Jill Podehl and the climb of a business administration consultant: Don’t forget your taxes! Failing to pay your taxes can lead you into financial trouble. Consider making a financial calendar that reminds you when to pay and file your taxes. Here are some ways to save: Contribute to a tax-deferred retirement account. Tax-deferred accounts such as a 401(k) or a traditional IRA aren’t taxed until you withdraw funds. As a result, you’ll have years to compound interest on tax-free savings. Take matters into your own hands. If you’ve hired someone to do your taxes in the past, consider doing it yourself by using intuitive tax software. Interest rates are a part of almost any financial move you’ll make. Credit cards, student loans, mortgages and auto loans are just some of the financial accounts you may have that come with an interest rate. It’s a good idea to know the interest rates on these various types of accounts, because they may be causing you tospend more on your various debt commitments. See additional info at Jill Podehl West Palm Beach, Florida.

To make sure that all of your hard-earned money doesn’t vanish, you’ll need to take steps to protect it. Here are some steps to think about, even if you can’t afford them all right now. If you rent, get renter’s insurance to protect the contents of your place from events such as burglary or fire. Read the policy carefully to see what’s covered and what isn’t. Disability income insurance protects your greatest asset—the ability to earn an income—by providing you with a steady income if you ever become unable to work for an extended period of time due to illness or injury. If you want help managing your money, find a fee-only financial planner to provide unbiased advice that’s in your best interest, rather than a commission-based financial advisor, who earns money when you sign up with the investments their company backs. The latter has a potentially divided loyalty (to their company’s bottom line and to you), while the former has no incentive to guide you down a wrong path.

Who is Jill Podehl and some of her business finance opinions: The controller increases the company’s overall financial accountability and checks and balances. A controller reviews the bookkeeper’s ledger for accuracy while also maintaining the integrity of the accounting data file in the future so that adjustments can’t be made without approval. Lastly, a controller issues monthly financial reports highlighting any critical issues that you need to understand and possibly address.

Sadly, you can’t really kick-start your financial future if you’re carrying a ton of debt. Between sky-high interest rates, large minimum monthly payments, and the damage lots of debt can do to your credit score, you’re better off paying your debts first. Create a debt pay-off strategy and be patient but consistent when working toward becoming debt-free. If you are serious about building wealth, then you’re going to need to put your money to work for you. This is where investing comes in. However, before you put any of your hard-earned money into investments, it’s important to have well-defined objectives. Think about what the investment is for when you’ll need your money and what your risk tolerance. Investing is a long-term activity, so you have to commit to it if you really want to see your money grow. Worried that you’ll need your money in the short term? Well, that’s what your savings accounts are for; to put aside your emergency savings and money for your short-term goals (i.e. money you’ll need in 5 years or less). You also want to make sure you have a basic understanding (at the minimum) of any investment you put your money into (e.g. the stock market, real estate, or small business). Your plans to invest should be included as a part of your monthly budget where you allocate a certain percentage of your income toward your investment goals. Read even more information on Jill Podehl West Palm Beach, Florida.

You need a team of smart, reliable people who can help you pursue your goals. But hiring is expensive. Besides a full-time salary, employees have other requirements, such as benefits, bonuses, vacation time and equipment. Furthermore, you will need support for recruitment and for building and managing your compensation plans. Although some of this is unavoidable, you can minimize your financial burden by including contractors in your hiring plans. For example, instead of hiring a full-time marketing director and expecting them to be a jack-of-all-trades, consider hiring a team of freelancers. This will provide you with the expertise you need without the headcount. The same approach can apply to your management team. A fully burdened CFO can cost $300,000-$350,000 annually (sometimes more for “hot” areas like software as a service) and might be more than you need. Hiring a fractional CFO to provide advice and guidance is a more cost-effective option.

Jill Podehl West Palm Beach tips on improving your firm 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.