As summer rolls along and we find ourselves enjoying the outdoors, it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on ways to improve our financial well-being. In my latest YouTube video, “Save taxes, make money: 4 summer projects,” I dive into practical steps you can take to make the most of this season. Whether you’re a real estate investor or a medical professional, these strategies are designed to help you not only save taxes but also set the stage for long-term financial success. Join me as I explore how a bit of summer planning can lead to significant gains, all from the comfort of your Muskoka chair. In other words, learn how to make money from your Muskoka chair.
Video Transcript: Save taxes, make money: 4 summer projects
George: How can you save taxes from your Muskoka chair? This summer, I’ve invited a special guest, my wife, a fellow real estate investor, Robin Dube. Help us find out,
I’m George Dube, saving the world from tax one bow tie at a time®.
So welcome back after we’ve taken a short hiatus, and welcome to Robin, my wife, fellow investor business partner. Really the one who keeps all the balls in the air for us.
Robin – Thanks, George. I know you’ve been wanting me to join you in a video for a while, so I’m glad we could finally make it work. And especially for a fun topic like this. I know saving taxes is always great and being able to sit in a Muskoka chair, by the water or by a campfire, a drink in your hand and save taxes even better. Although pretty sure you can do most of this all year round.
George – I know, or I’m pretty sure a lot of people like to take a week off and they just think about their favorite accountant. And this is also a good time to mix this in, I think.
Robin – Okay, yeah, we’ll go with that.
George – So our goal is to help you make the most of the summer or your time off, reflection time by tackling projects that can save you money on taxes now and in the future. We’ll be dividing up into several key areas to see you or set you up for success.
Robin – Absolutely. So I’ll just go through what the areas you’re gonna be overall.
- And first we’re gonna discuss the importance of defining your why. So understanding your goals that will guide your retirement, estate and tax planning steps. These are super key.
- Next, we’ll cover those essential tax tuneups. We’re calling them summer tax tuneups, but again, this could be all year round. You need to ensure that you’re up to date with the latest tax rules, and that’s where George comes in, and family changes, business developments, any legal requirements, you just need to review those every once in a while.
- Then we’re gonna emphasize the importance of working with the right people, avoiding financial fraud, poor partnerships. It’s critical. So we’re gonna share some tips on how to trust, but verify and ensure that you’ve got the right team in place.
- And last but not least, we’re gonna talk about preparing you for the realities of the new world. So using all the things that we talked about, how are we gonna navigate things like interest rates, cash flow, overcoming financial difficulties? And that in a nutshell is how you’re gonna save taxes sitting in your Muskoka chair.
George – If you find our content helpful, be sure to subscribe for more updates. Let’s get started and make this summer a productive one from the comfort of your Muskoka chair.
Robin – So first off, I really love this quote. We should remember that good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation from Thomas Edison and with our lovely Muskoka. chair. So what do you think that really means, or how would we wanna talk about that with the people watching the video, George?
George – So to me, again, summer’s about preparation. I’m not pretending there’s not some relaxation and whatnot there, but an opportunity for us to take stock, be ready for opportunities or some issues that are around us are coming. So that’s what this presentation is about, making money through preparation. I’m not suggesting that this is easy, it’s definitely not a get rich quick scheme, but rather focusing on taking the time, concentrate and think it’s about knowing where you wanna go, who you wanna get there with, being prepared to the degree possible for the eventualities and ensuring we have the right plans in place to succeed. And that’s how we’re going to make money from our Muskoka chairs this summer.
Robin – Sounds great. So let’s dive into the next point then. So ensure your dreams match your reality, but what does that actually mean? Well, for example, let’s say you wanna spend three or four months of the year in another country, a warmer country, and you haven’t done any planning, any processing, anything with your life here. To make that happen, you need to have those plans in place to make sure that you actually reach your dreams.
George – So what is your why and why is a tax guy standing up here talking to you about what is your why? Because figuring out what you have as your why, it affects everything else that you do, everything you plan. And it’s amazing how you can change when life throws you a curve ball. In my own family, cancer changed our priorities overnight. Global pandemic. That certainly changed the lives of many people’s lives, in our case, dramatic.
Robin – Yeah. And what that really meant is we went from two full-time people working with a real estate business to me, quitting my job, focusing on our business, our real estate business, and building a house by the lake for families to be closer to them to visit. So we totally changed our focus in a matter of months really. And we set plans in place to make sure that that could happen. So another great quote, look where you are going because you will inevitably go where you are looking. And this makes so much sense, especially when you’re thinking about planning for your dreams, for your retirement, for whatever you need. And George, I know you’ve experienced this, you’ll come in at the end of the day and talk in general terms about someone that you’ve had a meeting with and they just aren’t gonna meet their goals because they haven’t planned ahead enough.
