RTS #078 Best and worst $37 you can spend
I realized recently that I was guilty of making a “claim” I wasn’t 100% confident was actually true. As a general rule I try to only speak from experience and when I realize that I’ve made a mistake, I correct it.
Which is why this week, I made a $37 “gift” towards America’s national debt. Probably the worst $37 I’ve ever spent except for the fact that now I’m back to speaking from experience and not theory. You may have even heard me say it but when people talk about being willing to pay more of their fair share (whatever that is) I like to point out that you can in fact make a voluntary payment to the national debt…and no does.
It might sound silly to go out of my way to do it, but the best in any field get that way by having repeatable processes and learning from the best. Making the same joke hundreds of times have helped hundreds of conversations about tax planning because we’re able to move past the fluff and get to the good stuff, not tipping the IRS. I picked $37 because it matches our 37-point checklist for reviewing tax returns, and that checklist is a perfect example of a repeatable process based on extensive experience.
At this point, I’ve heard from so many financial advisors (and some taxpayers) who have used the checklist and had great results that I can’t help but find new ways to spread the message. I’m hearing from more and more advisors who are using it to train their teams as well. I’m not sure what would top this for best $37 you could spend, but the checklist will absolutely pay dividends for a long, long time.
Take reviewing tax returns for every client, every year, from theory to reality, and make sure you have a systematized, repeatable way to do it. My vote, of course, is going to be for using the RTS 37 Point Checklist, but you are welcome to send that $37 to the treasury department as well:
Voluntary help reduce $36T in US debt.
Happy Tax Planning!
