LAKEWOOD RANCH – If you’ve already filed your taxes, TruVestments Managing Partner Kaleb McCarty says the work shouldn’t stop there.
“It’s a good time to just get organized,” McCarty said, “and then once you get organized, create a plan and stick to the plan.”
Which can be overwhelming, but McCarty says there’s software that can help.
“I use mint.com, which is from Intuit, and it really helps to track all your expenses and all your sources of income that are coming in,” McCarty said. “Use the technology that’s out there today to help you organize your finances.”
There’s even an app version of the website, and McCarty says there are other apps, too. He says another good way to de-clutter your finances is to keep track of your bank statements, which you can also do on your phone.
“Make sure that there aren’t things coming out of there that you don’t know,” McCarty said. “With my account, I see charges coming out for iTunes, Amazon, all these things, so you wanna be aware of it and make sure you’re not getting any fraudulent charges on there as well.”
If you haven’t already spent your tax return, McCarty says the best thing you can do is to pay off your debt. If you don’t have debt to pay off, another good tip is to treat the tax return as if it doesn’t exist.
“Pretend that you maybe didn’t get it and save it for your future, and you’ll be a lot better off than spending it on something,” McCarty said.
Taxes aside, he says the hardest part is creating a plan that works for you, and sticking to it.
“The earlier you can start a plan and start saving, those years are very valuable,” McCarty said.
