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: you way more than you really should be taking on, 319 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 1: so it really shouldn't be a problem. However, keep that 320 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,320 Speaker 1: in mind if you are looking to apply for a 321 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: big loan, if you're looking to buy a house sometime soon, 322 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: that they're gonna look at your adjusted gross income. And 323 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:21,360 Speaker 1: that is the only sort of caveat we have to 324 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: share when it comes to getting that taxable income down. Yeah, 325 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: and I think it's important to Matt for us to 326 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 1: let people know we're not tax professionals. This is the 327 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 1: beginning of the year. We want you to start thinking 328 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: about taxes. And you know, Matt and I definitely have 329 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: some experience, me as a W two employee for my 330 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: whole life essentially, and you as small business owner. But 331 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 1: for most of us, taxes are one of our biggest 332 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: annual expenses, and it's probably legitimately your biggest, the biggest 333 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: line item of what you pay out every year. It 334 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: probably rivals your mortgage right for for how much outgoing 335 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: you have every year, um. And so while you're getting 336 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: ready to file taxes. We will also want you to 337 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 1: start thinking about your twenty nineteen tax bill, like right now. 338 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: We don't want you to wait, because there's only so 339 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: much you can do after you get past a certain 340 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: point in the year. Right, we want you to start 341 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: thinking about twenty nineteen taxes in January so you can 342 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: optimize them in the best way that's gonna fit your scenario. 343 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:17,160 Speaker 1: And the other thing we're gonna mention as well is 344 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 1: to uh, don't lie or misrepresent right what you earn, 345 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: what you're spending, or what you're spending towards. You really 346 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: need to be honest because obviously, not only is that 347 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: the right thing that you need to do, but there's 348 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 1: a chance you'll get audited as well. And I mean 349 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: i rs IS really gonna stick it to you if 350 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: they find out that you've committed tax fraud. Have you 351 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: ever heard of Wesley Snipes? You don't wanna end up 352 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 1: like Wesley Snipes, That's all I'm saying. Let that be 353 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: a poster child for you kids, boys and girls. Yeah, 354 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: so we'll get into the specifics about the above line 355 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 1: deductions you need to be thinking about, you know, right now, 356 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 1: throughout the year to potentially reduce your taxable income lower 357 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: that a g I so that you're not paying more 358 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: in taxes than you need to be. We'll get to 359 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 1: that right after this break. All right, Joel, let's go 360 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: ahead and talk now about some of these above the 361 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,680 Speaker 1: line deductions. I feel like I hear Johnny Cash singing 362 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 1: above the line, above the line. Yeah, I lost my 363 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,919 Speaker 1: train of thought. We're doing this to reduce your taxable income. Right? 364 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 1: Did we talk about why it's called about the line deductions? 365 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:28,160 Speaker 1: Give us a ske Did you know the reason for this? Yeah? 366 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: So on the old ten forties, right, the full one pager, 367 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: which is the tax form you fill out right exactly 368 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:34,919 Speaker 1: every year in terms of the I R S so 369 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 1: that they can tell you that they need your money. 370 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: At the bottom of the page, right the bottom line 371 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,119 Speaker 1: is your adjusted gross income and everything that the section 372 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 1: right above that are the adjustments, and these essentially are 373 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 1: the adjustments we're talking about today. These are the adjustments 374 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 1: that you can fill in to lower your adjusted gross income. 375 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: And these are not considered actual deductions, so you don't 376 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:58,400 Speaker 1: have to itemize your deductions in order to get these adjustments. 377 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 1: Like we mentioned earlier. Uh, you can take the standard 378 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: deduction and still have these adjustments to lower your adjusted 379 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,360 Speaker 1: gross income. But essentially they're all above the line. They're 380 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,239 Speaker 1: above that adjusted gross income line, and that's why they 381 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 1: call them above the line deductions. Pretty cool, Huh, makes 382 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,720 Speaker 1: complete sense, So, Matt, Yeah, the first way to reduce 383 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:19,719 Speaker 1: that tax bile income is putting more money into your 384 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: retirement accounts, right, reducing your tax bill income by contributing 385 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 1: to your four O one K for this year. There's 386 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: a nineteen thousand dollar limit, and I realize that that's, 387 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,919 Speaker 1: you know, a hard limit for most average Americans to reach, right, 388 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:33,840 Speaker 1: most of us can't max out of our oh one k. 389 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: But that's a healthy goal. And it's just nice to 390 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,399 Speaker 1: know too that that even if you bump up what 391 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: you're putting into your four O one K by a 392 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: few percentage points automatically, at the same time, not only 393 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: are you saving more for your future, you're also reducing 394 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: your income level for this next year's taxes and and 395 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: and so you're paying less in tax while you're saving 396 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:54,879 Speaker 1: for the future. Man, Yeah, while you're building wealth for yourself. 