Finding yourself in a healthy and happy financial life means practicing better money habits. And, putting you and your family in the best position possible. Raising your income, having income that not employment related, mitigating taxes and positioning your assets in a way to provide maximum benefit for your family are all a part of having “good” money habits. Following these eight very controllable tips will have a positive impact on your families outlook. Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones. ~ Benjamin Franklin By Kevin T. Taylor AIF® and Peter Locke CFP® Pay yourself first For many, money gets mentally earmarked as spending, investing, saving, and giving away.  For some, finding the right balance among these four categories is difficult but essential, and a budget can be a very useful tool to help you accomplish this. So, one of the best better money habits, is paying yourself first. This becomes the mantra for the most successful savers and is the fuel for a financial plan. Here is the two step “Pay yourself first” plan: First create a budget: The only way to start planning is to create a budget. Thinking about both the near-term and long-term financial goals and what a monthly spend looks like and what one you can aspire to have in retirement might look like. This will help generate a baseline for mapping out and putting other better money habits in place. But don’t make the mistake of using this formula, Income – Expenses = Savings. This is the source of most people’s failure to plan. Because it makes you and your future self come last, i.e. the end result of the equation. Create a budget with the future you in mind, that version of your future self is the most important part of the equation. That equation should look like Income – Required Savings = Expenses.  Then create a budget that is less than the expenses amount. Although difficult to implement, this is the priority that financially healthy people adopt. Automate your savings: Making savings a priority in your budget.  Consider determining a specific amount and making a deposit on a regular basis. Think about your 401k or other company contribution plan where funds are taken automatically from your paycheck and deposited in an investment vehicle or savings plan with every run of payroll. Your personal savings plan should be no different.  In order to do this, you need to know your required rate (read and listen to our required rate podcast for more information) so you know how much savings you need to put away at your required rate to reach your goals. Know your tax plan The entirety of the IRS tax plan is complicated, full of loopholes and derived from years of bolting on special interests onto the code. Hence, the process of doing taxes reflects this. But, the second of the better money habits addresses this. At its core there are four main sources of income: Employment, investments, inheritance and windfalls. Each of these sources may be taxed in different ways and at different levels. Have a plan and control what you can control.  Have two plans for how you want to be taxed: Tax plan today: You may not feel like you have a lot of control over how you’re taxed and at what rate. But if you take a step back, you will find you have far more control then you may be aware of. Lets build on the budget example.  If you know exactly what your monthly spend looks like, then you can have more control over the total that goes into pre-tax or after-tax savings options. Think about it this way, if you make $100,000 a year but your budget only requires $80,000, then by letting yourself accept all that income you’re likely surrendering somewhere between $5,000 – $9,000 to taxes of the remaining $20,000. This should be written down as a total loss of income that could have been prevented with the use of a budget and a tax plan. Tax plan tomorrow: Knowing how to mitigate taxes in your working years is great, but having a plan for after retirement may be more important. One of the most tragic events in retirement is being confronted with the risk of a short fall, well into retirement. Finding out that your shortfall was the result of poor tax planning and income management. Having a plan in place in your working years, for how you fund pre-tax, Roth, and post tax savings gives you options for controlling the amount you will pay in taxes in a given year in retirement. This helps elongate the timeline your cash will survive, and gives you flexibility for a changing taxation landscape. Additionally, having a diverse source of cash flow from investments is a better money habits you will develop. If placed in the proper accounts it helps confirm both the amount and source of income throughout retirement. Every dollar that is mitigated in tax planning in retirement, helps to elongate the plan, support measures for unforeseen risks, and adds to your legacy. Remember: Tax nuances exist in every area of wealth planning. There may also be opportunities to incorporate potential tax benefits into your plans but oftentimes there are also negative tax consequences associated with certain decisions. It’s important to step back now to have a vision for yourself, so you can plan accordingly. Additionally, when choosing the best investments for your circumstances, taxes should not be the only consideration.  It’s important to factor in the after-tax rate of return in determining tax-efficient investments. For these reasons, it’s crucial to consult with a qualified tax advisor to ensure your circumstances and needs are appropriately accounted for. Stop living on borrowed time All borrowed money needs to be divided into two camps, accretive and erosive. When you borrow money you are borrowing from that money’s future