Tax day!
My “what I know now” about that is to always take the maximum amount of taxes out during the year if you are at a company or pay the maximum of estimated taxes throughout the year. Much better to get that refund in April than have to pay. Consider it your summer vacation savings fund. After all, a common thread amongst women here on 40:20 Vision is to spend more on experiences than things. One fantastic trip and maybe an interesting piece of jewelry from another country can create a lot more conversation and memories than the perfect dress. Jeans and t-shirts are endlessly in style and the perfect canvas for aforementioned jewelry.
I also agree with this one:
“Educate yourself about tax savings vehicles, like flex spending accounts that you can use for health care expenses or child care. Using pretax dollars on things like dentist visits and daytime babysitting can save you thousands of dollars a year.”—Allyson Downey, founder and CEO, weeSpring via Daily Worth, Powerful Women On The One Piece of Financial Advice You Need
And here… 40-something women from around the country on what they wish they new then about money:
There is no point to having a lot of money but no time to do the things you love. Having enough money to do what you want is important. — Executive in travel / hotel industry, 44, LA
Don’t economize in false ways. Try to have a little foresight. I teach now but as a classical musician in my twenties, I traveled a lot. When I got my big break and moved to New York, I had debt but it was debt that was an investment in my future. I had racked it up with plane fares and hotels over the years so I could get a good night sleep before a concert. Know where to spend money to give you a bang for your buck. I see students today buying new shoes and then sleeping on someone’s couch the night before a big audition. I say go to overstock.com and get your damn shoes and the spring on the $99 for a hotel so you can sleep. – classical musician, professor, mom, mother, Cleveland, OH
OMG if we didn’t spend all that money on our wedding and all the extravaganza. We could have had a kitchen. I would have changed my wedding. I highly recommend a very sweet and small wedding. I love big parties, but in hindsight I wish I had had done it small. My parents gave us the choice of a big wedding or money. They said, split it up however you want. We spent it all on the wedding because we had this vision that we were going to earn our millions in the next year or two. You can’t count on your income going up in a straight line. 40-something, Cleveland, OH
Save now. I know it’s a cliche but even it is $5 a day. Instead of thinking of it as savings think of it as a dream fund. Set up a dream fund. As life evolves you many want to take a sharp left in your career or life to follow your dream. – 40-something, NYC
And a reader responding to the statement that if you save $5 a day for 40 years it can turn into $1MM.
While saving $5 a day is an excellent start, at some point you’re going to need to increase the amount or start aggressively investing. Unfortunately, 40 (years) x 365 (days a year) x 5 (dollars a day) = $73,000. Given the current interest rates on savings accounts, there’s no way to get that up to a million in your lifetime if you keep that money in a savings account. Rather, you would need to steadily gain 10% interest on your $5 a day investment to make it to a million in 40 years (http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools…. Moreover, if your debt’s interest rate is higher than you savings/investments’ interest rates, focus on paying off your debt before you worry about saving more than a couple thousand for an emergency fund.
So start with $5 and up it when you can!