397 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 1: It's amazing. Yeah, by far, saving towards retirement is the 398 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 1: best way that you can lower your justic gross income. 399 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:02,679 Speaker 1: But you're also winning on the back side of it 400 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:04,680 Speaker 1: because you're saving for yourself, Like it's not like you're 401 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: saving this for something else. You're winning on both ends 402 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 1: of it, which is yeah, just amazing. And if you're 403 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,000 Speaker 1: like Matt, you don't have access to a four own k, well, 404 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about other options too, because the four 405 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: own case the traditional retirement vehicle available to most W 406 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:19,400 Speaker 1: two workers like myself, but there are many, many other 407 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,919 Speaker 1: similar retirement accounts that are available to self employed folks, 408 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:26,320 Speaker 1: and Matt, what we're gonna talk about next is available 409 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: to everybody, no matter whether you are self employed or 410 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: employed by a giant mega company. Ye Man, And that's 411 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,720 Speaker 1: the traditional IRA, Like you mentioned, it's available to those 412 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,520 Speaker 1: who are employed and on a W two, but they're 413 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,520 Speaker 1: also great for those who are self employed. And for 414 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: that there's that six thousand dollar limit, right, and that 415 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,359 Speaker 1: reduces your adjusted gross income by the same amount that 416 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,440 Speaker 1: you contribute. And so if you're trying to get your 417 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: adjusted gross income down again, Man, saving towards retirement is 418 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: a huge win. And something else to keep in mind 419 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:59,640 Speaker 1: is that you can contribute to last year's contributions your 420 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:03,640 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen retirement accounts up until April of this year, 421 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:05,919 Speaker 1: up until April of nineteen. You just have to do 422 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,479 Speaker 1: it before you file your taxes, exactly exactly. So if 423 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:10,200 Speaker 1: you hadn't totally maxed that out yet and you want 424 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: to sneak a few more dollars in there, well you're 425 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 1: not really sneaking it. It's totally allowed. Well. And also, 426 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:17,680 Speaker 1: I think it's important Matt to quickly mention that these 427 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: are really big numbers that we're talking about, and I 428 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,200 Speaker 1: just want people that are maybe feeling a bit overwhelmed 429 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 1: or thinking, who can actually contribute nineteen thousand dollars there 430 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: for one K and then in additional six thousand to 431 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: their I RA What magical fairyland are Matt and Joel 432 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 1: living in? Well? I want to say that there are 433 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: lots of folks who are incredibly intentional about lowering their 434 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: living costs and living a frugal life that are able 435 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: to maybe not maximount some can, but are able to 436 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: put a lot more money than the average American typically 437 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 1: does into their retirement accounts, and it has this benefit 438 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: right of lowering their their tax burden every year as well. 439 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,080 Speaker 1: So if you're struggling listening to this and you're thinking, well, 440 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:57,439 Speaker 1: I'm not even close to that, I would encourage you 441 00:20:57,480 --> 00:20:59,480 Speaker 1: to go back and listen to our episode called True 442 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 1: Gality gives you options, because living a frugal life is 443 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: what can allow you to lower your A G I, 444 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:07,879 Speaker 1: to put more of your money to work for you 445 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:11,800 Speaker 1: in investment accounts over the long term, lower your taxable 446 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 1: burden now at the same time. But really, if you're 447 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: living paycheck to paycheck, if you're living above your means 448 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,480 Speaker 1: or at your means, it's gonna be really, really hard 449 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 1: for you to pull some of these levers and and 450 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 1: reduce your tax bill. So that's kind of where it starts, 451 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: and it's just yeah, important to kind of point that out. 452 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:28,359 Speaker 1: So let's go ahead and Joel and talk next about 453 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,919 Speaker 1: using healthcare tax advantage accounts like flexible spending accounts f 454 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: s A S or health savings accounts h s A S. Joel, 455 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,679 Speaker 1: so you've got more experience with an f s A. 456 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: You want to kick it off. Yeah, So I contribute 457 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 1: to an f s A every year at my work, 458 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: and so I'll explain those real quick in f s A, 459 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,560 Speaker 1: like Matt said, is a flexible spending account, and there 460 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: are two different kinds of f s A S. There's 461 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,200 Speaker 1: an f s A for folks with regular health insurance 462 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: and you can put up to twenty seven dollars a 463 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: year into this uh f s A and it's tax free. Right, 464 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,919 Speaker 1: So if I puts into my f s A, I 465 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: don't get taxed on that income. But I have to 466 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 1: then spend that money on healthcare related expenses