WARNING- Read this before You do Your Taxes

I had to get this out as quickly as possible, to all my friends, clients, faithful readers and those that just stumbled upon this article: Say NO to "Refund Anticipation Loans (RAL)" this tax season and every tax season for the rest of your life, they are a rip-offs!

What is a "RAL"? A "Refund Anticipation Loan" is when your tax preparer offers you quick access to your Tax Refund by "loaning" you the money. Their sales pitch is "why wait when you can get your money now?" That is the sort of thinking that has gotten many consumers into financial trouble! What they don't tell you is that the average tax refund only takes about 10 days to receive.

Lets look at the pros and cons of a RAL for the consumer:

Pro's:

1. You get almost immediate access to the amount of your tax refund (yes there is only 1 pro)
   

Con's:

1. High Fee's - An average of $103 was paid in RAL fee's per consumer
   
2. Extremely High Interest - If you calculate the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) the average interest rate paid on RAL's ranged from 85%-500%! http://bit.ly/26WA7I
   
3. Only Solve Short term financial problems - Sure it feels good to get money in your hand quickly but if you have not gotten down to the core of you financial issues (over spending, no savings, ect...) it will not matter in the long run.

Here's 2 tips on how to avoid the rip-off RAL's and still get your tax refund money quickly:

1. Take advantage of technology: File Your Tax Returns Electronically, instead of using snail mail.
2. Set up Direct Deposit: You can have both your Federal and State refund direct deposited into your bank account.

By avoiding RAL's and doing the 2 tips above the average tax payer only waited an average of 10 days to receive there money. So this year keep more of your hard earned money by saying NO to Refund Anticipation Loan's.

Carlos Frank
Your Personal Financial Coach
Website: www.nextmoneystep.com
Blog: www.nextmoneystep.blogspot.com

For a free copy of Carlos' newest EBook, "101 Ways to Save Money" CLICK HERE and request yours today.

Spend It Before You Spend It!

I have a new acronym to help you master your money! SIBYSI

Many financial experts will tell you not to spend your money before you get it. I totally, 100% disagree. I'm a firm believer in spending all of your money before you get it and here's why and how.

I call this form of budgeting the "SIBYSI Action Plan" (pronounced 'suh-bis-ee'):

Spend

It

Before

You

Spend

It

Now there is a difference between what I teach about spending your money before you spend it and "Counting your chicks before their hatched". Counting your chicks before their hatched financially means that you go out and purchase something like furniture on a credit card or even worse “No payments for 5 years” plan. By doing this you are sacrificing future income and wealth for a present “temporary” desire.

That is not what I’m talking about. I teach my clients and students what some financial experts call the "Zero Based Budget" Spend all of your money on paper before you spend any of your money in the real world.

Here's how the "SIBYSI Action Plan" works:

Prior to receiving some money, whether it be your paycheck, tax refund, birthday money or bonus. You sit down and write out exactly what you will be doing with every dollar and every cent of that money before you actually receive the money. You spend it all the way down to Zero dollars and then when you receive the money you execute the plan just like you have it down on paper.

Here are the top 3 reasons the "SIBYSI Action Plan" works:

1. You know in advance where your money is going! Have you ever asked yourself, “Where did all that money go?”. Not knowing what you are going to do with your money is like putting your money in a bag full of holes!
2. You eliminate emotional spending! The worse time to make a financial decision is when you are emotional! And that doesn’t just mean when your angry or depressed! I’ve made some of my worse spending decisions in a state of happiness…..”our team won!!!!! Wahooooo!!! Milkshakes and burgers on me!”
3. You are now being proactive! Stephen Covey writes in his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that one of those habits is “To be Proactive”. Being proactive means that you are taking control of those things that you can control. You are not being reactive and allowing things to happen to you. I call living “reactive” the “victims lifestyle”. Being financially proactive means that you now “Master Your Money”!

Try out the "SIBYSI Action Plan" and tell me how it works out for you!

Carlos Frank
Your Personal Financial Coach
www.nextmoneystep.com
Twitter: twitter.com/CarlosFrank
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CarlosFrankSpeaks
facebook: http://profile.to/carlosfrank/

Do This, and Your Kids will be Financially Fit!

Why do 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck? Why do most adults grow up with no money in savings but they have all the electronic toys, shoes and cars that one could want?

To answer those 2 questions, I have to ask one more (I'll even give the answer!) :
When you were a kid, what was the #1 reason you got money for?

Answer: To Spend!

Birthday money = Spend! Christmas money = Spend! Allowance= Spend! No wonder almost three quarters of the population could not survive financially if they missed just one paycheck! It's been instilled in our heads since childhood that the only reason for money is to spend with no thoughts of giving or saving! So here's a tip for parents, teachers and childcare providers to help raise financially fit children!

Whenever your child receives some money sit down with them and show them what they should do with their money. And then tell them why!

When I coach parents one on one or at seminars I show them that there are only 3 basic things we should do with money:

1. Give - Because it's not all about you. This keeps you from being selfish.
2. Save- Because saving is the foundation for wealth building. And you just never know!
   
3. Spend- Let's be real, spending is fun but you should do it wisely! Just spend after you give and save!
   

And you do them in that order! By doing this you will begin to ingrain in your child's mind that they don't just get money to spend, spend, spend! They will be tremendous givers and savers. You will have financially fit children entering the real world of financial responsibility!

What are some techniques you use to teach your kids the importance of being good stewards with their money?

Carlos Frank
Your Personal Financial Coach
www.nextmoneystep.com
www.nextmoneystep.blogspot.com