A few weeks ago, Ken wrote about the advantages of a tax strategist and our upcoming search for one. Since then, we have had conversations with two different financial planning companies. We have follow up appointments with both. 

The first works specifically with those in public service due to the special retirement accounts available. We spoke to one of the co-founders, a woman I had seen speak at several work events. She is also a real estate investor and seems to understand our specific goals going forward. After an hour going into extreme detail about our finances and blood type (only half kidding), we have two salient points moving forward.

First, we need to do a better job of keeping track of our spending. Theoretically, we should be saving a lot more a month than we seem to be doing. Our plan is to go over every transaction from March (a month with no vacation, holidays, or birthdays) to see how we spent. Also, EVERY time we spend money in July, we are going to write each item down. Even itemized Costco receipts. My hope is that it’s like when I track my calories and decide not to eat something because it’s not worth the effort to enter it.

The second point is that we are going to apply for life insurance policies. Both Ken and I have moderate policies through our employers. However, after speaking with the advisor, we realized we would be woefully unprepared if something terrible did happen to one of us. We discussed what amount one of us would need and applied for our own policies. Currently, the insurance company is looking at our applications which include detailed medical records as well as a home visit from a phlebotomist for blood and urine tests. We will meet with the financial planner again once our policies have been approved to talk about other steps.

Today, we spoke with someone who works specifically in the tax arena. Again, we went over our finances and our long term goals. The person we talked to here also invests in real estate and has been involved in REI for decades. We came across them through the Rent to Retirement Academy. Actually, about a week of the material is taught by this firm. The major takeaway from this meeting was that we are actually a decent way away from achieving our current goals but he will help us work toward them through tax breaks. Also, their firm does both tax strategy and tax preparation, so it’s a one stop shop. 

A few quick tips he gave us (amateurs who are unable to give financial advice). When we go out to eat, as long as we discuss business, the dinner could be considered a business meeting if we track who was there and note that business was discussed (which it always is, as we constantly discuss where else we want to buy). Similarly, on trips where we make business appointments, some parts could be considered write offs. We also discussed the possible write offs included with our home office. One of the things that confused (confuses?) me is how we can spend business funds before we are making a profit. Apparently, that is the definition of operating at a loss. We will meet with this advisor again next week for more specific steps moving forward. We look forward to learning more about taxes, something I never thought I’d say.