throughout the year. 467 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,440 Speaker 1: And if I don't spend all that money by the 468 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 1: end of the year, I'm gonna lose it. Yeah, And 469 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 1: that's the one thing I don't like about it, right, 470 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: It's like the use it or lose it mindset. Yeah, 471 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: I think f s A s have a lot of benefit, 472 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,680 Speaker 1: and I'm able to take advantage of my f s 473 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:27,640 Speaker 1: A to a great degree. But I agree it's it's 474 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: certainly not the best system. But here's what I would 475 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:31,719 Speaker 1: recommend to people if they're trying to figure out how 476 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:33,399 Speaker 1: much money they should put into an f s A, 477 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,640 Speaker 1: you should look at your previous year spending on health 478 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: related expenses. That will kind of help you to make 479 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:40,760 Speaker 1: a decision about how much you should put into your 480 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,160 Speaker 1: f s A for the following year. And also if 481 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 1: you begin to let's say, get towards the end of 482 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 1: the year and you've got a lot of money still 483 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:49,879 Speaker 1: sitting there in your f s A, you can schedule 484 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,199 Speaker 1: some doctor's appointments and maybe go to the dentist who 485 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 1: knows exactly right every decade, like Matt does. But yeah, 486 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,959 Speaker 1: there are all sorts of ways to to kind of 487 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: game the system with your f s A and and 488 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: make sure you get that spending in before the end 489 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:05,359 Speaker 1: of the year ocurs. It's not my favorite, but for 490 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 1: me it does help in a massive way to to 491 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,280 Speaker 1: lower my tax bill and to to help me really 492 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 1: do my health spending tax free. It really just takes 493 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: some planning. I guess, honestly, maybe the reason I don't 494 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:17,520 Speaker 1: like it is because I don't have one. It's like, 495 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 1: what's key about an f s A is that this 496 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 1: is something that's offered through an employer, and so being 497 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:24,639 Speaker 1: self employed, I don't all have that. So, Matt, since 498 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:26,600 Speaker 1: you don't have an hs A yourself, but since you're 499 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:28,720 Speaker 1: self employed, why don't you kind of run it through 500 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,440 Speaker 1: kind of what an h say looks like and who 501 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 1: can actually start saving in an hs A. And h 502 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 1: s A is for folks with high deductible insurance, so 503 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:38,879 Speaker 1: that's the only catch with that is that you have 504 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: to have a high deductible healthcare plan. One of the 505 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 1: best ways that you can use an h s A 506 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:46,959 Speaker 1: is to, you know, contribute to that account and not 507 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:49,960 Speaker 1: use until retirement even because what you're able to do 508 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: is you're able to use like, don't think of it 509 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 1: as a savings account, think of it as like a 510 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 1: health investing account, because that's exactly how you can treat 511 00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,119 Speaker 1: the money that you put into that h s A. 512 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 1: You can take that invest it and man, this is 513 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 1: what's so awesome about an h A gets me excited. 514 00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: You put the money into an h s A pre tax, 515 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,720 Speaker 1: it grows tax free, and then when the time comes 516 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: to actually use that money to go towards medical expenses, 517 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: you get to use that money completely tax free as 518 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 1: well forever. And that's what's amazing about it. It's like 519 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,879 Speaker 1: truly the only vehicle where you you never pay taxes 520 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:24,399 Speaker 1: on it. You never pay taxes and it's a long 521 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,120 Speaker 1: term investment. It's really incredible. And one more thing, once 522 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,639 Speaker 1: you hit sixty five, you can also withdraw from your 523 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 1: h s A for non medical expenses and you just 524 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:35,919 Speaker 1: pay your standard tax just like you would on a 525 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,399 Speaker 1: traditional ira A, which is kind of amazing because at 526 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 1: age sixty five, it's sort of converts into this alternative 527 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,080 Speaker 1: traditional ira A that you can have, say, if you 528 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,239 Speaker 1: don't have a ton of medical expenses. Man, the h 529 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 1: s A is like this beautiful sort of vehicle for 530 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 1: saving for medical expenses, but at the same time you're 531 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: saving for the future, you're saving for retirement. It's super flexible, 532 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,960 Speaker 1: super cool. So I love that too, Matt and I 533 00:24:57,960 --> 00:24:59,880 Speaker 1: feel like we could do a whole episode on hs 534 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: A and maybe will one day. But let's talk about 535 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: the second type of f s A that you people 536 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 1: have available to them, typically in a W two job, 537 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: and that is dependent care f s A. And so 538 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,080 Speaker 1: the I r S allows up the five thousand dollars 539 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,159 Speaker 1: tax free every year if you elect to put that 540 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,399 Speaker 1: money into a dependent care flexible savings account. So I 541 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:22,520 Speaker 1: do this every year because our daughter, youngest daughter, goes 542 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,119 Speaker 1: to a little school down the road and