The 5 Tax Commandments (Whaaaaa)

Before we begin, I want to give a quick shoutout to @Taxstone. Although his journey hasn’t been the most perfect, his impact on our culture in recent years has been enormous. When his name comes to mind, the extremely funny things he has said and done are instantly remembered, but within those words and actions are actual statements that many young men in our neighborhoods need to hear. He may not have been the model citizen his entire life, but he has taken the lessons learned from his sins and tried to create a positive outlet to shape, and reshape the minds of young men so that they may stray away from making the same mistakes he made. This one’s for you, I’m sure if this was your realm, you’d have an episode about this one too. To Brooklyn's own, Tax, Innocent until proven Guilty. #FreeTax

It’s Tax Season. The time of year when we get refunded the money the government borrowed from us for free back without interest. Ironically, many of us leave money on the table every single year. So today we’re going to play the tax game differently, we’re going to play it like the rich. Here are some commandments to follow to get the most out of your taxes this year.

1. DO NOT USE FREE ONLINE APPS TO FILE YOUR TAXES!

Turbotax, H&R block apps, all that crap. DO NOT USE IT. This is hands down the worst thing you can do. Get yourself a tax professional, if possible find an accountant, or a tax lawyer. If you can, try to find both in one person (those are the true savages). Using online services is the number 1 reason why millions of people are missing out on tax credits that the governments you to take advantage of. Millions of Americans missed out on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) simply because they used one of these apps and didn’t know they were eligible for the credit. Law No. 40 in the 48 laws of power says “despise the free lunch”. And these apps, are the very free lunch you should despise. If you think I’m lying, the IRS said it themselves dawg.

2. Be Organized.

Be sure to have all of your documents ready to go. All of your w-2’s, 1099s, Student loan tax sheets, investments, property, kids, other people’s kids (I’m kidding, stop claiming other people’s kids please), just make sure you have your manila folders, or binders ready. The more organized you are the much better you will be in finding places you can take advantage.

3. Know your advantages before you reach your tax professional.

If you have an LLC, be sure to go in with the mindset of taking full advantage of that, do your homework before you even reach your professional. The more ideas you bring to your professional the more creative they can be. If you have student loans, or went to school this year, make sure you go with the mindset that you’re going to take receipts of all books you purchased for your education (Notice how I said all books for your education).

4. Ask 9 Million Questions: Annoy your tax professional. Trust me, they like it. Taxes are usually a boring subject and tax professionals aren’t usually regarded as rockstars, so they really appreciate sharing their knowledge when they can. Unsure of which questions to ask? You can start with this set.

• What Business Expenses can I deduct?

• Did any Tax regulation change this year? How is my business affected?

• Can I deduct the cost of my health insurance? 401k? Retirement?

• If I didn’t sell my stock this year, do I still have to pay capital gains?

• What legal structure is the most advantageous for me and/or my business?

• What receipts and other paperwork should I keep throughout the year?

• How do I save even more on taxes next year?

• I plan on doing x, y, or z this year, how will this affect my taxes? Is there a way for me to avoid some costs ahead of time?

• What income tax credits do most people miss? Am I eligible for them?

• I gave money away to charity, gofundme, kickstarter, etc. can I claim that on taxes? If so, how do I go about that?

5. Create a list of big things that happened this year and check to see if you have proof of costs for those.

Did you move this year? Can you prove that you did, do you have any receipts for your moving expenses? GET THAT.

Did you get a new job this year? Did you pay to search for that job? Bought new clothes for the job? Bought a Metrocard to get there? Do you have the receipts? GET THAT

Did you have a child? Do you have child care expenses? GET THAT!

Did you get sick this year? Did you have to purchase medicine? Did you go to the hospital? Did you come out of pocket for any medical expenses? GET THAT!!!!!

Did you buy LED light bulbs or any energy saving devices for your home? Do you have the receipt? GET THAT!

Bring the entire bag when it comes to your tax professional. The tax code is enormous and there are write-off possibilities everywhere. You’re looking at the kid who wrote off all of his books, then sold the same books in college to the book store essentially getting all of the costs of books back in total by the end of year.

The game is here for y’all to take advantage of. If you don’t take advantage of it, it will take advantage of you. If you have any questions, you know where to find me…. @cjoeblack anywhere and everywhere or simply reply to this email.

Next week we will cover what you can do with your Tax return money!

