Time To Act

A lot of what I have written recently can make it feel like we are hurtling through new times – summer is over, the extension deadline is coming, etc. – almost as if we may be running out of time for some things. Well, let me add to that today.

For on one hand, it feels like there is plenty of time left in the year. I mean, it’s not even October yet and then Halloween doesn’t come to the end of that month, there are so many checkpoints to hit before we get to the real holiday season.  When it comes to making moves to improve your tax picture, though, time may be getting short.

For on the other hand, there are some people with the flexibility to make moves right up to the end of December that can still make a difference to their final number when it comes to filing taxes next year. For many, though, it helps to have time so that small changes can add up instead of making large sweeping moves.

So more than anything, let this serve as a reminder. If you were looking to make changes to improve your tax situation but have not yet done so, now is the time. After all, maybe you filed a return back in April, paid more to the IRS than you hoped to, planned to make some change, but then summer came, and suddenly that future financial picture was no longer at the top of mind. Now that the season is over, though …

See, time passes quickly.

And since that’s true, I will close this week with a little mental exercise. If you started this week having an extra $25 taken out of your paycheck for federal taxes, you would have contributed an extra $375 by the end of the year. This may not look like a huge number, but it’s still enough that you could feel it when cutting one check for that number, while you may never even notice that $25 each week.

Maybe you’re married, and you and your spouse can both do this. Now, you are up to $750 more paid in taxes, and it may be starting to look like something that can make a real difference.

And what if that $25 could be bumped up to $100, now we are talking $1,500 if one person does it and $3,000 if two do so.

So, if you are then one of those people who feels like there is so much time still left in the year, then sure, think that, and look how much of a difference that means you can still make. Before it’s too late.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
Connect to Us ~ Facebook ~ Twitter