and typically 543 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: we spent about four to five thousand dollars on childcare 544 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:30,160 Speaker 1: costs and the great thing is that money we don't 545 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,240 Speaker 1: pay tax on because we funnel it through the f 546 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 1: s A through work. Dude, that is awesome. I didn't 547 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,119 Speaker 1: know you guys did that. Yeah, So we love the FSA, 548 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,440 Speaker 1: both of them, the healthcare and the dependent care. Probably 549 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,439 Speaker 1: close to ft of the people that are listening to 550 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:42,760 Speaker 1: the show have access to something like that through their work, 551 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,000 Speaker 1: and maybe either they don't know that it exists, or 552 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: they've seen it, they're not really sure what it is. 553 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,240 Speaker 1: I just want to make sure that you're aware and 554 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: and that we've explained to you what they are so 555 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: that you can take advantage of them in the years 556 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: to come, because they're just a great way to to 557 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:57,880 Speaker 1: lower your A g I and lower your tax bill 558 00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: for for the current year. And a couple of other 559 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: things that you can put an f s A towards 560 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 1: are like you mentioned daycare, but even after school care 561 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,720 Speaker 1: or you know, before school care, and like summer camps 562 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,280 Speaker 1: as well, just all sorts of things that are childcare related. Yeah, 563 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: you can put that towards that. Oh, and the way 564 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,119 Speaker 1: it works is that it doesn't pay it directly, and 565 00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:18,159 Speaker 1: so you have to actually pay the bill yourself. You 566 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,160 Speaker 1: pay out of pocket. But then you essentially apply for 567 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:23,440 Speaker 1: a reimbursement, right like, you've got the receipt, you send 568 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,320 Speaker 1: it in and they basically write your check and you're 569 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,320 Speaker 1: and you're gonna go. Yeah, they made me faccy in 570 00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:30,639 Speaker 1: the forum every year. Really, Yeah, so I have to 571 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 1: like hunt down a fax machine in order to to 572 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: get reimbursed. Oh man, get with the times, guys. So 573 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:39,920 Speaker 1: again we're discussing some of these above the line deductions. 574 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: We talked about the retirement accounts. We just discussed the 575 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 1: healthcare advantaged accounts, and now let's cover penalties, specifically penalties 576 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,920 Speaker 1: on early savings withdrawals. And so if you were unfortunate 577 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,119 Speaker 1: enough to make an early withdrawal on something, for instance, 578 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: like a C D or four O one K that 579 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,920 Speaker 1: you weren't supposed to yet, you can subtract the penalty 580 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,399 Speaker 1: that you had to pay to the banks or the 581 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:07,160 Speaker 1: financial institutions that penalized you. You can deduct that amount 582 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:09,680 Speaker 1: from your adjusted gross income. So you still have to 583 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: pay the penalty, but at least you don't get taxed 584 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: on it. Well that's nice to know. Yeah, at least 585 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:16,160 Speaker 1: you got that going for you are And another thing alimony. 586 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:18,920 Speaker 1: You can subtract the amounts you paid in alimony, which 587 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 1: is court ordered payments to an X off your a 588 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 1: g I. You can't include child support in that number, 589 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: but it is nice to know if you are paying 590 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:28,639 Speaker 1: alimony that you can take that off your a g I. 591 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 1: And it's worth noting see that we were saying subtracts, 592 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,439 Speaker 1: or trying to say subtract as much as possible, because 593 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,919 Speaker 1: most oftentimes people say deductions like you can deduct or 594 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,879 Speaker 1: you can write off. But we're trying to emphasize the 595 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,720 Speaker 1: fact that we're subtracting because we're reducing, and we're subtracting 596 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,760 Speaker 1: from our gross income. These aren't itemized deductions, and so 597 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:49,680 Speaker 1: you can still take your standard deduction and have all 598 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,800 Speaker 1: of these subtractions if you will to lower your your 599 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,199 Speaker 1: gross income. Yeah, So just to try to clarify it 600 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:57,480 Speaker 1: as much as possible with a quick example, let's say 601 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 1: you you have an earned income of seventy thousand dollars 602 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,399 Speaker 1: this year, and you are an overachiever, and you contribute 603 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: the max to a four one K nineteen thou and 604 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,080 Speaker 1: the max to a traditional I array of six thousand, 605 00:28:09,119 --> 00:28:14,399 Speaker 1: that's twenty five dollars. So seventy minus twenty five equals dollars. 606 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:16,200 Speaker 1: That is your new A g I. And that is 607 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,399 Speaker 1: the number of your taxed on. And for instance, in 608 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,280 Speaker 1: a scenario like that, with the new standard deduction, your 609 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,440 Speaker 1: tax bill is going to be minuscule, if if not nonexistent. Man. 610 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: That's what I love about these about the line deductions, right, 611 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: is that anybody can deduct these from their income and 612 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 1: reduce how much they're having to send to the government. 613 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:33,680 Speaker 1: All right, Matt, So after the break, we're gonna get 614 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: to your bread and butter. How self employed people can 615 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 1: specifically lower their A g I to lower their tax bill. 616 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: All right, man, let's talk about some self employed action. 