George – Yes. Or in fact, just the opposite sometimes where people are so concerned and frightened financially speaking of the future and don’t realize they are there or with some prudent management of their funds and investments, they’re okay. Not that things can’t happen, but a big thing is just getting into that and evaluating where are you with that? I’m finding a lot of people could really benefit and it doesn’t necessarily need to be a super-duper complex strategy, but creating a retirement plan and, and yes, creating a retirement plan. Starting to think of that when you’re in your thirties and your forties for sure. I’ve seen too many people at times, they’re really starting to focus, if you will, but they’re in their fifties and sixties and they’ve lost some opportunities. Not that it’s too late, I’m not suggesting that, but how much easier could it be setting up right when we’re beginning the plan for that future?
And, and multiple times I’ll have cases where I have clients where they are, they’re really excited about their investment return and then we start talking about, well, what’s your after tax and after inflation return?
And all of a sudden, I mean, eyes pop up or oh, that kind of glum feeling, if you will, because if my taxes are eating away half of my investment return, maybe it’s 40%, it’s different rates for different people and inflation. I mean, we’re just getting through a period I hope, where that inflation spiked and, and hopefully we’re on the other end of that or are starting to get closer to it. But we’ve seen how that can bite into things. ’cause I think for quite a long time we have forgotten some of the lessons from yesteryear, if you will, in terms of what happens when interest rates and inflation go up. That we’ve been in such a long period of steady low rates that that small hiccup created a lot of havoc and is still creating havoc, right?
So again, getting in place the plans, it doesn’t need to necessarily be super elaborate. Yes as your situation is more complex, we would like to add in turn some complexity to that, but at least start the process. And maybe again, you’re younger, maybe it’s not nearly as in-depth, but a basic plan to start off with is gonna make things so much easier for yourself, your family, your charities, so you can be doing what you want to be doing and hitting business and investment goals and other goals that you have.
Robin – Yeah. And it’s a good conversation to have in that Muskoka chair around the campfire next to the lake because it’s a conversation where you’re talking about like, what are you dreaming about for your retirement? Those are, those are good things to talk about in that relaxed environment. Once you know those things, then you can reach out to the individuals that can actually help you achieve those goals.
George – And just to piggyback on that, is to have the conversation again with your spouse or perhaps it’s adult children or whatever it may be, but what you are thinking may be a little bit different than what your loved ones are thinking. Absolutely. There may need to be a little bit of a come to Jesus moment, if you will, in terms of, wait a minute, we’re not gonna be able to do all of these things the way we’re going now. And again, going back to what we started off with in terms of what’s our why, what’s really important to us? Maybe we can ditch some of the things that we were thinking of and get back to the basics, or at least cover the basics with the planning. And if results start to provide for more opportunities to indulge in other areas, wonderful. But let’s hit the basics to start with.
Robin – What are the next steps? Time to take some action. And I think the quickest way to do this is really think about creating that plan for your retirement. But don’t let age stop you. You can be too old for a retirement plan, but you can’t be too young. You need to do an estate plan. You need to do a tax plan.
And I know, George, this has been near and dear to your heart for a long time, almost as long as I’ve known you because even your master’s thesis in university was on retirement and estate tax planning. So you’ve been wanting to help people about this topic for a long time. So as we’ve talked about, you set out your why before you talk to your accountant so you can figure out where you need to go, what you wanna do, what are your dreams, and then reach out to the people that can help you make that a reality. Get those plans in place and every summer, start to reevaluate them. Don’t just set up a plan and think that it’s gonna be great for the next 30 years. It definitely isn’t. As we talked, major life events come along and can change things, can throw a wrench in things, can add to things and make them better.
Next Up: Let’s talk about completing a summer tax tune-up.
Have more questions? Please subscribe, follow, and even share.
I want all of us to have the tax information we need to Do wonderful things®.
-End transcript-
Resources
For additional resources related to the save taxes, make money mentality, see:
- Saving taxes with a summer tax tune-up: Part 2
- Due diligence – Work with the right people: Part 3
- Real estate investors: Tax planning, wealth building
- Medical professionals: Tax and wealth solutions
More questions?
Still have questions on how to save taxes, make money? I want to help you Do Wonderful Things®, so please contact me today.
Remember – circumstances are unique! This information is summary in nature. Seek out advice from your tax advisor about your specific situation.
