Taxes and Dave Ramsey
I have not posted the last couple of days because I have been sick. I still have that pesky, lingering cough, you know the one you cannot seem to shake. Weird cough, coughing a lot, but it seems like nothing is really there. Yeah, that annoying one. But I am finally feeling better, just in time for the weekend.
Today was also tax day for me. I finally sat down and started working on my taxes last night and finished filing and paying today. I have been using TurboTax since 2006, and seriously, they make it so easy. Of course, depending on your situation, there are definitely times when using a tax accountant can be super helpful and beneficial. But if you have pretty simple taxes, it is such a great option.
My investment portfolio runs pretty simply, and I am able to import my information and cross check it, so it really does give me a little piece of mind. I feel more trusting and confident that I am doing it correctly. Even when I have had big property sales, net gains, capital losses, and other complicated situations come up, I was able to do it on TurboTax myself with ease. Well, I say “with ease.” I did reach out to a friend who is a tax accountant and had her walk through it with me after I entered everything. She gave me the green light. It really does make tax time pretty simple. 10 out of 10, I recommend TurboTax.
But honestly, that is not why I am here today. Lately, I have been talking to a couple of friends about debt, income, investments, and retirement, all the big money stuff. It reminded me that I bought Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace program, like, 10 years ago. I had a coworker going through it at the time, and I am one of those people who really enjoys learning systems and processes. Budgeting naturally interests me, and I like the idea of building wealth in a structured way. So I bought the program with the intention of learning the system from the inside out.
I never actually went through it, though, so it has just been hanging out in my stuff for a long time. In this new year, in this season of change, evolving, and a new kind of curiosity, I thought I would go through the program and start at the beginning. I am going to walk through it step-by-step and actually share the journey as I go.
Right now, we are on Baby Step 2, the debt snowball, and part of that step also comes with some extra checks. One of my tasks is to go over my insurance coverages again. Do I have the best coverage for my car? Can I lower my rates by switching companies? I am also taking a look at my disability and health insurance, basically revisiting everything I pay for and seeing where I can make it a little better, more supportive, and more aligned with what I actually need. And if I can save money along the way, that is pretty awesome too.
Happy Tax Season!
