Announcer:
It’s time now on KROS for Financial Focus, brought to you by Nelson Corp Wealth Management. The opinions voiced in this show are for general information only, and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representatives securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer, member of FINRA, SIPC, investment advisor representative. Cambridge Investment Research advisors Incorporated, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and Nelson Corp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice.
Now, here’s today’s financial focus program.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Good morning, and welcome to this week’s financial focus, brought to you each and every Wednesday morning right here on KROS. Well, it is the third Wednesday, and that means tax time.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And I stole Andy out of his paradise.
Andy Fergurson:
The nerdery. We call it the nerdery.
Nate Kreinbrink:
The backroom paradise that it is, that he is going on.
Andy Fergurson:
I appreciate the break.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Get me out of here. No, it is hard to believe we are at the Wednesday of February already, flying right by. Although weather-wise is a stark kind of reminder of what it could be, I guess, or what we’ve been fortunate enough to miss for the most part up until this point.
Andy Fergurson:
It’s nice when it’s cold during tax season and yucky, because-
Nate Kreinbrink:
You’re inside anyways.
Andy Fergurson:
I have to be inside anyway, so if it was 70 degrees outside, that’d be terrible.
Nate Kreinbrink:
That would be bad.
Andy Fergurson:
Everybody else would be out walking their dog, and I’d be still in the nerdery.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Well, I’m glad that we could all accommodate you and-
Andy Fergurson:
I appreciate everybody taking one for the team.
Nate Kreinbrink:
We bear that with you during this time period and as we go into it. But no, it is moving forward. Again, next week, next Saturday is the first day of March, so it is moving along. Pitchers and catchers. I think spring training is underway.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, that one kind of slipped by me this year, because the Cardinals aren’t really doing much. They’re disappointing me a little bit. I saw recently that they graded out all the teams and the Cardinals got an F, so that’s exciting, for 2025.
Nate Kreinbrink:
So, it means there’s only one way to go, is up.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, we’ll be staring at the Reds from the bottom.
Nate Kreinbrink:
That’s right, that’s right. But no, into this season. It is an exciting season. I mean, when you say it, boys state wrestling kicks off today, girls wrestling was last week. High school boys and girls basketball tournament underway at the very first round, second round.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, Clinton girls play tonight in their first home regional in a long time.
Nate Kreinbrink:
We wish them the best of luck as the tournament trail gets underway.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, it’s exciting.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It’s just a different time of the season.
Andy Fergurson:
It’s a different time.
Nate Kreinbrink:
A different time of the season is also tax season, which is also underway, as traffic has definitely picked up in out of the lobby.
Andy Fergurson:
It’s funny. A couple weeks ago, Mike and I were looking at our schedules and going, “Man, where is everybody? I feel like they should be piling up by now.” The season hadn’t opened yet, but the phone hadn’t really started ringing, and it’s because everybody hadn’t gotten their stuff. We were just kind of like, “Man, what’s going on?” And then all of a sudden, it was like a light switch turned on and… Yeah.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Everybody got stuff. You told them not to wait. You’d said not, come in first thing, wait until.
Andy Fergurson:
Wait until you get your stuff. That’s right.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And they all did, they.
Andy Fergurson:
They did, and they all got their stuff the same day apparently, because now there’s a backlog of 50 people waiting for returns to be done, so. Well, that’s a good problem to have
Nate Kreinbrink:
It is, it is.
Andy Fergurson:
It’s like a farmer in harvest time, right? If you’re not busy in harvest time-
Andy Fergurson:
… you had a bad year.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Right. And again, as you get into this, again, you try to get through as many as you can early here to not have that big stockpile and buildup at the very end when you come deadline times. But again, when you have all these people coming in, the foot traffic, drop off, pick-up, schedules, meetings, questions, calls. It’s a lot. And as people continue to come in, obviously, we treat them as… Anything we can do to help them, but they need to realize that there’s also 79 other people coming in right after them in that same day to do it. Giving people-
Andy Fergurson:
It’s important to kind of keep some perspective.