617 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:55,800 Speaker 1: It's time to talk about how someone like me can 618 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,960 Speaker 1: say it a retirement. Well, weirdos or self deployed weirdos 619 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: and those who are self employed. You know, you said, 620 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: I'm an expert, but I don't contribute nearly as much 621 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 1: as what I am able to th dollars. Dude, come on, 622 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:09,880 Speaker 1: that's a lot of money. Well you're no Daddy war Books, right, 623 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 1: but at least you understand how it works so you 624 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,200 Speaker 1: can spill those means for people. It's good to have 625 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,280 Speaker 1: the knowledge, but I am, yeah, not there yet. Before 626 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: we get into retire accounts, I wanted to mention self 627 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: employment tax, so that is Social Security and Medicare. Typically, 628 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: when you have an employer, they cover half of the 629 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: cent of what you have to pay towards Social Security 630 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,440 Speaker 1: and Medicare. But when you're self employed, you are fronted 631 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 1: with that entire bill yourself. And so one of the 632 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,240 Speaker 1: deductions that you can take is you can reduce that 633 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 1: by half as if you were actually employed, to make 634 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 1: sure you're not leaving that on the table. But retirement accounts, 635 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: that's where the big money is. Specifically sept IRA s, 636 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:48,440 Speaker 1: which are it stands for a Simplified employee pension. You 637 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:52,760 Speaker 1: can contribute up to fifty five thousand dollars annually. That 638 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,080 Speaker 1: is huge money and again I'm nowhere near that. And 639 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: keep in mind that's a dollar for dollar adjustment on 640 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,720 Speaker 1: your a g I, like on your adjusted gross income. 641 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: So yeah, massive reduction. If you're able to set aside 642 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,080 Speaker 1: that much money, man, kudos and good for you. But 643 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:09,239 Speaker 1: then also solo for one case, you can set up 644 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:11,040 Speaker 1: through your own business. You can set up a solo 645 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 1: four one K for yourself at dollars. Again, these are 646 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: massive numbers, and if you're self employed and you're just 647 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 1: crushing it, this is something you want to take advantage of. 648 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: And then in regards to health insurance, if you're self employed, 649 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,959 Speaker 1: you can subtract your health insurance premiums, but only up 650 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,560 Speaker 1: to the amount of the profit from the business, which 651 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 1: is man, that's actually pretty sweet, you know if you're saying, yeah, 652 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 1: I only made fifteen thousand dollars this year from that business. 653 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,200 Speaker 1: But if your health insurance premiums were that much as well, well, 654 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: technically you can deduct that amount. I'm not going to 655 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: advise you as to whether you should or not, but 656 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 1: you can, right Enjeel, this is one area that I 657 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: actually haven't been able to take advantage of recently. Health insurance. Yeah, 658 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 1: that's because you don't have traditional health insurance. I have 659 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:57,720 Speaker 1: a health sharing plan and we learned this the hard 660 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: way from our twenty seventeen taxes after we had our 661 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,960 Speaker 1: health sharing plan for a full year. But technically it 662 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 1: is not insurance. It's incredibly affordable, it's much much cheaper 663 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: than traditional insurance, but you don't get the tax right 664 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 1: off exactly. You don't get the tax right off. You 665 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: kind of feel that around tax season because you think, man, 666 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:16,479 Speaker 1: I would have loved to written off ten thousand dollars 667 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: and health insurance premiums, which is accurate, by the way, 668 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:21,880 Speaker 1: like that's how much we'd be spending. Uh, But at 669 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:23,720 Speaker 1: the same time we're we're saving way more than that 670 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 1: by going with this different sort of model. And so 671 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,960 Speaker 1: again we've talked before about not letting the tail wag 672 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: the dog. If you let the tax motivation drive your decisions, 673 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:36,520 Speaker 1: well you could end up paying way more than you 674 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:38,720 Speaker 1: need to be paying for a service that works just 675 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 1: fine for you. Yeah, and if people want to find 676 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,000 Speaker 1: out more about the health sharing plans, it's completely different topic. 