In this BloomSZN chat, I talk with Tenille Moon, Accountant, Business Advisor, and your Virtual CFO about all things money.
Understanding financial wellness doesn't come naturally to most. So experts like Tenille make taking control of your money something you believe can be possible.
In this episode, she shares tips and advice on how to manage your money, prepare for tax season, and she even offers advice to business owners trying to avoid a tax bill at the end of the year.
Also, for us millennials money-making accounts and retirement savings are no longer just things we should consider, it's time to take action.
Needless to say, this episode is any who wants to understand their money better so they can take control. With the uncertainty of the current money market due to COVID 19, it's so important that we take control of the future with our finances.
In this BloomSZN chat, I talk with Tenille Moon, Accountant, Business Advisor, and your Virtual CFO about all things money.
Understanding financial wellness doesn't come naturally to most. So experts like Tenille make taking control of your money something you believe can be possible.
In this episode, she shares tips and advice on how to manage your money, prepare for tax season, and she even offers advice to business owners trying to avoid a tax bill at the end of the year.
Also, for us millennials money-making accounts and retirement savings are no longer just things we should consider, it's time to take action.
Needless to say, this episode is any who wants to understand their money better so they can take control. With the uncertainty of the current money market due to COVID 19, it's so important that we take control of the future with our finances.
spk_0: 0:00
Welcome to full bloom Podcast for millennials on a journey to finding purpose and pursuing fashion. My name is Martina Lindo and I believe we can learn from each other's experiences and hopefully help each other to bloom and grow into the people we were always meant to be Your journey to full bloom starts right now you're listening to bloom season conversations with horns blooming and their purpose All right, guys, I'm so excited today. Time with me, Mr Neil Moon. Hey, girl. Hey, awful blue. Thank you so much. I really, really appreciate you inviting me on here. Yes, we're excited to have you. And as you guys know, meet all my friends on Instagram on. So we connected on Instagram and I immediately connected to her. Just one, because her Brandon her style is so attractive and very like just business. Like she makes you feel like you want to get your life together in all the ways. Uh, no. We're excited to have her on today and please introduce yourself to the people.
spk_1: 1:29
Hey, everybody. So the name is Tennille Moon. And as Martina gracefully and nice least said about me, um, I actually didn't even know people thought about me like that when they look at me instagram. But either way, my whole and I, a brand is about being a virtual CFO and a business finance manager. Sure, some of you, when you hear that, you might say, You know what? That sounds pretty complicated, but what does it mean? And in being a virtual CFO than a business finance manager, I pretty much handle the business finances of small startup companies all the way. The large corporations, if you can't necessarily afford as someone that you want to hire on a full time basis to be in your company and help you with all your day to day financial decisions. That's where I come in. You get to, uh, um, leverage my experience, my expertise and be able to make the same type of decisions you would make in a corporate environment. But you get it handled on the consult, a tive, um, dynamic. So that makes some sense.
spk_0: 2:33
Rohit does. It's very ala carte, very, very millennial of, uh, I think it's so interesting because I feel like our generator and has changed what it means to have a career in business and I'm just curious. Like, how did you find yourself in this space?
spk_1: 2:53
So pretty much Okay, here's this. Here's Ah, long story short. Hopefully, hopefully it's short. Um, ever since a little girl, I've always liked numbers. Always like numbers always like figuring out the puzzle to certain things. And I started off in, like the banking industry and the banking industry grew into me. Want to be in in the accounting industry and from accounting. I doubled in almost everything, and it got to be a to a point where whenever people looked at my resume, they would say, You seem to bounce around a whole lot of what you actually want to do. Yeah, I don't want to just do one thing. I want to know everything. And if I got a taste of everything, but not be, I think in the back of my mind, I always felt like one day I'm gonna have my own business. And I want to know all the possible angles that I'm supposed to look at money. Look at being an accountant rather than just saying I'm gonna be an auditor. I'm gonna be a tax accountant. I'm gonna be a CFO. I didn't want to be in a box. I wanted to know a little bit of it all. So when I got a taste of it all and in like, numerous of industries, Martina, when I say a lot of industries, I was not that person that was going to stay at a company for longer than a year and 1/2 to 2 hours. So what? I got that experience and I got that exposure. I let to me want my own company. I wanted to help small businesses do the same thing. That's why I can leverage what I already know for so many different industries and share with them what I've picked up along the way so that they could grow.
