Here’s a Money Hack if You’re Up to Your Eyeballs Prepping for Taxes

You’re probably pulling, have pulled, or about to pull your expenses for the year as part of your review.

Now is a good time to note all those annual or quarterly expenses you might forget when you’re getting your head around your monthly income and expenses.

Money flows don’t all groove to the same time beat.

Some drip out monthly like rent and utilities. Others like insurance, real estate taxes, tuition, memberships or estimated taxes hit quarterly or annually.

Just because they’re out of sight, don’t let them be out of mind.

Or you’ll have a big bill and possibly no ready cash on hand.

Check your bank and credit card statements and note the infrequent expenses. 

Convert to a monthly run rate, so when you look at your monthly income vs. expense run rate, you have an accurate gauge to measure whether you’re on financial track or not.

Don’t mix time apples and oranges. Convert them all to the same unit of time.

The timing and size of your cash flow outlays will be different than your accounting for them, but you’ll benefit by 

1. Never being surprised, which jars your financial self-confidence.

2. Never have to scramble for cash and be forced to liquidate assets at a loss.

3. Have an accurate monthly expense run rate, which means you won’t unknowingly spend more than you earn.