Meg Bartelt, CFP®, RICP®, MS on LinkedIn: Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management (2024)

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Everywhere I turn, there's another reason to keep your investment portfolio really simple: Calculating bond-fund dividend income attributable to gov't bonds (to avoid state taxes) is kind of a pain. Multiply that by how many bond funds you own over how many taxable accounts.😑https://lnkd.in/gDg5Wde9

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Today's episode of Ramit Sethi's podcast features a young couple, both Sri Lankan immigrants. As I was watching them interact with Sethi, who *also* hails from a South Asian immigrant family (which is to say, they share many cultural elements and experiences), it was clear they felt so comfortable, even relieved, talking with someone who deeply and instantly understood their beliefs and behaviors that maybe someone else would consider weird, frustrating, or wrong. That drove home for me (not for the first time) how important it is for the financial planning profession, if we truly want to serve more people, to have practitioners of every creed and color. Yes, I can empathize with and probably do a good job for a Sri Lankan immigrant couple (I mean, as long as they're in their early to mid career in the tech industry, ha HA!). But seeing as how trust and comfort are the *foundation* of a good financial planning relationship, I suspect they'd be more likely to reach out to a planner with Sethi's background first. https://buff.ly/3xAcjN8

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Don't judge your tax situation by your Refund or Tax Due. That's just a reflection of whether you over- or under-paid your tax bill throughout the year. It says nothing about your actual tax liability. To get more-useful insight into your tax situation, look at two numbers:1️⃣ Total Tax (Form 1040 Line 24)It tells you how much tax you owe for the year, regardless of whether you already paid it or still owe. 2️⃣ Effective Tax Rate = Total Tax ÷ Taxable Income (Form 1040 Line 15)It tells you what % of your income you paid in income taxes.

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Such appropriate timing for this blog post.Get your Q1 estimated tax payments in today folks!

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Try ity this perspective on taxes.Does it/how does it shift how you feel about taxes, which generally "everybody hates"?

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Wondering what kind of compensation you can or should expect at a startup?That info is hard to come by, but here's an article that lists many resources, ht @ Mary Russell at Stock Option Counsel P.C.https://buff.ly/4auFCyV

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Financial planners talk a lot about "retiring TO" (in preference to "retiring FROM").I don't work with retirees, but I see something similar while working with younger people:They know they don't quite like what IS (usually their job), but they don't have a compelling version of what life COULD be like, so inertia keeps them in the unsatisfactory "is."One of the most powerful tools in good personal financial planning is getting clear on What You Want. That's not easy, and usually takes wrong guesses and false starts, butThe moment What You Want becomes clear, it becomes a whooole lot easier to take some action, to feel empowered, to feel purposeful.So, keep trying to refine What You Want from life.

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