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Death or Taxes?! How You can Plan for a Successful 2019 Tax Season

You’re probably familiar with the saying, attributed to Benjamin Franklin in 1789, that ‘nothing can be certain besides death and taxes.’

We are in the shadow of 2018’s tax season now, and based on conversations with friends and members, it certainly seems like most people still seem to treat taxes akin to death: something to be avoided and even ignored!

Yet, of course, paying our Federal, State, and for small business owners and freelancers, GET taxes in Hawaii, is something that we simply must do – even if many of us take to the task at the last minute, kicking and screaming.

Lucky for us, we have a tax expert at Impact Hub HNL that can help individuals, freelancers, and small businesses make sense of taxes and – gasp – even make it enjoyable (yes, really)!

Milton Drageset, who has been a guest speaker twice previously at Impact Hub HNL events, is coming back as the guest expert for our May Freelancer’s Network meeting. At this event, held Wednesday, May 22 from 12pm-1:30pm, Milton will offer a tax season roundup, a discussion about how to make your 2019 taxes more organized, and help you create better and more effective financial management strategies.

What else will Milton talk about during this Freelancer’s Meeting?

  • 2018 tax code changes: How did the 2018 changes affect both individuals and businesses?
  • How to plan ahead for 2019: How can you better strategize and organize your expenses. Tips to help you pay estimated taxes on time, organize your Hawaii GET filings, and better manage money so that you’re ahead of the game next tax season.
  • How many extensions he filed this year – and why. How late is too late to do your taxes? Many people wait until the very last minute to file – what is the psychology behind this type of procrastination, and what habits can you build to be more timely?
  • What’s behind money behaviors: Why are taxes are so scary, why we avoid them, and how you can cultivate a better relationship with money generally.

Miton has been working in the financial services industry for almost three decades. He currently works with self-employed individuals and small business owners for the preparation of their income taxes, and offers tax and business strategy services during the year to help individuals and businesses reduce their tax liability; he also offers financial coaching services to those looking to dig deeper into their money story.

Meet the Women’s Personal Finance Group

Do you have a retirement plan? How do you manage your holiday spending? Does your budget and balance sheet align with your core values?

No doubt, these are really big questions, and something that many people – especially women – don’t talk about often enough. Our Women’s Personal Finance workgroup is a casual bi-monthly meetup for any woman that wants to learn more about finances, better understand their own financial habits and needs, and get more comfortable asking questions and learning about this big subject.

The group started in mid-2018 with a few financial professionals as an expert-led session, but has shifted into a workgroup format: using books and worksheets from popular finance books, apps, and blogs, the group together discusses ideas about and solutions to common finance issues. All are chosen to help attendees on their own financial learning journey, wherever they might be starting!

The group is facilitated by our Marketing Coordinator Andrea, who’s passionate about learning everything about finance. We are lucky to have Tania Fukuda as a member of the group. Tania is a professional financial planner who brings years of personal insight and passion to the group.

Some of the books, worksheets, and tools that we’ve used previously in workshops include:

  • The Art of Money: The Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness by Bari Tessler
  • You are a Bad** at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero
  • The Heart of Money: A Couple’s guide to Creating True Financial Intimacy by Deborah Price
  • Overcoming Underearning: A Five-Step Plan to a Richer Life by Barbara Stanny
  • The Compound Effect: Jumpstart your Income, your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy
  • … along with various tools, videos, worksheets, and excerpts from these books and others.

We are always open to additional books, websites, apps, tools, and ideas for future groups.

And in case you’re wondering why this group is just for women, there are lots of good reasons! Women are traditionally excluded from many investment and finance opportunities, both as professionals and personally. Added to that, women historically (and currently) make much less money than men, and they take more time off caring for families– risking their jobs and losing out on income in vital growth years.

This means that women are in a very different financial situation than men at almost all stages of their lifetime, which means that women have very different financial needs. This necessitates a space where women can learn from their peers as they become more comfortable talking about finances – and we think our Personal Finance workgroup is the perfect place to start!

If you want to join the conversation, please join us on the second Tuesday, every-other month. The next event is February 12, from 12pm-1pm. Check out the Facebook group and join the conversation!