>>>
>>> IT'S
>>> IT'S TUESDAY, AND GUESS WHAT ELSE IT IS?
TAX SEASON IS IN FULL SWING.
AND IF YOU ARE EAGERLY WAITING
FOR A CHECK FROM
UNCLE SAM, YOU MAY NEED TO
THINK TWICE CASHING IT.
HERE IS TAX AND FINANCE EXPERT
ANDREW POULOS.
ANDREW POULOS. WELCOME MY FRIEND.
>> HOW ARE YOU?
>> THANK YOU FOR COMING IN THIS
TIME OF NEED.
WE ALL NEED A LITTLE ADVICE
NOW.
NOW.
NOW. FOR
NOW. FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T FILED
THEIR TAXES ISSUES ANY
LAST-MINUTE TIPS?
LAST-MINUTE TIPS? >> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. GOT TO GET READY.
GOT LESS THAN TWO WEEKS.
OF COURSE, PLANNING IS CRUCIAL.
IF YOU'RE NOT PREPARED, YOU
MIGHT WANT TO START
THINKING ABOUT GETTING AN
EXTENSION.
EXTENSION. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN
IT WILL YOU ABOUT
EXTENSIONS, AFTERNOON TIMES WE
THINK AN EXTENSION IS
AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO PAY OUR
TAXES, WHICH IS NOT
THE CASE.
THE CASE.
THE CASE. THAT ONLY COVERS YOUR EXTENSION
TO FILE THE RETURN.
SO IF YOU THINK YOU MIGHT OWE,
SEE IF YOU CAN COME
UP WITH THE MONEY TO PAY THE
MONEY WITH THE
EXTENSION, THAT WAY YOU DON'T
HAVE LATE-PAYMENT
HAVE LATE-PAYMENT POSSIBILITIES DOWN THE ROAD.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. SO IT LITERALLY NEVER PAYS TO
PROCRASTINATE
PROCRASTINATE >> NO, NOT IN THIS BUSINESS.
WE HAVE LESS THAN A WEEK, BUT
WE CAN DO IT.
IF PEOPLE ARE GETTING A REFUND
BACK, WHAT ARE SOME
OF THE WAYS THEY SHOULD SPEND
THEIR REFUND?
THEIR REFUND? >> USE YOUR MONEY WISELY.
SO MAYBE IF THEY HAVE SOME
DEBT, WE WANT TO START
ADDRESSING OUR DEBT ISSUES.
HOW CAN WE PAY DOWN OUR DEBT.
CREDIT CARD DEBTS.
IF YOU MAKE MINIMUM PAYMENTS,
THOSE THINGS NEVER
COME DOWN.
COME DOWN. FIRST THING IS LET'S ADDRESS
OUR CREDIT CARD DEBT,
GET THAT PAYING DOWN.
USE A PORTION OF THAT.
OR DEBT REPAYMENT.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. >> BE RESPONSIBLE, PAY DOWN
YOUR CREDIT CARD DEBT.
OKAY.
OKAY.
OKAY. NUMBER TWO?
NUMBER TWO? >> NUMBER TWO IS GOING TO BE
OUR START AN EMERGENCY
FUND.
FUND.
FUND. THERE HAVE BEEN SURVEYS OVER
AND OVER AGAIN THAT
SHOW THAT OVER 60% OF AMERICANS
DON'T EVEN HAVE A
THOUSANDS DOLLARS FOR AN
EMERGENCY FUND.
EMERGENCY FUND. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT
RECENTLY OUR
RECENTLY OUR REFRIGERATOR BROKE WITH OUR
WIFE, AND WE HAD TO GO
GET -- A LITTLE BIT OF THE
REFUND TOWARD THE
EMERGENCY FUND.
EMERGENCY FUND. THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS
PUTTING MONEY AWAY AND NOT
TOUCHING IT.
TOUCHING IT. SO IF YOU NEED IT LATER, YOU'VE
GOT IT.
