Tax Freedom Day

With Tax Freedom day just having been passed - it's interesting to see that the average Canadian will be paying 37.7k in taxes this year.

If you're not familiar with the term - here's the link in wikipedia Tax Freedom Day
Canada's Tax Freedom day is calculated by the Fraser Institute.

It's a shame that many of the Canadians that don't know the rules of the money game are still overspending in taxes that they can be mitigating, reducing, or avoiding (not evading). Simple tax savings strategies can be implemented by just taking a closer look at your mortgage practices, or consulting with your accountant on the benefits of having a small home based business with legitimate expenses.

When it comes to dealing with the tax man, it's what you know, or what you don't know that makes the difference between being able to be a success. Some of you might remember when Tax Shelters were a major portion of my business (they're not anymore) but proper utilization of a Tax shelter would still allow you to come out ahead if you're smart with your money.

If you're really interested in taking the first step here are the basics:
1) Take a look at your current mortgage - is it tax deductible? If not, talk to a trusted financial planner or adviser on methods how to make it such. Be sure to get some different opinions as not all tax deductible mortgage strategies are equal.

2) Talk to your accountant as to what types of expenses are allowed or disallowed and calculate what your average savings would be if you were to open your own home based business. In terms of the home based business, make sure it's something that you actually do enjoy and would like to work on to build the business as it's not just for the tax savings, but a vehicle to produce more income for you over the long term.

Those two steps alone will save the average Canadian 3 to 5 thousand dollars a year. It's not all 37k, but it's a start.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - A previous life

Once upon a time, I was a techie. Sprawling across the worlds of both IT and coding was my territory, and dealing with heavies like NASA, The Pentagon, US DOJ, Nintendo and a few Major Banks was a normal day in the life of me.

It's neat to look back at my previous role and my previous employer to see how things are going in their neck of the woods. I was there since the days of Seagate Software, Crystal Decisions, Business Objects, but left before the industry consolidated the major business intelligence firms and the merger to SAP occurred.

Business Objects was one of the places where I developed my first set of public presentations, the chance that gave me a taste of public speaking at developer conferences, and the opportunity to take a running leap at leading my first software company.

Now as I sit thinking about my own boardroom table where my business partners handle the mergers and acquisitions portion of my businesses, it's funny how life has changed for me. Although I'll be forever grateful for the lessons learned and life lived before - it's an interesting thought to be playing my own game instead of being a piece on someone else's chess board. With a fond memory of having nerf guns being a normal part of my office space, countless computers and fellow geeks surrounding me, I do look forward to rebuilding my company and growing it to the next level. I encourage all of my old co-workers to try playing Robert Kiyosaki's cash flow 101 game - check out cashflowbc.ca or meetup.com to find other people to play with so that you all get the chance to see what I saw, and perhaps I'll see a few of you on the entrepreneurial path. Until we meet again.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata

Alfred Allen - I can't wait to play Cashflow 101 again!

Hi everyone!

I played Cashflow 101 for the first time last Thursday, May 29th. I've heard that it was like Monopoly on steroids that adults could use to better understand how to get out of the rat race.

I was a little skeptical because I'm a "grown up". I haven't played board games since I was 12 years old!

Amazingly, I found it entertaining, educational and surprisingly fun. Who knew? I didn't. I'm glad my friend Earl convinced me to go.

I learned quite a few things: some opportunities are good, some not so good. Who knows what the market will do. And you just have to make the best of the situation you're dealt with if you want to win.

We only played it for a couple of hours and our board leader Maxine eased us into game. She helped all of us by explaining what to look for in certain investments and to keep a positive attitude. I didn't understand that last part until I played Cashflow 101 yesterday.

Suffice as to say, Maxine got out of the rat race first. I was close behind and almost landed on my big dream. I almost won, but it was getting late and we had to stop for the night.

I learned two big lessons that night. Finances could be fun and you just have to play the cards you're dealt with sometimes.

One of our players that night, "C", played Cashflow for the first time that night as well. She landed on the charity square. She didn't give to charity. In her following turns, she acquired quite a few "do-dads", had a baby, was down-sized and the few times she got opportunity cards, they weren't very profitable. Her experience with the game wasn't the same as mine.

I was fortunate to land on opportunity a few times. I bought a 3/2 house and made some good money right away. I parlayed this opportunity into several big deals that got me out of the rat race fairly quickly. I really enjoyed this game! This isn't so hard. I could probably apply some of this experience in real life.

Well, I couldn't wait to play this game again. My friend Jason invited me to another game yesterday. I was feeling good. I couldn't wait to be making big deals and learning more about this game. I was going to tear this game apart and win this time!

I'm not sure if I was a little too cocky and fate put me in my place, but the dice were just not going my way. I landed on "do-dads", missed the opportunity squares and had a baby! Well, that was an eye-opener. That's something I just wasn't expecting. ;) I thought I could get back into the game, but I landed on the dreaded "downsizing" square. I lost a little hope.

The game soon ended. I felt a little empty and disappointed that I didn't shine like the first time I played Cashflow. I imagined that this was how "C" might have felt last Thursday. Maybe it was just beginner's luck.

I reflected on the situation and decided that it was still a valuable experience to have. We didn't play very long, maybe only an hour. I concluded that whatever life throws at me, I have to look on the bright side of things and just deal with it.

Well, I promised myself to keep playing this game until I get better. I'm not going to let being a single parent with a newborn, who just got downsized from my job with a bunch of "do-dads" get in the way of my dream! I got plans ...I'm going sailing on my yacht in Australia! ;)

Cheers,

Alfred Allen

"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way."

Christopher Morley (1890 - 1957) www.quotationspage.com