Why Do Some People Have A Financial Saving Strategy & Others Don’t?

Have you ever wondered why do some people save money and other people have no money saved?  Of course you do. Being a tax professional, I get to see how people are able to save money and how much people save.  What I find interesting is people’s savings are not based on how much money they make.  It is almost quite the opposite.  People who make the most have a tendency to have the least amount saved relative to their income.   Of course there are exceptions.  Those who make less money have more money saved.

I use to be really baffled by what seems to be this inverted savings trend until I started doing some additional investigating and asking my clients more questions. What I was able to find was the common thread among my super savers. My super savers track every dime they spend.  They keep their personal finances on a computerized program and are able to tell you exactly what they spend annually, monthly, weekly and most times daily in all spending categories.    I was surprised to see how many of them actually maintained all their finances in such an organized fashion.

Not only are my Super Savers good at saving money, they are also able to give me detailed spending reports.  These reports help me to identify tax write offs very quickly.  Many times my super savers may not even know that a certain category of expense could be a tax write off.  They just take the time to track all their expenses or they hire somebody to do it for them.  I asked the clients who have someone tracking their finances for them (i.e. a personal bookkeeper) if the benefit outweighed the costs.  Out of the ten clients I asked, eight of them said yes.   One of them said they had not really analyzed it and the other person said it probably costs him more than it should but he was so bad with his finances that this was the only way to keep it straight.

As your accountant and trusted advisor, I can certainly give you five reasons you should track your personal finances or pay someone to do it:

1. Better records for tax purposes
2. You will know exactly where you are spending your money
3. Easier to isolate expenses that can be tax deductible
4. Easier to track your budget
5. Know where you can cut expensive to add to your savings.

Let’s set some organization and saving goals for 2015.   I want this year to be the year you get a better handle on your overall all finances and goals.  If you need help with your personal or business finances , give me a call today.  I will be happy to get you on the right track and help you save money! Everyone should have a financial saving strategy!

Hugs,

KarlaD

Karla Dennis

As seen in Forbes Magazine, Karla Dennis is an expert tax and business strategist. As an enrolled agent, Karla is licensed to represent taxpayers in all 50 states. She holds a Masters in Taxation and Business Development and is the author of two books, Tax Storm and Against the Odds.

Karla, CEO of consultancy firm Karla Dennis And Associates, Inc.™, has saved her clients thousands of dollars and has been featured in various media outlets such as Forbes, MSNBC, KTLA, Yahoo! Finance, and SmartMoney, marking her as the ultimate tax expert.

As of 2014, Karla became the new host on the “Mind Your Business” radio show, KTLK AM 1150, sharing her financial and business knowledge with the greater Orange County and Los Angeles areas. As a supporter of women’s rights and issues, Karla is part of the Women Network, an organization built to educate and mentor women. In addition, Karla is the radio host for Women Network Radio, a show that aims to uplift and empower women of all walks of life.