677 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:45,960 Speaker 1: But we have an article on how to money dot 678 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,040 Speaker 1: com mat that you wrote about the health sharing plan 679 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 1: that you're a member of, and people can check that 680 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:52,560 Speaker 1: out on our site. But moving on, another line. Item 681 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 1: that you can use to lower your a g I 682 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 1: every year is student loan interest payments. So you can 683 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,200 Speaker 1: subtract up to dollars of student loan interest from your 684 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:05,720 Speaker 1: gross income if your gross income falls below the level 685 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:08,400 Speaker 1: of eighty thousand dollars for an individual or a hundred 686 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:10,720 Speaker 1: and sixty five thousand dollars for a couple, So don't 687 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,360 Speaker 1: forget to let your tax prepare know about that or 688 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:16,840 Speaker 1: your tax filing software. Just make sure that that gets 689 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:19,680 Speaker 1: added in chedual. And these adjustments that you can make 690 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: to lower your adjusted gross income. I wanted to mention 691 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 1: they're on Schedule one of the new tax form. We 692 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 1: didn't really talk about this, but this year is the 693 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,760 Speaker 1: first year that they're rolling out that new like postcard 694 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,360 Speaker 1: sized TIN forty. I like the fact that it's geared 695 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:35,520 Speaker 1: to make things easier for people, right it's it's meant 696 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:38,600 Speaker 1: to just make life easier, speed things up, make it 697 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,640 Speaker 1: to where you don't have to necessarily hire a tax professional. 698 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: But one downside is that these above the line deductions 699 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:47,480 Speaker 1: used to be on that page, on the single ten 700 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 1: forty page, but now with the simplified new TIN forty, 701 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:54,600 Speaker 1: you have to file an additional schedule, and so all 702 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:57,720 Speaker 1: these deductions that we're discussing are on Schedule one. So 703 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,600 Speaker 1: be sure to look there to find these above the 704 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:02,560 Speaker 1: line deductions and then quickly to man like some of 705 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,080 Speaker 1: there's a bunch of other ones too that we're gonna 706 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,640 Speaker 1: lightly cover, but you can deduct moving expenses, but that's 707 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:09,480 Speaker 1: only if you're in the military. It used to be 708 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 1: to where you could deduct moving expenses if it was 709 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:15,360 Speaker 1: work related in general, but but they've changed that. It's 710 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,440 Speaker 1: only now if you're in the military. You know, there's 711 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: educator expenses, which I think is totally silly. They have 712 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:24,160 Speaker 1: an entire line dedicated towards educator expenses. But you know 713 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:26,720 Speaker 1: what the max is on that. It's a crazy small 714 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:28,840 Speaker 1: dollar amount, not as much as a set bi ra 715 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,880 Speaker 1: I imagine, Nope, two and fifty dollars, which seems silly 716 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:34,960 Speaker 1: to me that they have an entire line dedicated to 717 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,000 Speaker 1: educator expenses. Yeah, we want to be there for the teachers. 718 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,920 Speaker 1: And speaking of silly tax benefits, there's an employer commuter benefit, 719 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: and in particularly there's a bicycle commuter expense benefit in 720 00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:47,520 Speaker 1: the I R. S tax Code, to the tune of 721 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:51,920 Speaker 1: twenty dollars a month that your employer can choose to 722 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:54,520 Speaker 1: or to not offer you, which is which I think 723 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 1: is fascinating too, that the employer can choose to reimburse 724 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,320 Speaker 1: you twenty dollars a month under the tax code tax free, 725 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:01,320 Speaker 1: but they don't have to. So I reached out to 726 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:03,080 Speaker 1: my employer to ask if this was something that they 727 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:05,600 Speaker 1: were willing to provide, and they currently do not do that, 728 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:08,319 Speaker 1: so yeah, I don't get it. Sorry. There's all sorts 729 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,040 Speaker 1: of silly stuff, man, And then there's a line to 730 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:14,279 Speaker 1: that says certain business expenses of reservists, performing artists, and 731 00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:17,600 Speaker 1: fee basis government officials. I think it's just funny that 732 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:19,319 Speaker 1: they have all three of those things on the same line, 733 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:21,399 Speaker 1: Like how a performing artists the same as like someone 734 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:24,799 Speaker 1: that's in the National reserve, right, like the National Guard. 735 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:26,360 Speaker 1: I don't know. I used to be a mime and 736 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:28,600 Speaker 1: I took advantage of this, so yeah, that was really 737 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:31,879 Speaker 1: important tax benefit for me. But yeah, check out Schedule one. 738 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:34,640 Speaker 1: That's where all these adjustments are listed, and if you 739 00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:36,239 Speaker 1: want to take advantage of those, you're gonna have to 740 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,120 Speaker 1: fill that out. But I know it might get confusing 741 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,160 Speaker 1: as you're looking over all those lines and it starts 742 00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:42,640 Speaker 1: to feel like you're not totally sure what you're gonna do, 743 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:45,160 Speaker 1: And so we wanted to share that. Unlike our you know, 744 00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: bias towards not recommending financial advisors, finding an accountant or 745 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:53,520 Speaker 1: a tax professional might be just crazy helpful, especially if 746 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,879 Speaker 1: you know taxes and numbers just may not be your thing. Yeah. 747 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:58,640 Speaker 1: I think it's interesting that when you look at the 748 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:01,640 Speaker 1: actual schedule one form, I mean it's almost we kind 749 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:04,600 Speaker 1: of ran through pretty much everything on the forum. So 750 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:06,880 Speaker 1: it's good to know that if you are used to 751 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:09,319 Speaker 1: hiring a tax professional and it's gotten too expensive and 752 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 1: you want to go it alone, and you have a 753 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,480 Speaker 1: fairly simple tax set up, it's not that big of 754 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:15,560 Speaker 1: a deal. It's not that big. It really isn't. It 755 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:18,400 Speaker 1: really isn't. Yeah, So if your tax situation is a 756 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:21,680 Speaker 1: little more complicated and it's not super basic and straightforward, 757 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:24,400 Speaker 1: then yeah, I think at tax professional can be super helpful, 758 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 1: and especially for instance, if you are a real estate investor. 