Jill Podehl and the upsurge of a financial investment consultant: To get interviews and stand out from the crowd, having the bare minimum of qualifications to practice as a financial advisor probably won’t be enough. When you’ve got the time and are in the rhythm of studying, try to rack up as many qualifications as you can. And, once you have them, never forget the importance of staying on top of changes, whether that be regulation, technology, or products available. The more you know, the better you can help your clients. Get chartered and/or certified level qualifications asap! “It demonstrates to clients the highest level of technical competence and will be what employers are looking for. From a practical point of view, it’s tempting to sit back once you’ve achieved a certain level. But once you’re in the ‘studying for exams’ zone just keep going and get the qualification—it’s much harder to get back into the exam mindset after a prolonged break from study.” Read extra info at Jill Podehl.
It’s important to understand how income taxes work even before you get your first paycheck. When a company offers you a starting salary, you need to know how to calculate whether that salary will give you enough money after taxes to meet your financial obligations and, you hope, your goals. Fortunately, there are plenty of online calculators that have taken the dirty work out of determining your own payroll taxes, such as PaycheckCity.com.3 These calculators will show you your gross pay, how much goes to taxes, and how much you’ll be left with, which is also known as “net” or “take-home” pay. An annual salary of $35,000 in New York City, for example, would leave you with around $27,490 after federal taxes without exemptions for the 2020-2021 filing season—about $2,291 a month.4 Then you need to consider state and (for New York City) city taxes in addition. By the same token, if you’re considering leaving one job for another in search of a salary increase, you’ll need to understand how your marginal tax rate will affect your raise. A salary increase from $35,000 a year to $41,000 a year, for instance, won’t give you an extra $6,000 per year ($500 per month)—it will only give you an extra $4,227 (around $352 per month).4 The amount will vary depending on your state of residence and its potential tax bite, so take that into consideration if you’re considering a move. Finally, take the time to learn to do your own taxes. Unless you have a complicated financial situation, it’s not that hard to do, and you won’t have the expense of paying a tax professional for the work. Tax software makes the job much easier than it was when your parents were starting out and ensures you can file online.
Recommended business finance tricks from Jill Podehl: Whether you want to get a business loan, answer an auditor, or simply design next year’s budget and business plan, you need the assistance of a full-charge bookkeeper. They can help ensure that each of these tasks are completed correctly, in a timely manner, and that they are accurate enough to be truly useful. Between the accounting software specialist and the full-charge bookkeeper, you will have begun to create a set of checks and balances within your business. Individual department spending will be recorded and analyzed by the bookkeeper, accounts receivables and payables reviewed and fulfilled by him or her, and the company’s spending is contrasted with its budget for review and analysis that can help identify inefficiencies and create more accurate future budgets.
Having financial goals is the foundation for your financial success. After all, you have to know what you want to accomplish in order to actually accomplish it. However, when it comes to setting goals, you want to make sure your goals are well defined and prioritized accordingly. It’s great to have big, lofty goals! But be sure to break them down into smaller chunks. That way, you’re not overwhelmed trying to accomplish them and you can easily measure your progress. It’s also really important that one of your goals includes a plan to deal with emergencies. You want to make sure you are prepared to weather a storm. Otherwise, you’ll just end up in debt again. Discover additional info at Jill Podehl.
There often comes a time when companies need to raise some form of capital, and it will probably happen sooner than you think — especially if you’re focused on growth. While you’re likely to bring someone on board to help with this process, there are things you can do now to prepare. Setting up your financial infrastructure, as discussed earlier, is a great start. But it would also be a good idea to: Familiarize yourself with the various sources of capital. When the time comes, you will need to make decisions about the type of capital that’s right for you, but the options can be dizzying. Will you be looking for a simple debt arrangement? A strategic partner? A hands-off investor? And what would you be willing to give up in return? Exploring your options ahead of time can help you get comfortable with the lingo and trade-offs so the choices won’t be so overwhelming. Formalize your business and marketing plans. Any reputable lender or investor will expect to see your plans for running and monetizing your business. If none of your plans are in writing, or if they only exist on the back of cocktail napkins, consider drafting something more formal well before you start down the capital-raising path.
Jill Podehl West Palm Beach tricks on improving your business financial situation: In most cases, weak internal financial controls and policies can make your business incapable of organizing its finances. They can potentially get you into some legal problems if you don’t organize your company’s financial affairs. As such, it’s important to set up good financial habits to keep up with your transactions and help you mitigate problems down the road. These good habits can include: Hire a reliable finance manager: This is to help you make informed and sound financial decisions. They can implement strict accounting and economic management that’s vital to the proper organization of your company’s finances.