GOT IT.
GOT IT. >> I FOOL LIKE ONCE YOU GET THE
BALL ROLLING ON SOME
OF THESE THINGS, IT MAKES IT
BETTER.
BETTER.
BETTER. YOU START TO FEEL LESS
STRESSED.
STRESSED.
STRESSED. THEN YOU HAVE A BETTER LIFE
BECAUSE OF IT
ESSENTIALLY.
ESSENTIALLY. NUMBER THREE, START SAVING TO
PURCHASE YOUR FIRST
HOME.
HOME.
HOME. I
HOME. I LIKE THAT.
>> RELATIVELY SPEAKING,
INTEREST RATES ARE STILL
HISTORICALLY LOW.
HISTORICALLY LOW. THEY'VE EDGED UP IN THE LAST 12
MONTHS, BUT THEY'RE
STILL LOW, HOVERING SOMEWHERE
BETWEEN 4 AND 5%.
FHA LOANS, 3 AND A HALF PERCENT
DOWN PAYMENT IS ALL
THAT YOU NEED.
THINK ABOUT A $200,000 HOME.
WE'RE LOOKING AT 7,000.
YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE
ENOUGH IN ONE YEAR, BUT
IF YOU ALLOCATE TWO OR THREE
YEARS' WORTH OF YOUR
REFUND OR A PORTION OF IT
TOWARD SAVING UP, WE CAN
ACHIEVE THE GOAL OF BECOMING A
HOMEOWNER INSTEAD OF
RENTING.
RENTING.
RENTING. >> SURE.
>> SURE.
>> SURE. SO MAYBE START WITH SOME GOALS.
THESE ARE REALLY GOOD PLACES TO
START, AND START
ALLOCATING MEN SLOWLY TO EACH
OF THESE THINGS.
THE NEXT ONE IS INVEST IN
YOURSELF.
YOURSELF.
YOURSELF. >> THIS IS MY BIGGEST ONE,
BELIEVE IT OR NOT.
THE REASON SAY THIS IS THE
BIGGEST ONE, IF YOU DON'T
INVEST IN YOURSELF, NO ONE ELSE
IS GOING TO INVEST
IN YOU.
IN YOU.
IN YOU. >> WHAT I ALWAYS SAY IS INVEST
IN YOURSELF.
IN YOURSELF. ALLOCATE A LITTLE BIT.
IF YOU HAVE SOME SKILLS WHERE
YOU CAN DO SOME FREE
LANCING OR SOME SIDE WORK, YOU
CAN EARN MORE MONEY.
STARTING AN LLC.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT ONLY
COSTS A HUNDRED DOLLARS
TO ACTUALLY FORM THE LLC AND
OPEN UP A BANK ACCOUNT
AND GET GOING.
OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO IS
INVESTING YOURSELF, GOING
BACK TO SCHOOL, GETTING MORE
SKILLS.
SKILLS.
SKILLS. UPDATING YOUR SKILLS AND
ABILITIES SO YOU CAN LEARN
MORE ON THE JOB.
BUT THIS IS FOR ME THE BIGGEST
ONE OF THEM ALL.
>> I LOVE THAT.
SO IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT
STARTING A BUSINESS OR
TAKING THAT NEXT STEP, YOU CAN
GO TO YOUR BANK
BRANCH, AND THEY WILL HELP YOU
ESTABLISH THAT LLC?
>> THE LLC CAN DO IT ONLINE THE
IT'S RATHER SELF
EXPLANATORIRY.
EXPLANATORIRY. IT WALKS YOU THROUGH THE
PROCESS SO YOU CAN FILE FOR
AN LLC OR CORPORATION ONLINE.
IT COSTS A HUNDRED DOLLARS IF
YOU DO IT YOURSELF.
YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO
ALLOCATE A LITTLE MORE
MONEY.
MONEY.