Keep stacking your paper y’all,

CJB

Presidentin' on a Budget

Even though our current President ain’t all that, it’s necessary to celebrate all the old heads that helped this country be what it is today. It may not be in the best shape it could be, but it’s what we’ve got for now. In the spirit of the holiday I’ve decided to release an early little nugget so you can enjoy your day off.

We all want to ball. Roll around in the back of a suburban, shades on, telling the driver “Pick up the homies. I’m gonna call and tell them I’m outside”. But the downside to it all is that living this lifestyle is extremely expensive. Well y’all, it doesn’t have to be. These small hacks can help you live like a president and save dough at the same time.

LET'S TALK ABOUT CARS:

You want a ballin’ ass whip, sick sound system, and still have money in the bank? BUY YOUR CAR USED. DO NOT buy a brand new car AT ALL. As soon as your drive the car off of the lot the car is immediately worth less than the price you paid for it. This is called depreciation. I’m sure some of us know this already, but for those who don’t. On average cars lose one third of their value within the FIRST YEAR of ownership. So if you bought a car for $30,000 last year, it’s only worth $20,000 right now. The Absolute worst thing you can do is borrow money to buy the car. A car note is the enemy, point blank, period. Wise words from my the car OG @DuckSauceandKetchup, buy yourself something nice from craigslist for under $10k cash and make the necessary adjustments over time.

Make friends with a mechanic:

Over time it would cost you less to buy a used car and fix it, than it would actually cost you to purchase a new one.

The average life-span of a vehicle is 10 years. So why pay full price for a car, when by buying on year 3/4 you can buy it for almost half price and still have it for more than half the time? If you don’t believe me, let the car industry tell it

If you run into issues, your car mechanic friend can hook you up for the low or hit @DuckSauceandKetchup

LET'S TALK ABOUT BAE: 

Ah...The necessary part of love. Some people are lucky enough to find one that doesn’t like to do much, and that’s completely fine. But for the rest of us who haven’t, we have to improvise. Treating your Michelle doesn’t have to be expensive if you’re creative.

This is the 2016 New York Cheap Eats List <--------

Not in the list, but one of my favorite places to eat. Never paid over $80 here. Jack's Wife Freda.

Don’t do anything else until you finish the restaurants under this list. Dinner for 2 at these places run under 80 dollars. If you passed 80 dollars on here dawg I don’t know what you were doing.

Ice Cream.

No matter what time of year it is…. PEOPLE LOVE ICE CREAM

Although this list shows ice cream for $20 don’t believe the hype, I’ve gone to each of these places and have gotten ice cream for under 7 dollars per person. There’s also vegan ice cream options for people who are lactose intolerant. Get your shine on.

Art.

ID NYC gives you FREE access to ALL, yes I said, ALL of the Museums in New York City. For you and 1 other person.

Also take a visit to @TheCultureLP for new art events either free, or on the cheap. They also have FREE parties they do monthly. Never Sleep on them LOL.... (If you click the link you'll get the joke)

Games.

Many Presidents are known for their love of board games, if you’re a game lover like me this bar is lowkey going to be your favorite place in the city. It has every board and card game you can ask for. The drinks are cheap, and the food is MAD good. 

And Also....

Stay home and cook with bae. (The Best Option in my opinion; the bonding in this one is unparalleled)

LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR CLOSET:

Everything is about MINDSET

Within the past year and a half I’ve found myself getting fed up with deciding what to wear. It took too much time and brain space. At first I thought it was because I was a wack ni**a but eventually I realized that I suffered from decision fatigue. I wanted to make the least decisions possible so I can save my brain power for important decisions.

After doing my googles I’ve found that many successful individuals have suffered from the same issue and decided to do something about it. They decided to wear the same clothes like 80% of the time. Not like the same sweater everyday but like buy 5 pairs of the same sweater or sweater type and just wear it.

I’ve found that it not only made life easier for me, but it also saved me money. I’ve been able to simply run in and out when it comes to not only getting dressed in the morning, but also when it comes to shopping. Shoutout to Barack Obama for practicing this right here.

For those who have decided that dressing like our favorite cartoons aren't for them here are a few apps where you can buy fly clothes for low prices:

The Tracktor:

The Tracktor is a website that tracks the rise and fall of item prices on amazon.com. It’s a mini stock market indicator that tells you about how much the item you want has increased or fell in price. You can even submit an item, track it, and it will send you an email when the item you’re looking for falls within the price range that you want.

