Skip to main content

Spring Cleaning

We would be hard-pressed to find someone who wasn’t familiar with the term entombed in today’s title. And while I LOVE to clean and organize things, this time that isn’t the type of spring cleaning I’m talking about.

Spring also brings about some financial deadlines. This year Tax Day falls on Tuesday, April 18. It’s obvious to every tax-paying American that if you are required to file, this is the last day to do so. But, did you know that it’s also the last day that you can contribute to certain retirement (and tax-deferred) accounts for the 2022 tax year? Yes, sometimes things with our government happen retroactively, just don’t get me started on that subject. I’ll bet that now you’re thinking IRA/ROTH IRA and HSA contributions are the subjects of this post.

NOPE!

There is another type of account that is designed to help save on taxes, and that is an FSA or Flexible Spending Account. You can learn a little more about them here. If you have one of these, have contributed to it, and have money left in it, you may still be able to use (or roll over) any monies from the last tax year during this tax year.

Whether or not you can do this depends on how your employer set it up, and it is definitely worth the phone call to find out. While you’re at it, educate yourself about how to spend those extra special dollars here.

Happy shopping.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Books Equal Bucks

 In November PBS always hosts their  Annual Reading Marathon . “Wow. That’s the  second  time this month that our financial blogger has gone off the rails regarding blog topics. What does reading have to do with finances?” My answer? Everything. Establishing good reading habits in children–reading 20 minutes a day–can literally change their financial future. Good readers do better in school. Good readers are more likely to graduate from high school. Good readers will probably make more money as adults. Reading changes EVERYTHING          . That being said, books  can  be expensive, but they don’t have to be. Libraries are some of the best resources for book access–they play SUCH an important role in our community. You can also share/trade books with your neighbors, friends, and family members (just make sure you have a good system for tracking book ownership). Second-hand stores or garage sales are awesome places to s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bon Voyage

Many of you are aware that I like to travel. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few foreign countries and taking a handful of cruises, and I intend to do more in the not-to-distant future. Because you know me, you know I don’t finance these trips–I plan ahead and save for them. And if you’ve followed my blog for a while, you are also aware that I do use one credit card for which I earn flight miles, and I use this card on the trips where I see the world. There is one thing about my credit card for which I am especially grateful–whenever there is suspicious activity on my account, I get a text notification. The credit card company recognizes that charges abroad MIGHT NOT BE LEGIT, and they send me a message. All I have to do is confirm that it is, in fact, me that made the peculiar purchase, and I’m good to go. If I did not make the purchase, I respond in kind, and my card is deactivated. Note to self and others: one could avoid these potential interruptions if one calls credit car...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Marshmallow Experiment

In 1972, Stanford did a study about delayed gratification with children. It involved giant marshmallows and testing their patience.  You can see a short YouTube video about the study here . Basically, the kids who could sit alone with a giant marshmallow without eating it for a certain length of time were rewarded with a second giant marshmallow. Fun, huh? Some kids could be patient and reap the rewards; some could not. I was a small child when the study was conducted, and I wonder which side I might have been on. I HAVE learned to be pretty patient as an adult. One of the areas in which I’ve seen improvement is in finances. I have become a good money manager–I could be paid once annually and budget so that I won’t run out before year’s end, including having enough money to pay my own quarterly taxes–self-employed people do that. Speaking of taxes, I try not to overpay so that I qualify for a “refund,” because the government does not practice The Marshmallow Experiment. Huh? ...
Post a Comment
Read more