wealth

The Financial Flipside Podcast, Episode 19: Housing Things

July 8, 2019 by Heyward CPA

A row of colorful Victorian houses.

As of May 2019, the average price of a new house in the US was $377,200, a price that will buy you, on average, an apartment’s worth of space for every member of your household. Alongside expanding house sizes and the proliferation of luxury condos is a stark reality: the United States, like many other places in the world, is in the throes of a housing crisis. While there is plenty of physical housing to be had, very little of it is affordable , especially when one takes into account that most people’s wages have remained relatively flat. For example, as of June 2019, there is not a single place in the US or Puerto Rico where a minimum wage job would allow a person to afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment.

Despite what looks like a bleak housing picture, people, especially in the United States, remain invested in home ownership, even if staying in their homes means stretching their salaries or spending hours commuting each week. Why are Americans obsessed with home ownership? Does the idea of one’s house as a source of wealth hold up? Is HGTV ruining the way we think about real estate? What are the ways out of our current mess? We take on these questions and more in this episode.

Lots of interesting links below the cut

Funding the Future with Your Business

April 11, 2018 by Heyward CPA

Your small business does many things. It supports the community by providing goods and services. It supports the local government by paying taxes and fees. And it supports your employees by providing their livelihoods.

Your business provides for you, too, now and for the future. But don’t count on that just “happening.” You need a plan for using your business to create personal wealth.

Fund a Retirement Plan

Contributing to a retirement plan is a great way to convert money from your business into a personal benefit. Over time, you may be able to accumulate a substantial amount, especially if you contribute the maximum amount. If you don’t have a retirement plan, your financial professional can give you information about the options best suited for small businesses.

Fund Your Exit Strategy

A potentially more lucrative way to convert business wealth into personal wealth is to sell your company. This is a big step and it could take longer than you think, so allow plenty of time. Make sure you have a business valuation done early in the process. That way, if the value isn’t as high as you want (need) it to be, you have time to make necessary changes.

If you don’t have a formal succession plan, create one. If you do have one, make sure it’s kept up to date. A succession plan shows potential buyers that you are committed to having the business survive without you. A buy-sell agreement is a popular way to provide for the transfer of a business. Such agreements are legal contracts that establish who can buy an interest in a company and under what conditions they may do so.

Fund Your Buy-Sell Agreement

Life insurance is a popular way to fund buy-sell agreements. If you’d like to learn more about the role insurance can play in your — and your company’s –future, call your financial professional.

Whether you need individual or business tax advice, give us a call. We’ve got the answers you’re looking for, so don’t wait. Call us today.

Episode 3: What We Talk About When We Talk About Wealth, Part 2: Building a Business Enterprise

October 9, 2017 by Heyward CPA

Entrepreneurs start businesses for a variety of reasons: seeing a great idea through to completion, challenging themselves, or very often, out of a desire to be their own boss. There is a lot to be said for the freedom and flexibility that comes with owning your own company, but how do you channel the thrill of entrepreneurship into a long-lasting, wealth-generating enterprise? That’s our subject for episode 3. We talk about the difference between having a job and having a business, as well as the connection between planning and doing what you love. We discuss specific ways to set your business up for longevity. Finally, we provide some resources for learning about enterprise building if you don’t have access to a business consultant, financial planner, or CPA.

Do you have finance or business questions that you’d like to have answered on the show? Contact us on Twitter, Facebook, via email

Note: We’re moving to Mondays! We will still be posting episodes every two weeks, so join us on October 23 for more real money talk.

Show notes are located under the cut.

The Financial Flipside Podcast, Episode 2: What We Talk About When We Talk About Wealth

September 25, 2017 by Heyward CPA

What is wealth, and why is talking about it so difficult? Our second episode covers the difference between wealth and riches, barriers to building wealth, and some ways to save and invest in light of these obstacles. This episode ran a little long, because wealth and the systems on which it is built is a vast topic that brings up a lot of issues about money that we don’t often talk about in polite or mainstream conversation. Also, we could talk about the social aspects of money at great length when given the chance.

Stream or download the episode here and subscribe using our RSS feed.

As mentioned at the end of the show, we want to hear from you: (how) are you working on building wealth? What has worked? What hasn’t? Do you have any wealth-building questions? If so, ask us on Twitter (@HeywardCPA) or Facebook (facebook.com/heywardcpa).

Coming up on our next episode: more wealth talk, this time about wealth-building for small business owners. Show notes for episode 2 are located below the cut.