The Apps where you can buy designer  for the cheap:

Rue La La: 

Gilt 

At the end of the day we have to remember that building wealth is a way of life. These discoveries are made by changing the way we look and treat our environment. People make money every day and blow it all away simply because the mindset and lifestyle hasn’t set in. I personally know someone who sold their business for a large amount of money, but will still hunt for the $19 dollar megabus when having to travel. Constantly look for value & quality and you will forever have funds in your pockets.

Keep Stacking Your Paper,

CJB

Wall Street Stock Investing 101

Name 5 things that come to mind when you hear the words "Stock Market". I'm pretty sure within the 5 things money was one of them. Lots of money. Millions. Throughout history fortunes have been built in the infamous stock market, but it's always been this mystical black box to many of us. To be completely honest with you, it's not rocket science. Many of the worlds greatest investors have said the same... over and over again.

"All the math you need in the stock market you get in the fourth grade" - Peter Lynch

To be completely honest it's mostly true. Investing is 40% information, 40% perspective, 10% patience, 10% discipline. With that being said here are the basics of the game:

Investing is business. Point blank period. The market is the place where people buy and sell products or services, and the price is set on the basis of what people are willing to buy or sell that product or service. Every stock is a business, treat it as such. If the business has a bad owner, or bad management, the stock isn't likely to do as well. If sales of a business are down, the stock isn't likely to do well. If the price of doing business for a company drops? The stock is likely to do well. The entire market can be boiled down to real decisions we make on a daily basis.

Why the stock market matters:

This 30 minute video gives you a break down of how the economy works and within this is the importance of the stock market.

Some words to pay attention to and what they mean:

Share(s): Ownership within a company. The more shares you own, the more ownership you have.

Stock Price: How much everyone on the market thinks a company is worth.

Price/Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio): A company's share price to its per share earnings.

Earnings per share: The amount of profit a company makes divided by the amount of outstanding shares.

Yield: The percentage amount of income (through interest or dividends) you earn by owning a particular stock or bond.

Now to the how:

Best apps for investing:

Robinhood app: It is by far the simplest investment app I've ever come across. If this is your first time investing I'd recommend using this. Design is simple and easy to use. It's cheap. And there isn't all of this super investment mumbo jumbo.

Betterment: Betterment is the product/service you probably hear about as an ad before your favorite podcast. This is within reason. It is the perfect app for the passive investor. It uses technology to automate your investment decisions for you based upon your needs, and goals. If you don't know how to invest, and don't have the time to do so, you either you this app or you invest in an Index Fund.

Philosophy

Many people have different investment philosophies. Mine in particular is rooted in value investing. I look for good companies, who are valued at great prices. I personally look at investing in the same light as I look at products. I look for quality, a great brand, a fair price, and something that will bring me value in the long term. To me it's like buying sneakers, if I find a great pair of Nike's on sale, I'm coppin. I'm not in the game to make 1 million in a day, I'm in the game to increase my portfolio 10-12% a year.

Other folks buy stocks for different reasons. Some buy them for dividends, some buy them for short term growth, some buy them because of volatility. All in all, you have to make the decision for the stock you purchase. Just make sure it makes sense to you.

This weeks email comprises of unlimited bars to get your investing started. If you still need some help suiting up don't be shy, reach out to your boy. @CJoeBlack on all social platforms.

Keep stacking your paper,

Carl

Surviving Trump

How to get your money up and survive a Trump presidency:

It's going to be an interesting four years, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to get my money though.

Here are some of the commandments for surviving the next 4 years:

1. Change your spending habits:

Stop living the swipe life. As much as we say yolo, Monday always comes... Get it together!

A. Cash is still king: That night of swiping, all of those pending transactions hitting all at once on Monday? All of that could've been prevented if you took out cash and said "this is all I have let me spend it wisely." Leave your debit card at home, and carry an extra $100 for emergencies. To those friends or the inner me that says "spend more, swipe again" your response should be "if you ain't got it, you ain't got it." The theory is brilliant. Give yourself an allowance man. I promise it'll be lit. It's also a cool way to track your spending. Tracking is the fastest way to getting your life together.

If you hate cash, transfer money into another account and carry that card. Just separate your spending money from your income. Keeping them together is the quickest way to going broke.