spk_0: 4:32
Yeah, that's so good. And I think especially for me, like I've been in a very, like, learning as I go Faith and my baby. And I just think it's so, so, so inspiring when people are able to take all of the things that they've learned from all of their different experiences and then wait, this brand and this this service, now that people are just, you know, they just need so much of it. Right. Um, But before we go any further into your business in your pursuit, I kind of want to get to know you as to kneel, like, you know, what were you like as a kid? Like, you know, if I talked to your mom, what would she say it right with you would be
spk_1: 5:14
the wrong first and talk Thio? Yeah. Born a raise in the small island of Jamaica. And
spk_0: 5:25
hey, my husband, He'll tell you how much of faking because I was born there. But I know you're here, but that's what I said the 1st 5 years of my life. And that makes me to
spk_1: 5:38
welcome you all that Jamaica move to the United States. Lived in the Maryland area for several years. Then I went to Florida, and in being a Florida, ended up back in the Washington D C. Area where the family and everybody is. Now that you know that I'm Jamaican, you're probably gonna end up here and way more accent.
spk_0: 6:01
Well, I heard I heard it from the beginning when I was, like one Civil rights. Say it right now. Just you
spk_1: 6:08
know, I never really just throw it out. But once someone no, it was then out of nowhere, it's just It's like, open the floodgates. But, um uh, and that I was a child. I was I was stubborn. I I wanted to figure out things my way. Um, I, uh I didn't take no for an answer. I didn't take brick walls as you can't go any further. So with that type of Mike said, that type of personality, I'm a grinder. Ah, hustler. And I am so determined, unruly, loving family tell you that they used to think it was a bad thing, right? But now you're like that. And, uh, yeah, I was always that child, but also back in Jamaica, I was the educator of the family, even though it was a young girl. I loved math so much, I had so many cousins and I would have school after school. I was the kid that had a truck board, and all the kids in the neighborhood had to come to my class. My my point school classes were in session, and I have to teach people math. I had to teach because I was an educator at a young age and I realized that that trickled over to how I am now where I want to teach business owners. Yeah, you you conclude your business and you can make your money, but I get it. It's not your forte to go and understand the numbers, but I want to do something to help you at least understand what your accountant is doing the numbers because they say my accountant gave it to me, so I just accept what they give me. I try to get them to understand it a little bit more. And when you understand your numbers, you know whether or not you are running a profitable business.
spk_0: 8:01
Yeah, that makes total sense. So we're big on understanding our purpose in this base. So for you, when did numbers become your purpose
spk_1: 8:15
during, say, during high school? It got highlighted during high school middle school. I can say it started poking its head out. Um, I moved to America in middle school, and I realized that when I got here, the education system wasn't the same as it was in Jamaica, not even not even close. Right? So that's a point where I was disrupting the class math class because I was trying to teach the teacher. I was telling her you are not doing that right. Why are you taking that long way to get to that answer? Eso mass started poking its head out in middle school high school for sure. Um, I loved it. I loved it. All the challenging classes. I wanted to be a part of it. And the biggest part of all was when I was graduating. I graduated and my dad came to me, you know, most island family. What did they want their kids to grow up to be on doctor lawyer or something like that? All countries are excited for a sign from the U. S. Try to teach their kids go for those fields. So I was graduating, and he brought me paperwork to say, Here, here, here, go to this school for medicine. And I looked at him and I said, I know I'm going for an accountant and he said, What is that? So I had to break it down to him what it was and everything. And after he researched, because all they care about is that they're from their kids, you know, and the generation that come after is very is very well taken care of according to the career path that they chose. Right? So when you research and realized that as an accountant, you can be very profitable, then he was all for it then That's where its first started high school.
spk_0: 10:07
Wow. And I think that's so important. Because I remember that conversation with my parents where, you know, I was gonna be a lawyer. That was my That was Children. E went for your Yeah, I decided I was like a conversation didn't go off a smoothly. All right there was There's a lot of disappointment, and it's taking them a while to embrace this new path that I'm on. But now that they're seeing, like, you know, like you said, the life that it's affording me And you know what I'm able to build now that okay, you can do things differently. You don't have to do that. And the third and now I hear my mom like, Oh, I want to start a business.
