Owners' Equity

You may not realize this but taxes are likely your single biggest expense when you add them all up - Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, Payroll Tax, Corporate Tax, Sales Tax, Property Tax, and the list goes on. But what's even worse than the tax itself is the approach people take when it comes to their taxes. They view taxes as nuisance, confusing and an after-thought - relinquishing their tax management to a once a year exercise in gathering information and sending it to their tax preparer to file a tax return. 

For those of you that want to build wealth, you must change your mindset around Taxes. Without the proper mindset, you won’t be able to take the necessary steps to grow your intelligence around taxes and implement viable tax strategies customized for you on an ongoing basis. 

To build wealth and financial freedom, learning how to legally control this expense is essential to keeping more of what you make. This requires you moving from viewing taxes as a once a year burden to an ongoing wealth planning opportunity. 

Financial Independence Planning is comprised of many financial details and assumptions about the future. Many financial advisers seek to add unnecessary granularity in hopes of delivering their clients a magic retirement number. On this episode, we discuss the two essential numbers that you must  get right in your financial independence planning. 

What are these vital numbers? 

Listen in as we explain:

1. what these numbers are 

2. how you can determine and improve yours, and 

3. explain 3 step process that will allow you to achieve financial freedom with having to use any detailed calculations or assumptions. 

Over the past few episodes we have been addressing some of the most critical questions that you need to answer in order to create financial freedom. On today's episode we address the question of "How Much Money Do I Need for Financial Freedom?" We walk thru a step-by-step process to help you answer the "How Much" question yourself. The answer is essential as it will tell you how close you really are to financial freedom. From there, you can craft a realistic strategy to reach your financial independence goals. 

On this episode, we address the next most important question on the journey to financial independence - "When"?. This is the date where you actually turn your financial independence dream to reality. You have to know "When" in order to actually do the math behind financial independence planning.  "When" dictates who much you need to save, how long your investments will grow and compound, how long you need your money to last and all the other financial life strategies to impart to make it actually happen. As you listen to the episode, you will find there can be several phases of "When" and how to realistically timeline it out to eliminate the "if" and create certainty in your "When".  

This month, we are dedicating the "Sharing the Illumination Wealth" podcast to Financial Independence. On todays episode, we address two of the most important questions on your journey to financial independence. Unfortunately most financial advisors  "poo-poo" these two questions yet they are essential to actually creating a real plan for financial independence and an early retirement on your own terms.  At the end of the episode we share an exercise that you can do on your own time to help you answer these two vital questions.

This month, we are dedicating the "Sharing the Illumination Wealth" podcast to Financial Independence. On todays episode, we address two of the most important questions on your journey to financial independence. Unfortunately most financial advisors  "poo-poo" these two questions yet they are essential to actually creating a real plan for financial independence and an early retirement on your own terms.  At the end of the episode we share an exercise that you can do on your own time to help you answer these two vital questions.

This past weekend my daughter got sick so we took her to our local urgent care.  She was quickly seen and dismissed with her actual ailment being misdiagnosed.  She didn't receive the treatment she needed and her illness got worse (104 fever). Fortunately, we saw her pediatrician thereafter who properly diagnosed her with bronchitis and ensured she got the medicine she needed.

If you want financial independence and a healthy financial life, a financial advisor focused solely on your investment portfolio or insurance will not cut it and can actually be detrimental to your wealth.  On today’s episode, I’m going to address a vital planning framework that your financial advisor must have in place to ensure your financial health and well-being. 

The wisdom of a competent and caring financial planner can make the difference between financial success and failure for so many people...just like a competent doctor was able to treat my daughter back to health. 

Welcome to the 10 Year Challenge Edition of the "Sharing The Illumination Wealth" podcast. On this episode, Matt paints a picture of how his 10 Year "Financial Life" challenge and how it has changed...not the least of which included founding Illumination Wealth in the depths of the great recession. Take a break from looking at pictures of celebrities and listen in to find a better approach to the 10 Year Challenge that can help you create the next 10 best years of your life.

On this episode, we discuss a tactical tax strategy for entrepreneurs and business owners with kids (or even parents). You will learn about the tax advantages of putting your kids on your company's payroll, how this money can be used to save for college and financial independence, and the ancillary benefits of teaching your kids about work ethic. We love strategies that can accelerate your wealth creation in many different ways. This is one of them. Tune in to this episode of the "Sharing the Illumination Wealth" podcast to find out more. 

On this episode, we discuss a tactical tax strategy for entrepreneurs and business owners with kids (or even parents). You will learn about the tax advantages of putting your kids on your company's payroll, how this money can be used to save for college and financial independence, and the ancillary benefits of teaching your kids about work ethic. We love strategies that can accelerate your wealth creation in many different ways. This is one of them. Tune in to this episode of the "Sharing the Illumination Wealth" podcast to find out more.