Where’s My Tax Refund? How to Check Your Refund Status

The average direct deposit tax refund was over $3,000 last tax season, and with tax season now over, it’s no surprise that the most common tax season-related question we’re now hearing is: “Where’s My Refund?” We know that you work...

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source https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-refunds/wheres-my-tax-refund-how-to-check-your-refund-status-18855/

TurboTax IRS 1040 Form and Schedules Interactive Tool

In June 2018 the IRS announced they were working on changes to the 1040 tax forms. The new 1040 form consolidates the three versions of the 1040 into one form. In addition to shortening Form 1040, the changes eliminate Forms...

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source https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-reform/turbotax-1040-form-and-irs-schedules-interactive-tool-43678/

How The Financial Planning Process Differs For Young Clients: Not Simpler, But Different Complexities

The rise of the asset-under-management (AUM) model has driven a concomitant shift in financial advisors to focus increasingly on Baby Boomer retirees – for the same reason that Willie Sutton robbed banks: “That’s where the money is.” To the point that some in the industry have raised the question of whether the pendulum is swinging too far to retirees, and that it’s time to start doing more financial planning for next-generation clients as well.

Except the challenge for most advisory firms is that it’s not profitable to do financial planning for younger clients, who simply don’t have sufficiently-sized investment accounts to generate enough AUM fees for the advisory firm to deliver the advice. For which advisory firms can adopt various “fee-for-service” models, from charging minimum fees based on a percentage of income, to flat monthly retainer fees. Except then the pressure is on the advisory firm to justify the value of the financial planning advice being given to clients for that fee, especially when they tend to have “simpler” financial needs in the first place.

Yet the reality is that younger clients with fewer assets and lower net worth still experience the kinds of tumultuous life transitions that necessitate engaging a financial advisor in the first place. In fact, ironically, older retirees typically only experience a few major life transitions in the span of decades – retirement itself, a major change in health, and the death of a spouse – while it’s younger clients who actually experience a steady stream of major life transitions that may necessitate a financial advisor, from getting a new job, to going back to school, starting a business, getting married (or getting divorced!), having children, and more.

And while younger clients may have less in the way of investments and assets, they still face substantial complexities when it comes to their cash flow itself, from how to transition from a dual-income household to a stay-at-home-parent (or back again) after the birth of a child or a decision to go back to school, merging finances during a marriage (or separating them again after a divorce), to adjusting spending while launching a business. Or simply engaging in strategies to increase income and job potential in the first place.

Which means, in the end, while the focus of financial planning may shift for next-generation clients – from monitoring the health of their assets to monitoring the health of their income instead – arguably younger clients don’t really have “simpler” financial advice needs in the first place. Instead, they have a different set of complex financial advice needs…  and an even greater need for the cyclical and ongoing financial planning process in the first place, because of the pace and frequency of the life transitions that impact their financial situation throughout their 20s, 30s, and 40s!

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source https://www.kitces.com/blog/next-generation-client-financial-planning-different-complex-not-simpler/

Did You Miss the Tax Deadline? 3 Steps You Can Take Next

The tax deadline has come and gone unless of course, you filed a tax extension. If you missed the tax deadline and didn’t file your taxes or an extension, here are a few steps you can take to get your...

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source https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-planning-2/did-you-miss-the-tax-deadline-3-steps-you-can-take-next-19629/

#FASuccess Ep 120: Building A Personal Finance Media Brand By Focusing On Being Your Authentic Self, with Manisha Thakor

Welcome back to the 120th episode of Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today’s podcast is Manisha Thakor. Manisha is the founder of MoneyZen, a financial literacy and education platform focused on empowering women, and is also the VP of Financial Wellbeing at Brighton Jones, a $5 billion AUM independent RIA based in Seattle, Washington.

What’s unique about Manisha, though, is the way that she’s been able to build her own personal brand platform around personal finance over the past 10 years after starting her career in institutional money management, and the ways that she’s been able to turn her brand around personal finance education into a financially successful business.

In this episode, we talk in depth about what it really takes to build a personal finance brand. Why most financial advisors struggle to gain visibility with the media, and even when they do still typically fail to get any new clients from it, the ways that a personal finance brand can be monetized, not only from getting clients directly, but also even becoming a corporate spokesperson or brand ambassador, and the way that Manisha has been able to successfully build a personal brand as a speaker and media personality despite the fact that she’s actually an introvert.

We also talk about Manisha’s fascinating personal career journey, from her early success being an intrapreneur, building out a new separately managed account line of business at an institutional money management firm that ultimately grew to nearly $6 billion under management, to a decision to relocate with her new husband that forced her to make a switch out of the firm and launch her personal finance brand instead, how marital troubles and a subsequent divorce eventually led Manisha back to working at a larger advisory firm to get better infrastructure support, and why ultimately Manisha decided to make one more switch to her current firm, Brighton Jones, to once again become an intrapreneur and help them transition their advisory firm from traditional wealth management to a focus on holistic financial well-being.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Manisha shares how she managed the ups and downs of her advisory firm while going through a stressful divorce. Her frank discussion about dealing with depression, anxiety, and now medicated bipolar disorder, and how through it all she’s managed to stay successful by forming relationships and connections around her that she can rely upon, and by simply relying on the power of being yourself. Because, as Manisha puts it, it’s so much less exhausting to just be your authentic self than to try to be someone you’re not anyways.

So whether you’re interested in learnings about the steps Manisha took to build a personal finance brand, how she, as an introvert, was able to find her groove as a presenter and public speaker, or how she paved her own path by simply being herself along the way, then we how you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast.

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source https://www.kitces.com/blog/manisha-thakor-introvert-brighton-jones-moneyzen-get-financially-naked-true-wealth-podcast/

Tax Considerations for Cancer Patients

After receiving a cancer diagnosis, a patient may wonder about the financial responsibility that will accompany it. Most insurance plans will cover some of the bills, but cancer patients may have additional expenses that they pay for. Fortunately, cancer patients...

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source https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-deductions-and-credits-2/tax-considerations-for-cancer-patients-43555/

Making Money by Streaming Your Gaming Sessions? Here’s What It Means for Your Taxes

Did you know that some streamers make up to $500,000 per month live streaming their gameplay on Twitch, Facebook, or YouTube? While you may not be making quite that much, if you’re a gamer regularly earning any income from streaming,...

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source https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/self-employed/making-money-by-streaming-your-gaming-sessions-heres-what-it-means-for-your-taxes-43269/