spk_1: 10:46
I was like, Okay,
spk_0: 10:48
so I think that's so important that you were able to, you know, advocate for yourself. And I got a high school because I didn't have that confidence. It took me till college, like after Carlos to be like, actually, no, that's not what I want to do.
spk_1: 11:05
But I am. I'm happy about the part that I chose Very happy.
spk_0: 11:09
Yeah. What's the what's What are you most proud of? A cz part of your journey so far
spk_1: 11:15
for me? Honestly, it's been taking the leap, taking the leap to entrepreneurship. I've I was always so I was That was I, um Maybe it is. I was, um I started off raising my kids at a very young age as well, eh? So I have teenagers right now, I have teenagers and have a 17 year old and I have a 13 year old in that I started having kids so young that entrepreneurship was a very hard rolled for me or challenging road, that the many times I tried to take the jump, I had to jump back to a job because you're going to take care of the kids. The kids come first. Your dreams are your dreams are your dreams. My goodness, sometimes your dreams have to go on pause for them. Yeah, you know, And for the many years that I've been jumping and jumping back, jumping and jumping back. They got to a point where I held down the full time job. Because what do we believe in? The full time job provides a sense of security. Not old security, but a sense of security where you know that Patrick is coming in every two weeks. You have health insurance and you have guaranteed income to just take care of the kids. And I always had my passion on the side. Yeah, you know, So when it got to be a tow a point when the kids got older, I just My most most prideful moment is taking that jump, finally being it to the point where I feel like I'm going to do this and I'm going to do it for me and the kids Understood. They saw me double like juggling both things for so many years that when I finally did it, they were scared for me. But at the same time, they were happy. Yeah. Oh, wow. You're actually doing exactly what you said you wanted to do for all these years. Took a long time, but I eventually made the jump
spk_0: 13:13
Yeah, that's that's such a such an inspiring story and that I'm sitting here like, kind of getting goose bumps because it's like, right now I'm in that same place. You know, juggling my full time job with my bike, hustle that I want to be my full time hostile. You know, it's funny, like my son. He's only four. Brought to be 15 months, and I've shared the story before about like, he'll come home from school and see me sitting at the computer, and he'll go as Dad's desk right across from me and go get on the mouse and start clicking around. And I'm like, making you. You come home to do your work, you come to get, get your money. It's like, you know, as long as he is, he's He's learning that lesson already off, like, you know, doing your own work and and finding our muscle.
spk_1: 13:56
Yes, he has an amazing name. Say it again. Oh, nation. Oh, I'm in love with
spk_0: 14:02
that right here. When? When you start having some more babies, go ahead. Very nice. Thank you. So what was that journey like into entrepreneurship? Um, a lot of a lot of my clients. One of the things or one of their pain points is that they just don't know where to start. There is no room or no guidebook. There's no map. There's no degree where there are degrees now in entrepreneurship, but they're still fairly new. So what? How did you get there?
spk_1: 14:35
Um, I think for entrepreneurship, it's all I think it matters. What? You're trying to be an entrepreneur in S. O. That's why that's where people, I think it's stuck where it could be something that they're coming up with that so new that no one else knows anything about, but they want to try it. But for me, a road was already there. It's already paved, but it's you taking a leak into saying it instead of doing it with someone else. I'm a do it for myself. Yeah, so the experiences I needed them, the jobs I needed them, they they helped cultivate the path for me. You know what I'm saying? So whatever an accountant offers up the street or two states over, it's still gonna be the same thing and accountant offers, and that's what made it a little bit easier for me. made. What was that was challenging is getting the clients, getting the clients to believe in you trust in you and for you to even trust in yourself to know that you can do it. That's the biggest part that it was for me because I started out when I started out. Of course you want to offer service is that is giving the same quality of service the same results as the C p a firm up the street. But the C B a firm up the street may charge you $1500.2000 dollars on because we're trying to get your foot in the door and get some sort of trust. You tends a lowball yourself, you know? And in doing that, that's where eventually that was my thing. Be confident. Be confident you had so much experience so many years behind you. So what if they got a big firm of the street? Yeah, you better believe it. And you better walk in it that you are a firm tube. Yeah, and I started talking to myself. I'm big and myself up about that. Then I start talking and poking my chest out and saying Yeah, my service is going to cost $1200 they're, like, just like the person, the streets, your dad. All right. You know what? They
spk_0: 16:37
would be getting the same service or even
spk_1: 16:39
better, Where is? So It's the thing for me. Was the belief that you're just as good, if not better?
