It’s Tax Day – Get Your Money Right

Taxes money finance

Today is Tax Day which means if you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you might want to put a rush on it. I’m sure most have not only filed but also got their return back. But in light of tax day, I wanted to briefly touch on the topic of money. Not only is finance the corporate world I dwell in, but it’s a subject I’ve always been passionate about. Funny enough, growing up in an African household money was rarely spoken about.  Other than to say it doesn’t grow on trees of course, lol. Anybody heard that one before?

Money Mindset

An unfortunate outcome of this is that I grew up with a scarcity mindset when it came to money. I held on to hit for dear life as a teen when I started to make a few bucks here and there. Depriving myself of anything other than the “joy” to see that balance on my account statement led me to later in my teens splurge on myself. After all, I’d been “deprived” for years so I deserved it right?

Growing up in Sweden tipping isn’t a common practice. It’s actually barely a practice at all because of how wages are structured. So coming to America for the first time had me feeling some type of way feeling “forced” to tip EVERYBODY, lol. I’ve somewhat adjusted, but to this day I’m a stingy tipper. Don’t judge me, lol. Don’t even get me started on cruise ships having the audacity to include gratuities in their prices. Like, can I please choose how much I think you deserve? No? Dang!

Moms Financially ‘N Charge

That said my husband who is born in Canada is more than happy to leave a 25% tip. That threw me for a loop at first, but our different views on money has been mutually beneficial. I’ve embraced being a monetary giver and he’s embracing the value of savings. Even still, in the majority of households, it’s the women who make most of the financial decisions. We’re usually the ones who know what bills are due when, what things the kids need, and of course in charge of the grocery shopping. I know in my home, I can spend $200 on food and come home with 7 bags, whereas hubby spends $200 and after a week the groceries are done. So even though he doesn’t mind, it just makes sense that I do it, lol.

Discussing Finances

One thing I want to learn though is discussing finances with my children on a personal level. We have the general talks about the importance of saving, good credit, paying your tithe and such, but they don’t know how much I make or how our household finances are exactly run. How much do they need to know though? Open to tips and advice because clearly I’m repeating my parents’ cycle.

Back to the topic of taxes, if you haven’t yet filed yet, Moms Everyday has 8 great tips every taxpayer should know. I also came across this story which went viral back in February of how a single mother chose to spend her tax return.

How do you talk about finances with your kids? And if it’s not too personal, how did you (or plan to) spend/invest your tax return?

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