B. Download Digit: Digit it's a dope ass saving app that takes away money little by little based upon your spending activity. It's like a mini angel that says "since you got it right now, lemme take a little bit for that rainy day; that day may be coming"

C. Freeze your credit cards:

No, I really mean freeze them! Fill a zip lock bag with water, put your credit cards in there, and FREEZE THEM! The worst thing you can do is have all of your credit cards hanging around waiting to be used. The next thing you know you're $300 away from your spending limit thinking  to yourself "how did I get here?"

D. Create a community:

If we're broke, we re broke together. If we're rich, we're rich together. We're rich forever.

It's 2017. You can't be the only one caking. Get your squad's money up too. Like they always say "you're only as strong as your weakest link." There are a few ways you can do this:

 Join/create a sousou.

Become accountability partners.

Set goals and bets against those goals.

Create savings competitions.

All of these methods can not only help you save, but it can help the homies save.

Bonus:

PACK A LUNCH OR MEAL PREP 'CAUSE THESE CHIPOTLE PRICES ARE WAY TO HIGH YOU NEED TO CUT IT.

2. Bring more money in:

A. Side hustlers anonymous: Everyone has a hidden talent that they don't realize can bring extra money in. Whether you're good at braiding hair, doing nails, an amazing writer, designer, you're nice at photoshop, or you love the gym and have extra time on the weekends there's money out there waiting for you.

Some apps that you can take your talents to (other than south beach) are:

Fiverr

Craigslist

TaskRabbit

B. Sell all that old sh*t you have in your house:

"One man's trash is another mans treasure"

If you haven't worn a pair of shoes, sneakers, dress, hat, or used a particular device in MONTHS.... then you have money sitting in the house. There are local folks that are willing to buy things from you through craigslist and eBay.

C. Make your day job your side job too:

If you're an analyst at work, take those talents and analyze something for a client and sell them your findings. Even if you're selling your opinions for $100 each, doing this once a week totals to an extra $400 a month. That can take care of the phone bill, wifi, and some of your student loans. Mind you, you can sell the same data and opinions to competing customers for same or double the price.

3. Spend your money and time like an investor:

Look at the last 10 purchases you've made. Ask yourself this question: Are these purchases going to increase my wealth or in any way increase my ability to build wealth? Was this lunch/brunch that I just spent a quick $40 on a networking brunch? Or did I just do this for the gram? Am I getting paid off of the gram? Is this party a networking party? If my friends want to party can't we just party at my place? Isn't this the reason why I got my own place?

Every decision you make lays the ground work for the next decision you have to make. Your life is one big snowball, and whether positive or negative, the snowball only gets bigger.

Buy things that last longer. If you spend $40 on dinner, it's because the dinner is for the week, not for the night.

If you spend an hour with someone it's either because of love or because you're building something that has monetary returns. Chillin' for the sake of chillin' is easy and addicting. If you want more money you have to make hard choices. Analyze each time and monetary decision like a business. Watch how your life changes.

And last but not least.... Taxes:

Yeah y'all wasn't expecting this I'm sure, but here are some bars:

Find a tax professional. Not a H&R Block tax professional; I'm talking about an accountant, tax lawyer, or you could even hit me up for tax advice (disclaimer: I don't have my law degree yet. any advice I provide to you directly, I would  follow up with a second opinion). Even if things aren't actionable, going down right path always helps. We leave tons of money on the table every year because we don't take full advantage of our tax code.

Some things to look toward:

If you don't have a business, start one. File for an LLC, and start performing monetary transactions under it. Small businesses (LLC's, S-Corps) actually pay lower taxes than you do (Personal/Ordinary income tax) when you get a check from work. Also, hit up HR to see if there's a way they can sub-contract you through your LLC instead of being personally hired. By doing this, you can give yourself a lower salary (you pay lower taxes) and with the left over money you will pay a lower tax rate (you pay lower taxes again). Also by having a business, you can write off a ton of activities and purchases. You can even write-off your rent and other bills by capitalizing on your home office deduction. 

This Link gives you a rough idea of what the tax rates are by type: Tax

If you already have an LLC and it's bringing in revenue, consider reclassifying your business into an S-Corp. it will increase your personal net worth and if you have partners, it will increase their net worth as well. It also lowers your personal liabilities to that business. Lastly, you also qualify for more business incentives since you're technically a "corporation with shareholders" now.

Don't forget y'all, just because you read this doesn't mean everything is 1,2,3. Everything in this post takes time, effort, and most importantly... consistency. Investing and growing wealth is tedious and slow. If you hear anything that's fast and fun, I promise you it's a scam. Until next time...

Keep stacking your paper,

Carl