spk_0: 16:47
Mmm. That's important. I hope you guys are taking mouths, So I guess so. You took that leap of faith. Now, what was it like after you got your first client? What was that feeling like? Oh, my
spk_1: 17:00
gosh. I can still remember that, huh? I felt like you can't stop me, okay? It's got me. Ain't no way nobody was gonna be able to stop me, And it made me a believer, But it also made me hungry for more like, this is the beginning of the rest of my life. And I'm gonna take care of this person so good, you know, almost like I'm gonna take care of this person so good. And they're gonna end up spreading the word. And it was such a good feeling and definitely put a stamp of approval stamp of approval to know that I could do it, and I'm now doing it,
spk_0: 17:40
you know? Yeah, that's amazing. I definitely can echo that sentiment. You There is a sense of of validation, but also, like you got, like, a shot of, um I don't know. What are those superheroes use? I don't know. One of those, like, super papery shots, like, Boom, I let the level up or something. I don't know. Yeah, you can take on the world. So tell me about a time, though. Where, you know, it became very difficult to manage, um, things or just, you know, just the challenges of being a mom.
spk_1: 18:16
Listen, that thing is it's so riel, especially when you are doing. And it's happened several times. Meaning if when I had the job you put in your eight hours one time one of the jobs that I had I worked at a c p a firm and working at a c p a firm. During tax season. You're doing anywhere between 10 to 12 hours a day. You go in as early as 8 a.m. You can't leave till about eight, maybe nine PM So imagine doing that and you have your own clients on the side and those clients need to be service, too. So there's moments I come home and I'm pulling. Get in the house. 89 PM Kids are looking at me like Where you been? What time is dinner you run? She tried to get dinner and you're back at it again at 11 p.m. Till about 12 o'clock in the morning room working again. So that was a very hard time, very challenging time. And even now, now that I've taken the jump, forget the extensive hours, having a full time job and running your business. But now, when you don't have the full time job, now it's more so. You're still got to go after more. You have to go after more. You have to make sure you're maintaining the ones that you already have. But the pain points come in at sometimes you have. Like, for me, it's tax season because I branded myself first as a tax accountant, huh? And during tax season, it can become very overwhelming. You have a short two and 1/2 months, 23 months to get so much done for so many people. Yeah, so I was used to doing everything by myself. And now the hardship is okay. Now you gotta learn how to duplicate yourself, who you are now hiring somebody bringing them on and trying to now run a team that is hard. You would think room. Way to go. You got growth. You got new people coming in the company. But sometimes new people is not a good thing that
spk_0: 20:23
you're after know how to manage them. And you gotta know what tough to give them
spk_1: 20:28
exactly, or you end up doing the work over. Yeah, So that's the hard part where now you are trying to duplicate yourself and someone else giving them the time that they need for them to grow. But you're also hoping and praying that that that time investment is gonna be worth it in the end that they're actually going to produce. And you don't have to duplicate this over again in a short period of time. Yeah, you know, that's where I'm at right now, where things are growing things and moving, and it's a challenge to duplicate. It's a challenge to make sure you can just pass off some work to someone else. And no, that is just going to get
spk_0: 21:08
done. Yeah, well, I wish you all the best in that endeavor, and I should've follow up and figure out what you know now that we got to know a lot about you as the person. And I think I have some questions that some business owners out there wouldn't really like answered. Awesome. So what is a good measure of financial health specifically in the business, too? Um,
spk_1: 21:38
I would mostly say it depends on the person's mind set. A lot of times people get in. I'm referring to like entrepreneurs. The startups, Of course. Everybody that gets in business wants to grow. They want to get to appointment, there are showing profits and that they're scaling their business to the point where they feel like everything that they took that leap for is actually showing some type of benefit. But then there's some people that get in the business just because they put it this way. There's people that get in it to grow, and there's people that get in, get in it, too, because it makes them happy. It's a hobby. It becomes a It's a hobby that they try to make some money off of, but they're not necessarily looking to scale and grow and develop some type of huge company huge corporation. They're satisfied with a little bit because it makes them happy, huh? Another person could say, I'm just I don't sleep. I don't eat. I'm grinding. My goal is five years from now. I want to be a $10 million company. I want a whole staff. So it all depends on that person's vision in order to determine what's a healthy business for them. I said, I'm saying, um because I can talk to this this one entrepreneur up the street that just says I'm perfectly fine with $50,000 a year, it gets the bills paid. I'm happy I wake up, I drink my coffee and I'm just relaxed at home and things were taking care of, and I'm satisfied. But then I can talk to another person that's generating $5 million is like it's not enough. It's not enough. It's not healthy enough for me, so I would I would go according to what that person's vision of their business is. In order to help them identify weather the position of their business, is exemplifying or just showing them that they are being successful according to their desires. Yeah,
spk_0: 23:37
that's a good answer. So, like when you think about businesses that are, um, like, let's take the $50,000 earning entrepreneur What are the best practices for them to keep their money healthy, though, Because I know that they're certain things that you can do, whether you want to invest or just in general. Like what? What? What do you tell your clients when they're tryingto make sure that things are good, like they're not such thing above water? But you know, there's a good cast floor, anything like that.
