Be Wealthy & Smart

Learn stock market investing insights and why investing is important to you becoming financially free. Investing in the stock market doesn't have to be difficult. It is very important for you to know how to invest in the stock market in order to achieve financially independence. Here are the reasons why you should know how to invest in the stock market: 1. It's affordable. It has low account minimums: $0, $0 for IRA's, or $500. 2. It has low fees like $5.95 or $6.95 a trade. Low internal fees. For example, SPY has a .09% expense ratio. 3. It is easy to invest. Little knowledge is required to invest like a pro. 4. Long-term performance will average around 10% annually. Everyone needs a money engine. 5. You need to have higher rates to compound to become financially free. Investing in the stock market does entail risk. The stock market drops 20 - 30% every 5 or 6 years. Expect it and plan for it. One way is to invest 1/12th per month and dollar-cost-average into the stock market. I'm excited to celebrate my 400th podcast! All of my podcasts are listed on http://lindapjones.com in the podcast tab. They are evergreen so the mentoring is relevant all the way back to podcast #1.

Learn about entrepreneurship from global CEO branding expert and Firestarter co-author Raoul Davis Jr.

Learn how to maximize your investments so your 401(k) or retirement plan will accumulate $1 million. About 150,000 people have a 401(k) of $1 million or more in 2017 and 152,000 IRA's have $1 million or more. Here are the steps to take: 1. Start as soon as possible. 2. Invest the maximum or at least get the match. 401(k) & 403 (b) = $18,500 Roth IRA benefits phase out (you can't contribute) if you earn too much money. IRA $5,500 3. If you're over age 50, add the catch up provision. 401(k) $18,500 + 6,000 = $24,500 IRA $5,500 + $1,000 4. Invest in stocks. 10% average annual return. $3,000 per year for 35 years @10% = $978k $8,000 per year for 25 years @ 10% = $952,000 $24,000 per year for 15 years @ 10% = $939,000 5. Don't use target funds. 6. Get comfortable with risk. 7. Stay the course.

Learn what assets make up your asset allocation and how to decide how much to invest.

Learn what to do to make a dreary job like doing your taxes, fun! April 17th is Income Tax Day. This podcast will help you get through it with more fun and like a breeze!

Learn why being wealthy is a choice. Recently I saw a tweet. Here's what it said: "You spend $20 a day eating out. That's $600 a month. Add drinks it's $800 a month. In 3 months you can buy a ticket anywhere in the world. You can travel, you're just too lazy to cook." There certainly is truth in it for travel, but also for wealth building. $800 a month is $9600 per year. At 10%, in 10 years that is $193,199. In 20 years it is $669,407. In 30 years it's $1,904,571. Thirty years! Is it all about retirement? No! There's a balance to living today vs. putting aside money for tomorrow. Going back to our original example, what if half was for travel and half for investing? In 10 years, $4800 invested at 10% is $96,599. In 20 years, $334,704. In 30 years, $952,285. What your priorities are is up to you. Which brings me back to my original statement. Wealth is a choice, or rather a series of choices that you make. What are you choosing to spend your money on? Are you being mindful with your spending? Are you investing anything for the future? These are questions I've already answered on previous podcasts like the 5 spending priorities, how to begin investing, how much to invest, etc. I'm asking you because most people are not mindful with what they spend money on. You can be wealthy. You can be frivolous. But you can't be both because wealth takes deliberate action. Which are you choosing?

Learn 7 ways to use your tax refund and 2 that will build wealth for you. Often people use a tax refund to pay down debt or save money for a large purchase, but there are 2 more things to consider doing with your tax refund that will help you build wealth. Listen to this podcast for 2 more ideas you can use your tax refund for that may be more beneficial to you financially. You may also want to listen to the Be Wealthy & Smart podcast about how saving money can make you rich.

Learn how to delay filing your taxes until October 15th. If you're not ready to file your taxes on April 15th, you can file paperwork to delay. An estimated 14 million people will file extensions in 2018. I do it every year and it's one of the best decisions I make! It feels like such a luxury to not have to file until October. This year the deadline to pay tax is Tuesday, April 17th. That's because the 15th is a Sunday and Monday is the Emancipation Day holiday in WA DC. To be able to file later than April 17th, you have to file the right forms. File IRS Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File US Individual Tax Return. You will have an automatic extension to submit your paperwork until October 15. You can file through a computer, or submit a paper version. You can also have a tax professional submit it using IRS e-file online. Be sure you understand, the money is still due on time! If you don't pay enough tax, you will owe interest and possibly penalties until it's paid in full. Again, the money is still due on April 17th! Please don't misunderstand me! Sometimes you just want some more time to get the paperwork done, or you may be waiting on some special forms, such as a K-1. K-1's come from alternative investments like partnerships and can be slow to arrive in the mail. They often don't arrive at your door by April 15th, so an extension is necessary. Remember, your state taxes are NOT included in the extension, so check with your state's agency for their rules. In summary, you can put off filing the forms, but you still owe the tax, so be sure the money is in by April 17th and properly request your extension. Then you have until October 15 to get your return filed.

Learn what the next group of tech stocks might be that will outperform the FANG stocks. Here is the article from Marketwatch: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/if-the-faangs-have-got-you-down-its-time-to-win-with-the-wnsss-stocks-2018-03-29

Learn why saving money is so important to wealth building.