Ten Talents Tax & Financial Planning

10/14/2025

Page for parents & educators

Teaching Smart Money Skills: Allowances
1. Set parameters
2. Stick to a schedule
3. Consider giving a raise

10/12/2025

Video: 5 Points to Consider When Starting a Business

10/09/2025

October 15 is the tax extension deadline. If you filed Form 4868, your 2024 return is due.
An extension to file ≠ extension to pay.
Need help? DM or call today.

What to have ready
-W-2's, 1099s, K-1's
-Interest/dividend/crypto reports
-Business & rental income/expenses
-IRA/HSA contributions
-Student loan, college, childcare info
-Estimated tax payments, payment made with extension

10/08/2024

Why Pre-Tax Retirement Contributions Are Better Than Roth In Peak Earning Years (Even If Tax Rates Increase): From a financial planning perspective, the seeming implication of a likely rise in future tax rates would be that, given a choice between being taxed on income today or deferring that tax to the future, it makes more sense to be taxed today when taxes are lower than they'll be in the future. While it's true that the top marginal tax rate has decreased dramatically since the mid-20th century, the difference in the actual tax paid by most Americans has been far more modest.

Because not only were very few households actually subject to the 1950s-era top tax rates (which were triggered at the equivalent of over $2 million of income in today's dollars), but the long decline in nominal tax rates has also come with the elimination of many loopholes and deductions that have resulted in more income being subject to tax. Which means that it seems less likely that Congress will simply raise the marginal tax brackets in the future than that they will further reduce the benefits of current tax planning strategies – possibly including those of Roth accounts themselves!

Article by Kitces Senior Financial Planning Nerd Ben Henry-Moreland: https://bit.ly/4eEhGuD

04/15/2024

It has arrived!

04/14/2024

I enjoyed speaking to a group of single moms today for Financial Literacy Month. God has really been opening doors this year.

04/13/2024

More Investment related knowledge.

Types of investments

There are a lot of different types of investments.
Stocks-Buying stock is buying equity or ownership in a company
Bonds- When you buy a bond you are essentially lending money to a company or the government
Mutual Fund- is a pool of many investors’ money that is invested broadly in a number of companies. Mutual fund can invest in stocks, bonds, commodities (Commodities are physical products that you can invest in), currencies and derivatives.
ETF-are similar to mutual funds in that they are a collection of investments that tracks a market index. Unlike mutual funds, which are purchased through a fund company, shares of ETFs are bought and sold on the stock markets.

What is a Market Index

A market index is a hypothetical portfolio that tracks the performance of a certain group of stocks, bonds or other investments. These investments are often grouped around a particular industry, like tech stocks, or even the stock market overall, as is the case with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) or Nasdaq.

S&P 500- the S&P 500 tracks the performance of 500 top companies in the U.S., as determined by a committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Dow-The DJIA is relatively narrow in scope, tracking the performance of just 30 U.S. companies as selected by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The stocks within the DJIA come from a range of industries, from healthcare to technology, but are united by all being blue chip stocks. This means they have a history of strong financial performance.
Nasdaq-The Nasdaq 100 tracks the performance of 100 of the largest and most actively traded stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Companies within the Nasdaq can be in many different industries, but they generally veer toward tech and don’t include any members of the financial sector.
Because the S&P 500 and the Dow are hypothetical portfolio’s we can not invest directly in them but we can invest in a mutual fund or ETF that tracks the indexes.
There are a lot of different type of Indexes, financial, technology, global, growth and value. There are also a ton of index funds or ETF that track these indexes.
When you are starting off, using an index fund or an EFT really is the easiest and best way to go.

04/11/2024

What is Investing?

Investing is the act of using money to generate profit or income. Instead of relying solely on our brains or physical labor to earn money, investing involves using money itself to make more money. For instance, when you invest in a company like Apple, you're essentially buying a share of its growth and profits. As Apple grows and earns profits, you, as an investor, benefit through capital appreciation and dividends. Capital appreciation refers to an increase in the market price of a stock. Dividends are portions of the company's profits distributed to shareholders. For example, if Apple is valued at $200 per share and declares a 2% dividend, you'd receive $4 per share without any additional effort. Reinvesting these dividends by purchasing more shares of Apple further accelerates wealth accumulation. Ultimately, investing offers a pathway to building wealth over time.

04/06/2024

Please and thank you!

04/06/2024

Read my latest blog post about setting financial goals.

Setting financial goals is a crucial step toward achieving financial success and stability. Here are some tips to help you set effective financial goals: 1. Be Specific: Clearly define your financi…

04/05/2024

Time to Get Your Financial House In Order

Taking a Financial Inventory

04/04/2024

People are “almost certain to succeed” if they spend less than they earn, invest shrewdly, learn continually and remain disciplined. -Charlie Munger