spk_1: 24:08
Okay, there's two parts to it, and that's why I like the background that I have, because some people can only see it from a CFO perspective may be in a virtual CFO business finance manager, background and tax. I can see it from so many different perspectives, right? Virgin CFO sees the money coming in the company out the company, and then it lines up with the goals of the company that it's doing what it's supposed to do and there's profit and there's growth, right? Tax accountant looks at that at the end of the year and says, Okay, say you made X amount of money off of that. Now we're gonna end up paying this much money and taxes, and that person who's running the business may look at it and say, I'm not trying to fit that much money in Texas right tonight. How can I avoid it? So on There's a difference between books and tax, huh? What's can look beautiful. But whatever is growing on books, it leaves a positive balance. Which means your your business is profitable, more profit. You make what you think you got to do on that when it comes out, you for taxes. So that's what I'm saying. Two different perspective. There's books that looks healthy, looks good. You take that to the bank, they'll give you a line of credit. They give you loans. They give you credit cards because they say, you're moving, you're shaking and what you're supposed to do. That person was running the business dependent on their perspective, can say Great. That's what I want to do. But then they could also look at it on tax and say That's not what I want. As the effect on tag on me. I'll look at that insane when you change your minds, it when you change your perspective. Tax should never be an issue. Texts should be another expense. Just like, um, any other expense for your business. If you're focusing on the expense, you're going to miss all the other opportunities to make more because you're so guarded or not paying tax. But if taxes not an issue for you and on the forefront, all you're thinking about is I just want to go after as much as I can go after. Then it becomes irrelevant. So the positive side as faras, you know, telling a person don't just make money and spend money, make money and spend money. You. I would talk to people about taking into consideration certain things that you could do for your company if you are so proprietor or you're like a one woman, one man shop. Um, there's certain ways that you could put money aside. There are I raised that people could contribute to. There are the typical broth irate from traditional and Roth. But then there's this thing called the Sep as Ah, it's a separatism is, um I forgot what you'd stands for, but it's a profit sharing plan for self employed individuals. Put, you could put a certain amount of money aside. And if you're taking a salary for yourself, you tell people stuff like that you're making a certain amount of money. Make sure you're taking a paycheck for yourself. That way you're paying taxes so that it benefits you at the end of the year. You don't have a huge liability to pay, but not of any check that you're getting. Make sure in that paycheck you put some money aside to a Roth IRA. You put some money to a traditional IRA and then, at the end of the year, dependent. And if there's more profit, your company can also pay into a SEP plan for you. That helps you save as well. Um, I also partner up with financial advisors that whenever my clients get to a certain point where they're pursuing showing profits, talk to a financial advisor. Some of the planet's simple plans that you may have for yourself a financial advisor can definitely help you understand the best way to spend your income, not the business income, but the portion that you get for yourself. That's very key on a lot of people that are start ups or they've been in business for 3 to 4 years. A lot of them are about making money, but then they're spending it in the business and not necessarily putting anything aside for themselves.
spk_0: 28:19
Yeah, I'm expense. Okay. Oh, I know your background is mainly with helping businesses, but for a lot of my listeners are all, like, ira. Rather hungry. Was that so? It does explain in the most laymen terms. You know, What are those accounts and how are they beneficial to you as like a individual?
