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We are halfway through the year, so it is time for a mid year financial checkup and back with us to help us do this is financial expert, entrepreneur, author and podcaster Clyde Anderson. You have some questions that you recommend we ask ourselves. So let’s get into these questions.
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Number one, how’s my money mindset?
Think about it. You know how we think about money determines how we treat it and how we manage it. You know, I always say if you change your mind, you can change your life, so you gotta get your mind first. Ready to prepare to go into this and it’s got to be the right framework.
This question is challenging for people because no one imagines themselves gold. How’s my retirement contribution?
Yes, yes and that’s one of those things and you nailed it. No one thinks about themselves old. But what you do today will dictate your future. Are you ready? Because later comes real quick. You know, we think later with this place way down the road and later.
1141 K or 403B or self-directed IRA if you’re self-employed, we gotta be prepared and money compounds and so with interest. So we gotta start early as possible.
All right. Question. How’s my debt?
Yes, we got that keeps us in *******. Yeah, because you know that. And so but it’s some of it’s necessary you know we need mortgages we need car paying I mean car loans but it’s like salt you know some is OK but too much will make you sick.
OK, how’s my credit?
Credit speaks for you before you have a chance to speak for yourself. So, but the thing about it is a lot of these credit reports have errors on them and if we don’t look, we don’t know. They usually are pulling your credit by your names 1st and sometimes we get things mixed up with somebody that may have the same name or that may live in your house. If you’re a senior and a junior, and so you want to make sure you’re checking that.
I want to add a Part B to that question.
What do you say to people who say, oh, I don’t need credit, I don’t want to owe anybody and they don’t understand the benefit of credit.
That’s perfect because this is where you can leverage it. You leverage credit to work for you sometimes. You know we hear about wealthy people buying new things a lot of times they’re leveraging their credit, they’re buying buildings with credit things that you just don’t have in your wallet. You can’t ewatch your wallet and say I want to buy this building with this cash in my pocket. Now you need to leverage credit and that’s why I say smart credit works. Wealthy people have made a lot of their wealth by leveraging and managing their credit wealth.
How’s my emergency fund, though?
Yeah, that’s one of those things that we don’t talk about, but it’s needed. You know, we need three to six months of expenses. You know you never know what’s happening, especially, you know, we’ve lived through a pandemic, people. And so we’ve got to know that things happen. And so, without three to six months of expenses, I could be in trouble. And if I knew, I probably need to have 6 months and to some people, that sounds far fall off.
But what we need to do is just start putting something away. Now make it a habit, I love it.
OK, what about how are my taxes? People like this not talk about them either.
We don’t like to talk about it. Between April or January, you get a refund, you know that that’s the thing about it. But wealthy people think about taxes year round because they’re trying to find ways to minimize their position. How can I? What can I? Write off. Am I keeping receipts? Am I making sure I have it check my withholdings? Maybe IRS is keeping too much of your money because. You haven’t withheld enough. I mean, they were holding too much because you haven’t. And so you gotta make sure that you are on point and you know that’s my withholdings are right. And if I’m self-employed, I really need to make sure one of these things I’m writing off am I keeping track of them. And I’ll have. My receipt.
Follow Clyde at changeonpurpose .com online and Instagram @Clydeonpurpose
