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The Financial Flipside Podcast, Episode 18: Looking Back: A Tax Season Wrap-UP

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A woman with shoulder length curly hair and glasses sits in front of her laptop. She holds a phone in her right hand. She is wearing a cream-colored blazer with a green shirt underneath. Her facial expression is suprised--raised eyebrows and a slightly open mouth. She points gestures toward herself with her left hand.
Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

The first tax season after the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was full of surprises. When the IRS published its weekly filing statistics during the last week of tax season , the numbers confirmed what many taxpayers were shocked to see when they finished their returns: namely, that tax refunds were both smaller and a bit harder to come by. The number of refunds decreased by 1.9%, while their size decreased by 1.3% (or about $36–this is a correction from the $55 reported on the show). In this episode we talk about what happened and why, our national love affair with tax refunds, corporate tax avoidance, and why the IRS isn’t pursuing as many investigations despite new data that reveals that more people are cheating on their taxes.

A show outline and links can be found below the cut.

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The Financial Flipside Podcast, Episode 17: Shut ‘Em Down

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A weathered blue sign reading, "Sorry, We're Closed" hangs in a shop window. The sign is blue with cream-colored lettering edged in red

On December 22, 2018, the US government entered what was to become the longest shutdown in the country’s history, when the  President refused to sign off on a Congressional budget that didn’t include a requested $5 billion in funding for a border wall. The government temporarily reopened 35 days later, but not before damaging the economy and pushing many federal employees and people who rely on government funding social programs to the edge of their own fiscal cliffs.

 

How and why do shutdowns happen? What, if anything, did we learn from this experience? What can we do to prepare if the temporary funding lapses on February 15th without a budget in place? In this episode: “savings crises,” conference committees, grocery store negotiations, and only slightly less ire about borders than in our economics of immigration episode.

 

Speaking of which, if you’ve missed any of our previous episodes, you can find them on Apple Podcasts , Google Play, Stitcher., or on our website. Questions? Comments? You can email us at [email protected] or find us @financeflipside on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

As always, relevant links are located under the cut.
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The Financial Flipside Podcast, Episode 16: Year-End Money Moves

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a hand writes a list with check boxes in a graph-ruled notebook

As the year draws to a close, a lot of us carving out time between holiday parties and wrapping up projects to make a few New Year’s resolutions. After writing or typing out our lists, we roar into the new year with the best of intentions, armed with gym memberships, apps, and new gadgets. Yet, by the end of 2019, more than 90% of us will have abandoned our resolutio until December, when the whole cycle starts again. In this habit-forming episode, we talk about goal setting: why we succeed, why we fail, and some strategies for making your 2019 resolutions ones we’ll keep. Because we’re a money and finance podcast, and because financial resolutions are incredibly common (one poll taken at the beginning of the year found that saving money was tied with diet and exercise changes for the most popular resolution), we also discuss some things to do to get your finances ready for 2019.

Not subscribed yet? You can do so on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. Our previous episodes can be found here. If you want to talk to us about habits,  resolutions, or your financial goals for 2019. we’re @financialflipside on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

Mentioned on the show:

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Financial Flipside Podcast, Episode 10: The One About Money

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image via Stocksnap.io


For relatively small  bits of paper and metal, money carries a lot of weight. It is (supposedly) both the root of all evil and the key to happiness In our particular capitalist society, we both venerate and distrust people who have managed to acquire a lot of money. It is at once a source of anxiety and a source of comfort.  In short: our relationship with money is complicated.

In today’s episode, we engage in literal #realmoneytalk. We discuss the history of money, its power in our lives, and how the almost mystical power we’ve ascribed to money can make it really hard to talk about. We also touch on the consequences of not talking about money because it’s scary or taboo or because we don’t know how. We can’t promise to demystify money in half an hour, but we do have some practical tips for building a less fear-based relationship with the contents of your wallet.

 

Talk to us: What is your relationship to money? What did you learn about money when you were younger? Are there any things you’ve had to unlearn in adulthood? Let us know in the comments!

Missed an episode? You can find us on Apple Podcasts and Google Play. Looking for our  RSS feed? You can find it here. As always, show notes/links are below the cut.
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Financial Flipside Podcast, Episode 9: Cash Flow

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What is cash flow? Put simply, it’s the money (cash and cash-equivalents, so CDs, shares of equity, government bonds, bank accounts)  coming into and going out of your business. It’s an easy enough concept to understand, but day-to-day cash flow management is the Achilles’ heel of many a small business. A study by US Bank found that 82% of all failed business are undone by poor cash management. Admittedly frightening statistics aside, there are a number of reasons for small businesses to care about cash flow. In the first half the episode, we discuss what cash flow awareness can do for your company, where to look for cash flow information, and how to understand what you’re seeing.

 

We generally talk about cash flow in a business context, but it’s equally important to keep on top of the movement of money in and out of your life and personal bank account. In the second half of the show, we chat about applying cash flow management principles to your personal finances, including budgeting, expense planning, and whether or not skipping that latte will keep you from financial ruin.

 

What are your biggest cash flow challenges? How do you manage cash flow in your life and business? Let us know in the comments,via twitter (@financeflipside), or email ([email protected])!

 

Missed an episode? You can find us on Apple Podcasts and Google Play.

Check below the cut for related links

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Financial Flipside Podcast, Episode 8: I Put That on My (Credit) Card, Part 2: Business Credit

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After our tax reform detour in Episode 7, we’re back to talk a little more about credit. Specifically, we discuss business credit: how it differs from individual credit, some of the different types, and how and when to use it. If you’re concerned about balancing funding sources or wondering what the SBA actually does, this is the episode for you.

Mentioned on the show:

Bonus: the  tax consequences of crowdfunding
What small business owners need to know about about the different types of business loans.