spk_1: 28:42
Okay, I r a Roth IRA. Whether you have a job, you can get the start on a job. And even if it's not a job, you can walk into your bank, the bank that you have your personal savings account, personal checking account. You can walk in and talk to an adviser. The air they can set you up on our IRA. But typically what that is is an individual retirement account. This Ira, they have a traditional one, and then they have the broth. The traditional one is money from your paycheck automatically gets deposited to this account, and it's deposited before any taxes taken out. That's the traditional one, so it's just in allotments, like a savings account. But these are the investment accounts that you can't or you shouldn't pull from until retirement age. And I think that is like 67 now. 0 67 67 a half GS. Girls like that. Yes, 67 years old now. And you putting away for that day when you do decide to retire, pull from it early. But of course, you get penalized taking from it. Yeah, so the I r a. The traditional one money goes to it automatically before taxes are taken off of your paycheck. The other one, the Roth one, is after taxes are taken out. So the difference is when you're 67 you decide to pull money out, it just means that one of them you don't have to pay tax because you already paid it upfront and the other one means you're gonna pay tax because you didn't pay it up front. That's just when you take it out later, you're older. So what that means is your tax bracket now is gonna be higher, but your tax bracket at an older age is lower. Okay? Yeah, Garland. So much sometimes. Texas exciting. It's exciting to me. But I do know from people listening, they're, like, say that again, Start down because it can get missed so easily You can get so easily.
spk_0: 30:49
So what's your advice for? Um, you know, business owners or people in general that are trying to get ready for a tax season.
spk_1: 30:57
All right, so getting ready for tax season. One thing I was a don't do which someone did has had a conversation with someone today. Um, today is January 24. Tax season starts January 27. I spoke. What? I mean, by start you can start filing it to the iris. Spoke to someone today. They already completed their tax return. I was. You already completed Detector turn. January 24. Yes, I already did it. Do you have a W two yet? No. So what did you use? Right last stuff. And the thing is, a lot of people market that the market, you know, you can get a free console to or get your refund prepared for you with your with your last pay stub. A lot of companies do it, but it's a way to get people to get in the door real quick to get their taxes and but is not 100% accurate, as when you, when you get your w two is gonna be off a little bit, you know, saying it. So I would tell people, Make sure you get you wait for your documents. Please wait till you collect all your documents. Do not brush. Do not try to get your get to the refund so quickly that you miss important documents. And now you put yourself in a bigger bind because you already got a refund from the IRS. It's inaccurate, and now you have to go and change it. And if you don't change it, the iris going change it for you and ask you to give me my money back. Um, I would tell people that wait for all your documents before you go and brush the whole tax season. I'd also say to individuals, these individuals wait, but also, when you get your money, the biggest thing that I see a lot of people do when you get a refund. Stop spending that thing again. Stop spending it like so many people. Get so excited there like $5000. 0 $8000. I got to get this about that. They already have in their mind exactly what they're going to buy. Yeah, and it's It's if I can just, you know, just impose on anybody right now. We're just impress on anybody. You've got to get out of that mindset. You gotta get out of the immediate self gratification and think about the future and plan for the future, whether it means if I'll come into If you say you know what, I just want to clean up. So did I get it? I get it, but definitely let's find a way to make that money make more money for you saying, and sometimes people think gonna put it in a CD. It's something that they want to do. Going to put in a money market account is something they want to do. But do it a little bit of research because those things do not give you a good return on your investments. Like the bank's market eso look into other ways. Maybe it's the stock market may be. It's little things like little gaps that are on your phone book. Try to do something smarter with the money so that it makes more money for you, and it all goes to end.
spk_0: 34:11
Yeah, that's good advice, I think people. And, you know, I think I'm gonna ask you this. I've heard this before. That actually getting a refund is not a good thing. Is that true,
spk_1: 34:23
girls? Of course, getting a refund is good. Well,
spk_0: 34:26
like I mean, in the sense that you you pay too much to the government and now they owe you all this money or you took a loan from the government and now they're I don't know. I've heard, like, different, different Mabel's will clarify for me
spk_1: 34:41
as a It depends. Um, there's some people that get a refund that never really made a lot of money at all. The way the system is set up, if you fall within a certain income bracket and you have Children, government gives you money for Children. But you fall in a certain income bracket where no more than maybe 23,000 no more, maybe 23,000 year. Utah, You paid. You earn $23,000 a year, but because you fall within a certain bracket and you've got three Children, the government now gives you, like 54 $6000 for up to three kids, plus child tax credit. 2000 per child. It's like you just got free money from the government or but but on. But at the end of times, you're living below the poverty line. Exactly. You know what I'm saying? And so it's a It's a it's almost like a broke mindset. Yeah, I think you are bowling and you're not because you want a flash around $9000 refund like Look what I have $900. Plus that 23,000 you made you are operating out of poverty level.