Nate Kreinbrink:
… common courtesy.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, keep some perspective. Be kind. Remember the golden rule.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Yes.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, your return may not take very long, but it’s also not the only return that we’re going to do that day or that week. And yes, we remember your face, but we may not remember every detail that we’ve talked about during the last year. Just have reasonable expectations. If there’s something that you want to make sure that we remember, don’t count on me to remember it. I can’t remember my kids’ names. When I’m yelling at my kids at home, they get called the wrong name all the time, because there’s a lot of stuff going on. So, if there’s something important in your return that you want us to remember, take some ownership there and help me remember it. Be kind about it, but just say, “Hey, don’t forget, we talked about this or that,” and put a little note in there or remind me in the interview so that we can make sure that we get that covered, because I definitely don’t want to do it twice.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Right. For you or for the person.
Andy Fergurson:
Or for the person, right.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Time-wise and just efficiency.
Andy Fergurson:
Exactly.
Nate Kreinbrink:
You do it. Let’s do it once and be done with it.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, so with that regard, understand that I don’t have the same intimate workings or understanding of what happened in your life or in your business. It may be perfectly obvious to you that you had a child this year. It may not be perfectly obvious to me, and it may go all the way through the process before I realize that you had a baby, especially if you had a baby in February last year. I may have met the baby and not remember that you had the baby because a lot of stuff has happened since then. So, there’s just things that are important to keep in perspective. We’re dealing with a lot of people all at once. The human memory, it’s not a steel trap, right? I mean, it… Things blend a little bit. So, just feel free to be courteous and kind in your reminder.
Along those lines, be courteous and kind to the people that are helping you. If you happen to get bad news on your tax return, understand that the person that’s giving you that bad news likely has nothing to do with the fact that you are getting bad news. They’re usually just the messenger, so there’s not a lot of value in taking it out on them. It’s like yelling at the waiter when there’s something wrong with your food. Right? They didn’t make your food. All they’re doing is bringing it from the kitchen. So, be kind to that person. They’re on your side. They’re doing everything they can to help you. So, there’s nothing that will frustrate your preparer more than being discourteous or mean to the people that are trying to help them help you.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Right, and I think, when you look at it in the grand scheme of things, it’s important too to kind of remember exactly what tax season actually is, and it is a reporting of things that have already happened.
Andy Fergurson:
Absolutely.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And I think when you look at it that way, there’s… I mean, there’s a few things that you can do, but for the most part what’s done is done. I mean, you have a few items as far as contributions and a few things even before the tax deadline that you can do to tweak it just a little, but the bulk of what’s done is done. We always talk tax planning. As soon as we get done with tax season, you kind of catch your breath. That’s the perfect time. If something happens, or if the outcome of your tax return for 2024 is not what you wanted it to be, that’s the time. After tax season, to sit down and be like, “All right. Now, let’s dive into this.”
Andy Fergurson:
Right.
Nate Kreinbrink:
We have two thirds of the year to go yet to make changes so that 12 months from now, it doesn’t happen again, and I think that’s the reality that people want to know. I mean, tax season is just basically, like I said, a reporting of things that have already happened. What’s done for the most part is probably done.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, and I tell people that all the time. A, I didn’t write this law, and B, this isn’t my tax. It’s not my withholding, it’s not my tax. Now, what I have is an understanding of how the code works, and I can help you avoid it next time. But you screaming at me or at the people that help us, the staff that works in my office, that’s not going to make me want to help you fix it. So just be kind, but have reasonable expectations. Understand, like you said, done is done. Let’s see what we can do to fix it going forward. Let’s make better plans so that it doesn’t happen again.
