People are funny. We tend to plan more for a vacation than we do for our own and our family’s financial future. Planning for vacation involves choosing a destination; deciding how to get there (means of travel, route, stops along the way); deciding how long to stay, where, and what to do while on vacation, and more.

Financial planning and even a subset of that — tax planning — is more involved and complex, yet we invest less time and effort engaging in it. As a result, many of us pay more than our fair share in taxes, leaving us with less of our annual earnings to enjoy and to invest in our own and our family’s future security, comfort, enjoyment, and self-fulfillment.

One way to simplify the process of tax and financial planning is to break down the task into distinct areas of your life where you can cut taxes, grow your net worth, and achieve peace of mind. This post steps you through that process.

Area 1: Family, Home, and Job

Age-old wisdom advises that “charity begins at home,” meaning that before we can help others, we need to build a firm foundation for our own financial health. It also means taking care of those closest to us first — our family members and friends.

Tax-savings and financial planning strategies should also begin at home with family, home, and job. Areas of focus should include the following: Continue reading…