759 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:29,840 Speaker 1: When I became a real estate investor, that's when I 760 00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 1: made the transition to having someone else helped me with 761 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:34,520 Speaker 1: my tax return because it's get a lot more complicated 762 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:38,040 Speaker 1: when you have multiple pages and forms and schedules to 763 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:40,320 Speaker 1: fill out. Yeah, it can get a lot more complicated, 764 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:42,520 Speaker 1: and if you're trying to fill those out without knowing 765 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:44,759 Speaker 1: what you're doing, it can cost you way more in 766 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:46,640 Speaker 1: tax than it would cost. Yeah, well you're paying the 767 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,040 Speaker 1: tax professional to help you. Yeah, I love that, Joel. 768 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:52,000 Speaker 1: Like in the end, like having a tax professional might 769 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:53,920 Speaker 1: be one of the best ways that you could actually 770 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,920 Speaker 1: cut your tax bill is by hiring a professional who's 771 00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,400 Speaker 1: familiar with the law, which is constantly changing. And not 772 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:02,200 Speaker 1: only that in but like they're familiar not only what 773 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,520 Speaker 1: is technically allowed, but they know that, hey, you may 774 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:07,960 Speaker 1: not want to sell the line this much because like, 775 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:11,960 Speaker 1: certainly yes on paper it says that this is allowed. However, 776 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:14,320 Speaker 1: you get that close and that that's a red flag 777 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:16,680 Speaker 1: to the I R S. And man, getting audited is 778 00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:18,680 Speaker 1: the very last thing that you want to have happened 779 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,279 Speaker 1: to you, because it just costs a lot of money, 780 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,200 Speaker 1: It takes a lot of time, huge headache. Us personally, 781 00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:25,879 Speaker 1: we steer your pretty far from the line to where 782 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:27,520 Speaker 1: it would, you know, raise those red flags to the 783 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:30,960 Speaker 1: I R S. I don't want to ever get audited. Yeah, 784 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:32,920 Speaker 1: And even if you are using a tax professional, I 785 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:35,400 Speaker 1: think this episode is helpful for you to have some 786 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:38,239 Speaker 1: questions to bounce off of them to make sure that 787 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,919 Speaker 1: you are, you know, going in the right direction. And 788 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:44,440 Speaker 1: also the tax professional that you're using isn't going to 789 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,840 Speaker 1: automatically open up a step. I ra for you or 790 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:49,879 Speaker 1: increase your contribution limit on your four own ko work. 791 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,759 Speaker 1: That is up to you exactly. So even if you 792 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:54,920 Speaker 1: do end up going in that direction, a lot of 793 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:57,479 Speaker 1: the things we mentioned here in this episode are things 794 00:36:57,480 --> 00:36:59,439 Speaker 1: that you still need to do on your own, even 795 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:02,000 Speaker 1: if someone is helping you file your taxes. Cheduel, I 796 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:04,880 Speaker 1: love that man. Hope that's some good encouragement to you listeners. 797 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:08,560 Speaker 1: Let's talk about this delicious beer. Yeah, man, Today we 798 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:12,720 Speaker 1: drank Southern Swells Brewing Company Karate in the Garage, India 799 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:15,279 Speaker 1: Pale Ale and Matt. The one word that you used 800 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:17,200 Speaker 1: at the beginning of the show to describe this beer 801 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:21,160 Speaker 1: was hazy. Fill us in Yeah, so I said hazy 802 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:23,680 Speaker 1: a little tongue in cheat because obviously hazy it's not 803 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:25,799 Speaker 1: like a tasting note. But when it comes to this 804 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,080 Speaker 1: specific style of beer, uh, and this is a New 805 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:31,279 Speaker 1: England style I P A And you pour it in 806 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:32,560 Speaker 1: the glass and you can hold it up to the 807 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:35,839 Speaker 1: light and you cannot see through it. It's hazy like 808 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:38,480 Speaker 1: that's the best description. And for me, this I p 809 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:41,920 Speaker 1: A Karate in the Garage is almost the quintessential New 810 00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:44,879 Speaker 1: England style hazy I P A It's got everything I'm 811 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:46,920 Speaker 1: looking for in that style. It's got the mouth feel, 812 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:49,840 Speaker 1: it's got the hops, it's got that sharp bite. My 813 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:51,400 Speaker 1: favorite thing about it is I just like to drink it. 814 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,080 Speaker 1: So I feel like it's one of those beers for 815 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,800 Speaker 1: sure that you could really not get tired of drinking. 816 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,279 Speaker 1: It's so well balanced, it's so well done. And so 817 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:02,200 Speaker 1: the word I used was bomb. Yeah, he said bomb. 818 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:04,560 Speaker 1: It's not all about because it felt like a hot bomb. Honestly, 819 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:07,800 Speaker 1: after taking a ship the way that it completely coated 820 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:09,600 Speaker 1: my tongue, I felt like a bomb went off and 821 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:11,600 Speaker 1: just like splattered and it was like karate and the 822 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:14,120 Speaker 1: garage just couldn't leave even once I even once I 823 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:17,160 Speaker 1: went down my throat, you know. So man, Yeah, this 824 00:38:17,239 --> 00:38:18,680 Speaker 1: was like a hot bomb went off of my mouth. 