spk_0: 36:00
Yeah, because that's my $1000 is not a lot of money in the
spk_1: 36:04
car, and not a lot of money is not. But if you got $9000 all you used to see in is 1200 to 1500 a month, yeah, you know, and you've got $9000 at one time. Yeah, that's it's like you think you are rich, rich, really, really. you're not. And that's why the money goes so easily so quickly. At 30 to 60 days later, it's gone because it's the mindset, Um, but then on the other side, somebody that makes $120,000 a year, they've already paid close to $25,000 in taxes on that money, and they don't really get a refund you. So I'm saying that my my old some a small something or, if they do get a refund, maybe because they have a child or something, but their refund might be $1500. My thing that I say to people is, Don't chase the refund. It's nice to get it. But your goal when it comes to tax season is to not owe them anything. And they don't owe you anything either. Yeah, I think, Yeah, it's your gold is to break even. All it means is we tallied up my pockets. You tell it up your pockets. Do we wash or do I owe you more, or do you owe me some money? But that's all they're doing. But there's some people that use the iris as, um, us as like a way to trick themselves to save because they're not good at saving them. So they pay them. Ah, whole lot. They overpaid them s so that at the end of the year, if they got a $5000 check, that's their savings. They just put it to the same and they tricked themselves to save it.
spk_0: 37:45
Okay, But I I can see that perspective on both sides. OK, um, so winding down, what are three mistakes that you see a lot of business owners make when it comes to their finances?
spk_1: 38:02
Biggest one mixing their personal and they're business expenses. I'm so guilty, mixing personal and business and I get it. Sometimes you're just gonna have to do it. Yes. Sometimes you have to do it. I totally understand. So outside of mixing personal business, the 2nd 1 is, um, not hiring an accountant or bookkeeper. Mmm. It is very important. An imperative for someone to do that. You cannot be a business owner and manager books as well. I mean, not saying you can't. You shouldn't. You should be focused on building the business, bringing in new clients, making new money, and then you have someone that manages it. You are doing what you're doing, because that's your passion. Let somebody who's good at what they do. Manage the books for you. I've seen so many that decide to do it on their own to save a few bucks. And when it's time to bring on an accountant, they end up redoing the whole entire thing because you didn't do it, right s. So now you're costing yourself more money. When in the beginning, you thought you were going to save yourself money, ma'am, I'm 1/3 guy.
spk_0: 39:19
I'm gonna cut you. What? What level, though? Does a business need an accountant like at the very beginning? You know, only making $5000 a year. Like do you need an accountant or is there like an income
spk_1: 39:33
level? I'd say when you realize that your volume is picking up to the extent that you do, you will know when you need it. You know that you don't think so. I would feel like I can't even tell you that it's a certain income level. But when you know that this volume is picking up, you should look into it. At the very least, bring on on accountant or bookkeeper just make sure they know what they're doing. Maybe they look at it quarterly for you. Maybe they look at it semi annually. Fan feminism, you know, Or at the very least, at the end of the year, what I'm saying is implement some type of software books, implement something that maybe someone can check for you. However, often you may not be able to afford them monthly. But you can say can take a look at this for me at the end of the quarter and maybe charge. I mean, pay them 202 150 bucks to just look at 1/4 for you. Or maybe more. Who knows? Okay. And was that three? The 3rd 1 was taxes. When you are starting to generate income, put aside money for Texas
spk_0: 40:41
Ho ho. Okay, good. Grow educating e What? I heard this so often, and I have friends that are business owners, and they keep telling you like it's gonna catch up to you. I'm just like, No, it's not. It's not that
spk_1: 40:56
Put away some money. The worst case scenario is you don't need it for tax, and you ended up saving some money. And so any money that comes in, I would say it. Trick yourself and set aside 30% of it. She 30% of it. I say that because you may not fall in a 30% bracket for taxes, you might be 15 to 20% but you got a little bit extra and you're able to save it. Yeah, you see, But if you can operate off of only 7 70% then you're also being a smart business owner in lowering your expenses, you know? Yeah. Good is not That's what I would definitely sing.
