Apr. 15, 2008 - Tuesday Tip: How's the money doing?

 

Joeann's Tuesday Tip - April 15, 2008 Tax Day I'm feeling a bit gleeful and smug today. Taxes were done 3 weeks ago. Receipts have been entered and filed away. How are you feeling? I hope it is the same as me, but if that isn't the case, why not use today to put into place some changes that will serve you for the coming year? The two times during the year I take notice of my financial well being are New Years and Tax Time. Every New Year, I calculate our net worth This is a magic number because, as a self-employed person, there is an ebb and flow to the cash flow, but watching the net worth grow is my baseline of whether we are doing well and going in the right direction. Do you know what your net worth is? Do you know where it was a year ago? Do you have a goal for where you want it to be by the end of the year? Tax time is the second reckoning The first hurtle is having it organized and done. I use Quicken. I have personalized the categories to some specifics that help make it easy. How are you doing on that? Is there a habit or process would help you in the coming year that isn't in place right now? This is a ripe area to turn over to a bookkeeper or accountant. What works for me is setting aside about an hour a week to pay bills, enter other receipts and balance my statements. I pay most bills online and have set my credit cards up to download purchases, so it is very easy to accomplish the updating way quicker than back when I had to enter each receipt. Using one card just for business and another for personal makes this even easier. The second part of my yearly tax process is looking with my financial planners at what I can do to minimize my taxes and leverage my investments. I have more invested in real estate than my planner would like but we have talked about the fact I am educated to make good choices here. After all, as a real estate agent, you CAN do insider trading legally! You should be buying your product. For most successful real estate agents, having an LLC or corporate structure will expand the ability to write off costs. A great book on this is by Sandy Botkin called Lower Your Taxes-Big Time. My favorite speaker on this topic is CRS Instructor, Chris Bird. If you ever have a chance to go to one of his presentations, it will save you money or check out his offerings on his website. The third part of this is to review my ESCAPE PLAN! That's the plan that is going to assure financial freedom before I keel over. Since most of us don't have an employer program, you MUST fully fund for your retirement. I am grateful that I started doing an IRA when I was 36 and have funded that fully over the years and it has grown substantially. It is never too late to get started. When they started offering a SOLO K for entrepreneurs a few years ago, I funded that as well. Know how to shelter and save with what you have. The disclaimer here: seek professional help with this very important part of your life! On The Business Side: Focus on Success in the 2nd Quarter I gave you a link to an article on doing a check in at the end of your first quarter 2 issues ago (By the way, you can always read stuff from previous articles in the newsletter archive on the website). If you'd like a copy of the form I use with my coaching clients to set some goals for the next quarter, e-mail me for it. On The Personal Side: What You Focus on Expands You will attract what you are thinking about most.Do you have that gremlin voice that won't stop chattering about what isn't right? Monitoring this is the first step to buffing up the attracting. The good news is that it is good to notice what you don't have. It gives you a contrast to choose what you do want. Now, here is the way to shift the negative energy to positive energy: picture everything about what it will be like when you have what you want. How are you going to feel? How are you going to look? What will it look like? Each time you think about what isn't there yet, consciously spend 30 seconds picturing the happy you. Do this often during the day. Feel the difference in energy? A quick way to shift the energy is just to smile for 30 seconds or a minute. It releases serotonin and you just start feeling better. If you'd like to spend the next month honing your attraction skills, sign up for my next Relax and Attract Teleconference*** (***see below) Last Call for NO BLOGGER LEFT BEHIND & A Little Shameless Promotion Remember: All of my programs are always 100% satisfaction guaranteed, or a complete refund. No questions asked. 1. LAST CALL>>>>>>>> Learn To Blog the EASY WAY! No Blogger Left Behind Webinar - Go from Blogless to being a SOB (Successful and Obvious Blogger) in 8 weeks!!!!! More details and "a taste" here. Spring Class Schedule: Thursdays: April 17 May 1,15, 22,29 June 5, 12, & 19 2 PM EST, 1 PM CST Noon MST, 11 AM PST/AZ, 8 AM Hawaii All calls are recorded. If you are unable to attend a session you will be able to review the presentation via the Web and/or telephone. Fran & Joeann, I just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU for this great webinar. I have been a Realtor for over 25 years and of the many many courses that I've attended... THIS IS THE BEST! You girls have just done a wonderful job! You taught me, motivated me and completely inspired me! Thank you again so very much for your knowledge and your patience. - Judi Wolfson, ABR, CRS, ePro 2. RELAX AND ATTRACT MORE Begins April 28 I've been working on increasing the wonderful feeling of Prosperity using The Law of Attraction. I want to share this with you When: April 28, May 5, 12, & 19 5 PM EST, 4 PM CST, 3 PM MST, 2 PM AZ & PST, 11 AM Hawaii Only $97 for 4 sessions (there is no less expensive coaching out there) You'll get: Specific daily actions to take to give you more focus and alignment A group to mastermind and learn with A coach to help you play your best game A feeling of ease, flow and joy Whatever else you TRULY want for yourself. Support in using the workbook, 30 Days to Turn Your Life Around With The Law of Attraction *** ****A GIFT FOR YOU: You may have the workbook without taking the course Get more information here 3. Conversations on Success: My New Book I am excited to be part of a new book called Conversations on Success. Other contributors include Tom Hopkins, Dr. John Gray and Danny Cox. We've all shared ideas and insights on success. If you'd like a copy, you can order at my bookstore. As a just published special, you can buy an autographed copy for $12.95 instead of the published price of $19.95! 4. Three good ideas for Broker, Owner or Managers: LAST CALL If you are a WCR Member, there will be a free Mastermind Conference Call on April 16 especially for you that I will be facilitating. More details and sign up are here. Really Awesome Women 2nd Annual Conference begins April 21 in Albuquerque New Mexico. An elite event that is by invitation for Brokers and Owners. Network with the most influential women in real estate today! Email Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com if you qualify and tell her I invited you! Broker-Owner Mastermind Group: I am forming a new group that will meet for 60-90 minutes monthly beginning May 23. I have 6 more spots available. $85 per month. e-mail me if you are interested. I hope you have an amazing week!!!!! It is up to you!!!