MONEY. IF
MONEY. IF YOU DO IT YOURSELF ON THE
SECRETARY OF STATE WEB
SITE, UNDER THE CORPORATION
SECTION, A HUNDRED BUCKS
GETS YOU STARTED.
YOU GET YOUR TAX I.D.
NUMBER, OPEN UP A BANK
ACCOUNT.
ACCOUNT.
ACCOUNT. I DON'T OAR OFFICIALLY UP AND
RUNNING AS A SMALL
BUSINESS OWNER.
BUSINESS OWNER. >> I LOVE IT.
THAT WAS A BONUS QUESTION.
THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION.
I APPRECIATE IT.
. NUMBER FIVE, MAKE AND EXTRA
PAYMENT TOWARD YOUR
MORTGAGE.
MORTGAGE.
MORTGAGE. >> IT'S A GOOD IDEA IF YOU'RE A
HOMEOWNER.
HOMEOWNER. YOU WANT TO MAKE THAT EXTRA
MORTGAGE PAYMENT.
MORTGAGE PAYMENT. THE BEST WAY TO DO IS PAY A
LITTLE BIT EVERY MONTH.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT EXTRA
MONEY EACH MONTH IN THE
PAYCHECK, NOW IS THE TIME WHEN
YOU GET MONEY BACK,
PAY IT DOWN.
STAY PRACTICE TEXAS SHOW IF YOU
PAY ONE MORTGAGE
PAYMENT EXTRA A YEAR, YOU'RE
GOING TO CUT THE LIFE
OF THE LOAN BY FIVE TO SIX
YEARS, SAVING YOU
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 15 TO
$18,000.
$18,000.
$18,000. >> WOW, THAT'S INCREDIBLE.
THAT'S A BIG SAVINGS.
>> A HUGE SAVINGS.
>> I FEEL GOOD.
WE'RE PAYING DOWN OUR CREDIT
CARDS.
CARDS.
CARDS. WE'RE SAVING FOR A HOME.
THIS LAST ONE, WHICH I THOUGHT
MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT INVESTING IN YOURSELF,
BUT IT'S TREAT
YOURSELF.
YOURSELF.
YOURSELF. >> MOST OF US WANT TO START
WITH TREATING YOURSELF.
ULTIMATELY WE WANT TO SPLURGE A
LITTLE BIT.
LITTLE BIT. IF YOU'RE GETTING ON AVERAGE
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 2,500
AND A $3,500 REFUND DON'T SPEND
IT ALL ON YOURSELF.
BE WISE WITH YOUR MONEY.
IF YOU ARE OUT AND YOU WANT TO
BUY SOMETHING, BE
CAUTIOUS OF WHAT YOU'RE GOING
TO SPEND YOUR MONEY
ON.
ON.
ON. YOU
ON. YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THAT
$3,000 VACATION.
$3,000 VACATION. YOU CAN DO A KILL HUNDRED
DOLLARS AND DO SOMETHING
FOR REASONABLE FOR YOURSELF, AS
FAR AS A NICE DINNER
OR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, WITH A
VACATION, MORE LOCAL.
BUT THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD USES
WITH YOUR MONEY.
JUST SPENDING IT ALL ON
YOURSELF IS PROBABLY NOT
GOING TO LEND WELL WHEN YOU
LOOK AT ALL THE OTHER
ASPECTS OF YOUR FINANCIAL
SITUATION.
SITUATION. >> ALL RIGHT, ANDREW.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS
GREAT ADVICE AND TIPS.
ARE YOU STILL SEEING PEOPLE GET
HEALTHY RETURNS?
HEALTHY RETURNS? >> YES.
>> YES.
>> YES. >> THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE
WHO ARE BENEFITING FROM
THE NEW LAWS AND A LOT OF
PEOPLE NOT COMING OUT SO
GOOD.
GOOD.
GOOD. TEEM TO LOOK INTO YOUR
SITUATION, SEE WHAT YOU'RE
GOING TO DO.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING
HERE AND THE ADVICE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
ANDREW, YOU CAN