spk_0: 41:40
All right, well, we only have one more question. I think this is for, um I guess anybody who is interested in this, um you know, the trading for ex options. Like all of that, it's become like, this big wave, like I have a fair and her boyfriend just became like a millionaire last year through trading. And I'm just like, what has
spk_1: 42:05
girl and I doing
spk_0: 42:07
watching these kids, their kids to Neil chilled,
spk_1: 42:10
you're in the Atlanta market is a whole a whole
spk_0: 42:13
bunch of them. They have, like, these little cafes where they go and they trade. And I'm just like, What do I gotta do? How do How do I get into this? You gotta
spk_1: 42:22
want it. If I am all about being a four ex trader, I've been exposed to it well over 12 years now. Just just smallest amount of details for X has been around since the beginning of time when money came in existence. So it's a market that's been around for years, and it's a market that will always be around. If you're gonna invest in anything, invest in for X because it's trading currencies, foreign exchange. It's every country that owns its own currency. We are going back and forth with each other and trading way better than the stock market. Stock market is trading company company value. Sometimes a company is high. Sometimes a company goes low, but comparison real quick for X is $6.6 trillion market stock market. 22 billion. What I'm saying. So think about that. So how you get started? I actually got started by learning from an educational platform. Okay, that's what's been spreading as a wildfire. Right now, there's an educational platform that makes it affordable for the common people like you and me to do it. This is a market that usually can cost anywhere between 15 toe $50,000 to learn from top top top traders on it takes a while to learn. But this particular academy charges you like pennies on that fraction that I gave you a charges. Pennies compared to what those other companies charge them and get to sit in this academy and learn from top figure traders. 678 figure traders and do exactly what they do and learn from the pros. So I've been doing it. I actually have seen a lot of growth, a lot of profits from it and the millennials nowadays that like to have that phone in their hands doing the same exact thing. You jump in on a trade on your phone, you check it 30 minutes later, you made some money, and it's really so. I think that's great, ma'am. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Only that, I would say is that could be a scam. Is people that is saying they're a trader and can teach you how to do it. But then they take your money and rip you off and you already know anything about the platform. But for X in and of itself is not a scam. There's people I believe you know. Who wouldn't who wouldn't try to find a way to monetize off of a platform like this? It is really it's very riel. It's where the banks play. So every single night that you are sleeping, the banks are in the forex market. They control the forex market, the government's control, the forex market and countries. And that's how economies are dictated through the forex market.
spk_0: 45:22
I'm not listening. I'm taking notes because I, uh thank you so much. My last question for you, I ask, are my guest this? What does living your best life look like?
spk_1: 45:36
And liver my best laugh. What does that look like for me? I am already living. I'd say a fraction of my best life because my my vision of it waas to be virtual. I wanted to create a company that I was not bound to a desk. I was not bound to an office space. I can sit on my couch. I could sit at a coffee shop. I could be in Bali. I can be in Jamaica I could be anywhere in the world and money still flows. Clients is still being served. People are still satisfied. And you have freedom. So I have a fraction of that right now. Reason why I say a fraction, because there's more. I want to be ableto own a, um several properties I wanna have different. I wanna have condos in in the nice air Lice city. Nice cities like I want Atlanta. I want l A. I want, um, Fort Lauderdale. I want It's just I want I want to be able to just dream as big as I can possibly imagine And then know that with hard work you can get it. Yeah, you can get it that there is no limits. And the only Nimitz that you have are the limits that you put on yourself.
spk_0: 46:59
Oh, I'm so inspired. Well, thank you so much for being here tonight. And where can the people find you?
spk_1: 47:08
Oh, all right. Thank you so much for having me and guys. You can find me at Instagram. That's where I got a lot of my followers. But instagram to Neil Teat and I l l e underscore Moon. That's like the moon in the sky M o n At the new underscore moon. You can also find your my website to Neil moon dot com and I think that's about it. I used other
spk_0: 47:39
platforms to, but all my activities happen on these. Thank you so much to give. Thank you so much for having
spk_1: 47:48
me, Martina. It was a pleasure speaking to you tonight and I wish you nothing but continued success and growth for this full blown podcast. I love a girl. I love it.
spk_0: 47:58
Thank you. You're welcome. I hope you enjoy today's conversation and bloom. And don't forget to rate, subscribe and review this podcast. Thanks for listening and see you next week.