Skylar Dubrow CPA Explores Five Markers of Financial Health at Mid-Life
April 27, 2015
Skylar Dubrow, CPA
Blog
April 27, 2015Skylar Dubrow, CPABlog
If your tax returns have been filed (as most of our clients’ have), I do hope you’ve taken the ripe chance afforded to you to scrutinize your year, and your financial health. And, even if you’re on extension, it’s good to pause here before summer and consider where you’re headed — financially, and otherwise.
So, I thought that this could be the perfect time to help our Thousand Oaks tax preparation clients through a little check-up.
(One nifty little tool I ran across last week might also encourage you in your marriage — or, well … it could perhaps give you fuel in that you are doing something worthwhile, even when it comes at a cost!
The stat site, FiveThirtyEight created an interactive graphic to help us see the implications of our tax policy on families (specifically, marriages). Enter you and your spouse’s income, and you can see whether your marital status is providing you a “bonus” or a penalty, under our current, convoluted tax regime. –>http://53eig.ht/1GABRri )
So, even including marital status in the mix, I’d like to give you an objective, “incentive-free” look at what your finances should look like when you hit the half-century mark. If you are close to that mark, I thought it might be useful for me to lay out the “perfect” scenario. If you’re on either side of it, you can see where you’re headed, or from where you should be coming.
And look — if you’re not perfect, at least let it be a benchmark…
[And don’t neglect what I’ve included at the end, especially where your friends may be concerned …]
Skylar Dubrow CPA Explores Five Markers of Financial Health at Mid-Life
“Don’t give up. Keep going. There is always a chance that you stumble onto something terrific. I have never heard of anyone stumbling over anything while he was sitting down.” – Ann Landers
Finances should be viewed as “clear-eyed-ly” as possible, don’t you think?
So, that being the case, let’s set up a landmark on our map towards financial health, shall we? It’s great to know where you should be headed … or, from what place you should be coming.
Here are five signposts for your mid-life financial life …
1) Your estate plan should be fully in place.
Of course, various assets are handled differently. This is the time to make a complete review of how your plan is put together, to ensure that EVERY asset (not just the tangible ones) are still handled properly.
Intangible assets can include such things as what you are passing down to your children in terms of “family ways” and values that you would like to see spreading down throughout your generations. This is an important step at midlife.
2) If college is paid for, consider dropping term insurance.
At this stage of life, it becomes more costly to pay for this service. You are probably at the point where your children are nearing the completion of their education.
Remember that you purchased “peace of mind” (term insurance is not an investment) so that if anything were to happen to you, your home and your children’s education could be paid for. If those things are now moot, it may be time to re-evaluate.
3) Evaluate where you are with your saving and investing.
You may not want to retire for quite some time yet. That’s a wonderful place to be. But you should be considering whether you have saved up enough to match your desired lifestyle spending. It’s a good rule of thumb that you should have saved about 8-10 times your annual lifestyle spending at this point.
If you haven’t?
4) Catch up on your savings.
At age 50, maximum savings in a 401(k) or 403(b) account increases from $18,000 to $24,000 in 2015 (it was $500 less for each amount in 2014). At age 50 or older, Roth contributions also increase from $5,500 a year to $6,500 with these “catch-up” provisions. If we don’t have eight times our lifestyle spending saved, now is the time to press these limits.
Of course, saving well is half the battle; investing well is the other half.
That’s a subject for another day.
5) Lastly, begin considering what you really want out of retirement.
Consider that living a life of purpose doesn’t necessarily mean decades of simple recreation.
Reaching the place where you don’t “have” to work is a wonderful marker of true financial success. But you can make the decision to view your retirement years as an opportunity to do new, meaningful work. Commit yourself to a non-profit, or a ministry endeavor. Find ways to strategically invest your time and your energy into a different work that matters (aside from your first-half career).
Although you can have that attitude at any age, it is especially powerful when redefining the second half of your life.
And don’t forget to email me (you can use the email button at the top of this page) a quick note about your experience with us this year! THANK YOU!
And for those of our clients who have previous years’ tax returns at another preparer, OR for their friends…
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“No Charge” Return Review
Special Offer
As a complimentary service this year, we will provide a Return Review To Any Non-Client. We will also review prior year returns from clients who did NOT have us handle their taxes during the year under question. No charge will be made, unless we have to file an amended return. Email our office (using the email button at the top of this page) or call (818) 889-7285 to set up this complimentary service!
Deadline May 8th
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To more of your money staying in your wallet…
Skylar Dubrow CPA
(818) 889-7285
The Dubrow Group, CPA’s
Preparing a correct and accurate tax return is our priority. We proudly stand behind our work and if a mistake does happen that is our fault, we will immediate correct the mistake and gladly refund your money if requested.
If any penalties or interest are incurred due to our mistake, we will do everything we can to fix the problem and cover any penalties should they arise.
We feel so confident in our processes to account for all deductions and uncover hidden deductions that we guarantee that you will pay the lowest amount of taxes legally possible. We spend a good amount of time correcting and fixing other so called tax pros mistakes and oversights.
We are so committed to giving out clients the best service. We do this by taking thte time to understand our clients situation and asking the right questions to make sure every deduction is accounted for. And remember we work for you, NOT the IRS.
Not only do we prepare an accurate tax return, we will inform you of tax saving strategies and best record keeping practices should we see fit.
Starting January 1, 2017, all our returns come with our “Silver” Stress Free Audit Insurance, FREE with paid tax preparation. Our Silver package includes our full support when handling IRS and State Notices for the 2016 tax year. If you receive a notice, send it to us and we will work with you to organize the required documentation and we will respond to the IRS on your behalf.
“Many tax experts are predicting an increase in IRS audits (because of the system automation), as well as an increase in audits by the state”
Our Gold Package adds our representation for an actual IRS audit for the current year. Whether it be an “audit by mail”, or an actual audit at one of the IRS locations, we will work with you to compile all the necessary documentation and represent you in front of the IRS for no additional charge. Our fees to represent our clients in an audit scenario can range from $1000- $2500 & up depending on time and complexities.
Our Gold option is an optional add on service & not included with regular tax preparation. Gold protection covers the current tax year only regardless of when you get audited.
The IRS and state authorities are behind in auditing tax returns and matching reporting documents to tax returns.They are currently working on 2012 & 2013 years.
Our Platinum level package covers you for a period of 7 years. It Is just like our Gold package, but it includes the currtent year and 6 prior years. We will provide audit coverage for prior years tax returns, even if we did not prepare them.
How is that for taking care of our clients! Once the Platinum level package is purchased, only the gold level will be required in future years as the previous years have been protected by the one time Platinum purchase.
