Make Your Money Work for You in 2022 with Anthony ONeal
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Make your money work for you in 2022!
Derek talked with personal finance expert and host of “The Table” on YouTube, Anthony ONeal, about what to do with your tax refund, whenever it finally comes.
He’s got four tips, plus some advice on cryptocurrency.
- Stop Loaning the IRS Money
That might seem like a good thing, but what it really means is that you gave the IRS an interest-free loan last year.
Before you talk through what to do with that extra cash, stop loaning the government money.
Talk with a tax professional about making adjustments to your withholdings in your W4 to have less removed from your paycheck moving forward.
- Pay Down Debt
If you did receive a refund, resist the urge to treat yourself!
This is an opportunity to take the money youβve been loaning to the government and attack your debt.
Use the debt snowball method to pay off debt. List your debts smallest to largest, regardless of interest rate.
Attack the smallest debt first, making minimum payments on the rest. Once thatβs paid off, attack the next smallest one. Just like a snowball rolling down a hill, that momentum is hard to stop once youβre rolling.
Use the extra funds from your windfall to attack your smallest debt.
- Save, Save, Save
If youβre debt-free, focus on building a fully-funded emergency fund. So this windfall you have can help you make progress with that!
Your emergency fund should cover 3-6 months of expenses. If you got a refund and you donβt have any debt, put this money into your emergency fund.
The pandemic and the current state of our world is a reminder that emergencies do happen.
Having an emergency fund gives you peace of mind and turns an emergency into an inconvenience.
- Invest it
STAT: The National Institute on Retirement Security reports that almost 40 million households have no retirement savings.
Itβs guaranteed that one day you will retire. If you received a tax refund, investing that money is always a good way to go.
If your employer has a 401k match, make sure youβre taking advantage of that.
Roth IRAs are great too because that money is going to grow and you wonβt pay taxes on it when you make withdrawals in retirement.
Crypto is a HOT topic right now. There’s no problem with this, as long as itβs not your plan for retirement.
If you want to get into the crypto game, make sure youβre on social financial footing first. AKA, you should be debt-free, have a fully funded emergency fund and be investing into retirement accounts.
Always talk with a professional about your personal financial situation. If you want some everyday personal finance advice, check out Anthony’s website www.anthonyoneal.com for free resources to help you win with money.
Check out Derek’s full interview with Anthony below.
