It's Tax Time!

What does a counselor know about money!?

THIS counselor knows quite a bit about money.  I used to be a financial representative and was in financial services for 7 years (unfortunately)...the bills had to be paid somehow but I digress.  My part time job is doing taxes.  I'm not going to tell you where to protect the innocent but I love the job.  The company treats me well and we have fun.

Anywho, back to my original point:  tax time!

Tax time means TAX REFUND CHECKS!!

With that said, I just want to make a point.  If you've been planning on how to spend your refund check since October, you may need to reevaluate your financial situation.  If you spend your tax refund check on things to cover up the fact that you're broke, again, you may need to reevaluate your financial situation.  If you're eligible to receive the Earned Income Credit, yes it makes your tax refund check look nice however to qualify for it you have to be living BELOW POVERTY LEVEL!  Last I checked, living below poverty is rough living.  Again, you may need to reevaluate your financial situation.  You're supposed to break even at tax time however I understand Uncle Sam is on the bottom of your list of bills to pay. If you're tired of the cycle, reevaluate your money situation! If you don't have the slightest clue about money, go to the bank. All those fees you're paying fund those people's salary so use them! If you don't like banks I say get over that foolishness...sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do to get where you want to be in life.

I know the majority of people are honest people struggling to get by however another point I want to make is claiming other people's children on your taxes.  The maximum number of kids to get the big refunds is 3 so the people who have more sell the other kids to people who don't have kids for a portion of the refund.  The feds know you do that mess that's why there is so much paperwork to get the EIC credit and the tax prep fees are more than you expect...they're trying to stop people from doing that foolishness.  A word from the wise of claiming kids (this includes deadbeat baby daddies and baby mamas too):  if you cannot prove in writing that you provided more than have of that child's support for over 6 months of the year in the event of an audit, don't claim that child! If the IRS figures out that you're claiming stuff you're not supposed to claim, they're going to make you pay that refund back in full ASAP! They will take all your future refunds until they get all their money back and they won't let you claim the credits in the future even if it's legit for up to 10 years!

I just wanted to give you a couple of things to think about while you wait for your W-2s...

Take Care,
Kimmy