This is the third year that my hubs and I will file as “married filing jointly” for tax purposes. At the start of the new year, I thought it would be a great time to get some financial affairs in order. I set up meeting/consultations with a CPA and with a financial advisor. While I wasn’t “sold” on either of their services at this point (I think I want to have consultations with a couple other folks, too), the meetings did give me lots of fun ideas that have been swirling around my head.
Financial Advisor Meeting
First – I’ve got to open up a Roth IRA. My dad was a financial advisor when I was young and that was the most salient financial tip I remember ever getting from him – to open and fully fund a Roth IRA. Unfortunately, I went to college, got 6-figure debt, and never did follow his advice.
Meeting with the financial advisor last week, that was his tip that I’d like to implement – open a ROTH! It’s time! It’s BEYOND time! He also recommended some type of “investment” strategy operating through life insurance. I’m very leery about that as financial advice and have no plans to do that. I currently have 20-year term life insurance and hubs has a policy through work. We’re happy with our coverage.
CPA Meeting
The second idea came from the CPA and is not something I plan to implement right now, but is a fun idea for down the road to reduce our taxable income and help set my girls up on the right foot, too. The idea is for us to open an LLC and pay our kids to help us with the business.
According to 2022 guidelines, kids can be paid up to $12,950 without paying any taxes on the income. The first $6,000 of that can be put directly into a Roth IRA in the child’s name, to grow tax-free throughout their life. We already have 529 savings for the girls’ educational expenses, but it would be nice for them to have a Roth given that it doesn’t have the same restrictions for qualifying purchases.
Right now there’s no plans to open up a business. But I could see this being something I look into in another couple years (after I’m debt-free and more focused on financial growth). I already have an idea for an internet-based company that can easily be done part-time and the girls can really help with it. Whatever I pay them reduces my taxable income, as well.
What are your thoughts? Do you pay for financial advising and/or tax preparer/CPA services? Any critical pieces of advice to share?
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
I said I wanted to learn how to be more self-sufficient this year, and my house is certainly giving me an opportunity to do it! This week we had a leak crop up in one of our three bathrooms. Last week something similar happened to Ashley too… there must be bad plumbing luck going around!
My spouse noticed that the basement floor was a bit wet and the drip was coming from the ceiling above, which is where one of our toilets is located. Thankfully the leak is very slow and small, so it hasn’t caused any damage such as mold or rotted subfloor. The moisture seems to dry up on its own sometimes, so it’s not always actively leaking.
At first, we thought it might be a problem with the toilet seal, so we replaced it, which cost us about $25 dollars in materials. We thought that fixed the issue when the water dried up, but a bit of moisture ended up returning the next day.
The Leak Continues
At this point, we began questioning whether it was the toilet causing the moisture, or the vent pipe for the septic system located above the toilet. Instead of calling in a plumber, we resolved to figure out the issue ourselves. This year we want to get better at fixing our home and car issues not only to save money but also to become more self-sufficient.
It can be hard to find contractors in our rural area who have a good reputation and availability when you need them, so we’re trying to become less reliant on outside help. When we had our water heater replaced last year, the plumber forgot to put a drain pipe back in, which flooded our basement and ruined our flooring and several cabinets.
The cleanup was a huge hassle. We didn’t get any sort of discount when we brought it up with the plumber and decided it wasn’t worth pursuing legally. After dealing with a few bad contractors and hearing other homeowners’ stories, I’m starting to believe in the saying “if you want it done right, do it yourself.” So I’m trying to work on my DIY skills this year. I may even take a class at the local community college in home systems construction to learn more.
The Moisture Could Be Condensation
After opening up the wall and examining the vent pipe, it seems like it could be a condensation issue. We’ve had some problems with condensation in our attic as well. Our roofer added extra venting and advised us to run a dehumidifier. So we positioned our basement dehumidifier right underneath the bathroom leak, and it seems to be drying up nicely. The moisture hasn’t returned for a few days.
Online research also revealed that a lack of insulation might be causing this moisture buildup. So we’re going to monitor the situation and add more insulation around the vent pipe this weekend. Hopefully, that dries everything up and we’ll get the satisfaction of solving this issue on our own. But if we can’t get the leak totally under control soon, we’ll bring in a carefully chosen expert.
It feels good to at least attempt to fix an issue that would’ve seemed “out of our depth” only a few months ago. Before we would’ve called in a plumber at the first sign of trouble, but now we’re using this as an opportunity to increase our home improvement and maintenance knowledge. Even if we’re unsuccessful at fixing it, we’ve learned a lot by trying! Embarrassingly, I didn’t even know septic systems needed vent pipes until now.
Parents Didn’t Come to Visit
In another stroke of bad luck, my parents couldn’t come to visit us this week. My dad has been dealing with gout and edema in his legs and feet, so his doctor advised him not to travel. And it’s a good thing he decided not to visit us because he ended up going to the hospital this week with chest pain. We don’t have the best hospitals in our rural area, so I’m glad he was still in Massachusetts and able to get better care.
He’s had two heart attacks, so he doesn’t mess around when it comes to chest pain, especially since some of his recent blood test results have been a bit off. Unfortunately, the ER doctors weren’t able to figure out exactly what was going on with him. He’s going for an echocardiogram soon and following up with several specialists. Hopefully, they’ll be able to give him some answers.
Planning for Parents’ Financial Future
This health scare has gotten my sister and I to think about our parents’ financial future. They don’t have a plan in place for retirement and haven’t made a decision about where they’ll live. We worry that they won’t be able to afford the skyrocketing rent and home prices in Greater Boston on a fixed income.
Although there are several good 55+ and assisted living communities in the Boston area, they have waiting lists that are several years long. Plus, they require six-figure deposits and monthly rent payments. We’re unsure if our parents would be able to afford this upfront expense even if they could handle the monthly payments because they don’t have a ton saved.
My parents don’t want to talk about retirement planning, even though my dad will be 68 this year and is having more frequent health problems. Although things could change, I don’t think I can help them financially without getting way off track for my own retirement. My sister is in a similar position.
If you’ve been through this with your parents, do you have any advice on how to handle it?
Vicky Monroe is a freelance personal finance and lifestyle writer. When she’s not busy writing about her favorite money saving hacks or tinkering with her budget spreadsheets, she likes to travel, garden, and cook healthy vegetarian meals.