825 00:38:18,719 --> 00:38:20,719 Speaker 1: I love that. But I mean think, just like you, man, 826 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:22,440 Speaker 1: I'm a huge fan of this beer. I'm a huge 827 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:23,719 Speaker 1: fan of the I p as that they make down 828 00:38:23,719 --> 00:38:25,600 Speaker 1: their southern as wells. And if I had a never 829 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:28,880 Speaker 1: ending supply this, I'd be okay with it. So I 830 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:32,120 Speaker 1: don't think they're gonna send as more beer anytime, so man, 831 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:34,040 Speaker 1: But on that note, we've had a lot of beers 832 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 1: donated to us recently, and I just want to say 833 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:37,839 Speaker 1: generally like thank you to all of our listeners out there, 834 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:40,120 Speaker 1: to the different breweries, to the individuals who listen who 835 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:42,720 Speaker 1: just want to help us out and contribute to the show. 836 00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:45,160 Speaker 1: That is freaking awesome. We we love that folks are 837 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:47,719 Speaker 1: able to uh donate beers to the show, and and 838 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,480 Speaker 1: I don't know, it's an awesome way to tangibly connect 839 00:38:50,719 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 1: with our listeners, something that they felt we would enjoy. 840 00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:55,279 Speaker 1: We get to talk about on the show while we're 841 00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:57,560 Speaker 1: talking about money and personal finances. Is just this way 842 00:38:57,600 --> 00:38:59,600 Speaker 1: to kind of bring it all together. Even if you're 843 00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:01,440 Speaker 1: not really into craft beer. We I hope that you 844 00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:04,319 Speaker 1: can appreciate the sort of community that craft beer can 845 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:06,839 Speaker 1: kind of foster. And that's what we're all about, all right, Matt, 846 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:08,960 Speaker 1: real quick, let's give our final thoughts, all right, Joe. 847 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,879 Speaker 1: What we've talked about today are above the line deductions, 848 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:13,680 Speaker 1: and these are all things that you can do to 849 00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:17,080 Speaker 1: reduce your adjusted gross income. And what's so key about 850 00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:19,440 Speaker 1: this is that it doesn't matter if you're taking the 851 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:23,160 Speaker 1: standard deduction or if you're idemizing your deductions. You can 852 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:26,840 Speaker 1: take advantage of these adjustments to lower your taxable income. 853 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:29,800 Speaker 1: That's right, buddy. And the number one way to reduce 854 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:32,680 Speaker 1: your a g I is to contribute more to your 855 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:35,440 Speaker 1: retirement accounts, specifically a four oh one K if you 856 00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:38,560 Speaker 1: are a traditional employee or a traditional ira A is 857 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:41,680 Speaker 1: open to anybody, and if you're self employed, look into 858 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:43,840 Speaker 1: a set ira A in particular, that's gonna be one 859 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:45,840 Speaker 1: of the best ways for you to lower your a 860 00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:47,680 Speaker 1: g I and say for the future at the same time. 861 00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:50,399 Speaker 1: And then another above the line deduction you can take 862 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:54,360 Speaker 1: are the healthcare tax advantage accounts. These are the flexible 863 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:58,080 Speaker 1: spending accounts and the health Savings account Just keep in 864 00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:01,000 Speaker 1: mind that f s a s are only offered through 865 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:04,160 Speaker 1: your employer and h s a s are available only 866 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:07,040 Speaker 1: if you have a high deductible insurance plan. But it 867 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:11,640 Speaker 1: could potentially last forever. And also, Matt, it's important for 868 00:40:11,719 --> 00:40:15,160 Speaker 1: us to state again that unlike our hesitancy to recommend 869 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,839 Speaker 1: financial advisors to people, we don't feel the same way 870 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:21,560 Speaker 1: about accountants. And particularly if you have a more complicated 871 00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:25,200 Speaker 1: tax return tax scenario, finding a qualified accountant to do 872 00:40:25,239 --> 00:40:28,040 Speaker 1: your taxes could be well worth it. It It could provide 873 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,800 Speaker 1: you actually more savings in tax than you would actually 874 00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:33,240 Speaker 1: pay that accountant to help you out with your taxes. 875 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:35,320 Speaker 1: In particular, we would suggest that you ask around to 876 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:37,440 Speaker 1: friends who have been using the same accountant for years 877 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:40,040 Speaker 1: and have had a great track record. Yeah, Or another 878 00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:42,480 Speaker 1: option is just to look around to peers, like folks 879 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:45,280 Speaker 1: who have similar businesses as you do being self employed, 880 00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:48,640 Speaker 1: and chances are that accountant or tax professional will be 881 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:50,680 Speaker 1: familiar with the business set up and the type of 882 00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:53,640 Speaker 1: deductions that you'll want to see. Alright, buddy, Tax Episode 883 00:40:53,719 --> 00:40:56,160 Speaker 1: number two coming up next week. Yeah, that's right. We 884 00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:58,040 Speaker 1: think it's gonna be a big help as well. So everyone, 885 00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:00,560 Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed the information on this episoded. We'll 886 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:03,040 Speaker 1: have shown notes stuff on our website, how to money 887 00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:06,200 Speaker 1: dot com. Yeah, man, that's our website. And if you 888 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:09,000 Speaker 1: have enjoyed this episode and enjoyed this podcast in general, 889 00:41:09,239 --> 00:41:11,959 Speaker 1: you know what, don't leave a review. You can maybe 890 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:14,319 Speaker 1: instead tell a friend, just like we talked about just now, 891 00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:17,279 Speaker 1: with an accountant. Sometimes it can just be so much 892 00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:19,920 Speaker 1: more helpful and just more impactful if you tell somebody 893 00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:22,799 Speaker 1: in person. And so, yeah, spread the word, spread the love. 894 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,200 Speaker 1: We really appreciate you listening though. We love the community 895 00:41:25,239 --> 00:41:28,080 Speaker 1: here and Matt Until next time. Best friends out, Best 896 00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:28,600 Speaker 1: Friends Out,