A lot of times your preparer can see exactly what caused your bad news, and they can help you avoid it next time. A lot of people want to look at refunds because that’s the result that we compare. Last year, I got a big refund. This year, I got a smaller refund. Well, refunds are a result of withholding, and really, what we need to look at is your tax and your withholding. Well, your tax is almost the same, or the same rate. Your withholding went down well, so consequently, your refund goes down. And so what changed withholding, what causes that issue? And so that’s the thing to consider.
The other thing I’ll add in there is: we talked about me not having a working knowledge of your situation. Along those lines, if you bring me in a garbage bag full of receipts, you are going to be paying a premium price for me to go through those receipts, because I don’t know what they mean. I don’t know that this Walmart receipt was for a business expense. You know, when you look at that receipt, what it’s for. I don’t. I don’t know that that Brita picture was something you put in the office. I just know that it’s a Brita picture, right? I don’t know that it’s not in your house. And so do you really want to pay your expensive preparer an hourly rate to go through your 10,000 receipts when you can give them just the numbers at the end?
The preparers don’t need to see the receipts. They need the numbers, the cumulative numbers from the end. So, what I would say is: don’t bring in the garbage bag. Bring in a spreadsheet that has all those numbers tabulated. And you keep your receipts for your own evidence, but you bring in a garbage bag and it’s going to cost you, because you’re paying a premium price to have somebody do work that you should be doing on the front end.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And it goes to like as far as tax documents. I mean, when people start asking W2s, and they haven’t gotten one yet from areas where they usually have had it by now. If you haven’t received it now, you’d need to probably start looking into, “Where is this at,” and, “What do I need to do to get one?”
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah. For example, social security. If you haven’t gotten your social security statement, you need to start asking questions. You should have your social security statement. You should have your W2s by now.
Now, investment documents, 10-99Bs. Those things may not quite be out yet. Your mortgage statement or your interest statement from the banks. Those may be… Right around now, you should be getting those. By the end of this month, for sure, you should have all of those. But the mortgage, or I’m sorry, not the mortgage, the investment statements, the K1s from partnerships and other outside businesses, all of those things may not be there yet. And so if you had one of those last year, and you didn’t change your ownership in those investments, you’re going to have one again this year. If you don’t have it yet, you got to get it.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Well, and I think, too, some of the corporations, where they’re filing from, are again posting those online. So again, if you have an online account, whatever, go in there, look in documents, look in tax documents, look in forms.
Andy Fergurson:
Check them.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Check notices, emails.
Andy Fergurson:
Check your email, because they’ll send you an email that says your tax documents ready.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Yes.
Andy Fergurson:
So, if you’ve got an email that says your tax document’s ready, go into that portal and get it.
Nate Kreinbrink:
So again, all good stuff. Again, tax season, moving right along. I appreciate you taking your time out of your busy schedule, because I know you have a pile of forms [inaudible 00:12:43].
Andy Fergurson:
I do, but I appreciate the break. It’s nice to look at something else.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Hopefully, next month, we maybe sneak out one more time.
Andy Fergurson:
One more time? Yeah, I’ll do it one more time. I’ll need a break in a month again.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I did want to mention real quick that every Friday, Nelson Corp Wealth Management and Nelson Corp Tax are wearing jeans for charity. Money raised in the month of February will be donated to the therapy dog program at the Clinton Public Library. Andy, thanks again for joining me.
Andy Fergurson:
You bet. That’s an exciting program.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It is, it is.
Andy Fergurson:
That therapy dog program. I have particular interest in that one.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It is a very well-deserved and well-needed program.
Andy Fergurson:
You guys will love it.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Yes. So again, thanks again for tuning in. This is Nate and Andy, bringing you this week’s financial focus. Thanks for tuning in, and have a great rest of your week.
Announcer:
Financial Focus is a production of Nelson Corp Wealth Management in Clinton and Davenport. The opinions voiced in the show are for general information only, and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representatives securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer, member of FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisor representative Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and Nelson Corp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. For more information, visit our website at www.nelsoncorp.com.