February 20, 2024 • 18 mins
Unlock the secret to a fatter tax refund and wiser financial future with Centric's CFO, Billy Joiner. As your savvy guide, Billy doesn't just break down the numbers; he brings to light the comprehensive value of being prepared with essential documents like 1099s and W-2s to ensure your tax return is not just timely but hits the mark for accuracy. Our conversation ventures into the diverse offerings at Centric, from financial counseling to the BizKids program, and paints a picture of a financial institution that's deeply invested in the economic prosperity of its community members.
This episode is a treasure trove of strategies for maximizing your tax season winnings. We'll share why professional tax advice could be your holy grail to uncovering hidden deductions and how opting for direct deposit into a credit union can stretch your dollar further. Billy Joiner helps navigate the tricky waters of tax withholdings, providing actionable tips to adjust them in your favor during inflationary times. And for those pondering the smartest ways to use their tax refunds, we cover everything from extinguishing debt to bolstering your savings, ensuring that your financial decisions are both informed and intelligent. Join us and transform your approach to personal finance one tax season at a time.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kelli Green (00:00):
Welcome to another episode of the Live Better
podcast, proudly presented byCentric.
I'm your host, Kelli Green, andtoday we're covering all things
tax preparation and how tomaximize your tax refund.
This time of year, manyfamilies receive a large sum of
money and can achieve hopes anddreams like a down payment on a
large purchase, pay down oreliminate debt or even stack
(00:21):
their savings for unexpectedexpenses.
So, whether you've been a loyallistener or you're joining us
for the first time, prepare todive into ways to grow your tax
refund and ensure most of yourrefund stays in your pocket.
Well, I want to welcome all ofour listeners to another episode
of Live Better podcast.
Today we are joined by BillyJoiner.
(00:41):
He is our CFO here at thecredit union .
And before we get started,Billy, share with our listeners
a little bit about yourself andwhat do you do here at Centric.
Billy Joiner (00:51):
No, I'm just a normal guy.
You know I've got a family offour kids, wife, been married to
20 years, so I've been at thecredit union going on 12 years.
You know I love helping peoplelive better.
Kelli Green (01:06):
Yes, you do, and so something to tell everybody too
, kind of what the CFO does.
You know, you don't just crunchnumbers all day long, right
you're more than that's probablywhat I do.
Billy Joiner (01:16):
But no, I I kind of dive into all the anything
related to finances for thecredit union, whether it be
making sure we're making themost on our own our money that
we have sitting around, makingsure we have the best rates
based, making sure we have thebest dividend rates for our
members, just trying to makesure that we're providing the
best value for our members.
Kelli Green (01:35):
Oh yeah, you know a lot of the things we talk about
.
What we do here at Centric isgenuinely helping members live
better, and we know this time isour economy is kind of all over
the place.
We don't necessarily knowwhat's happening with the rates.
I mean, we know today, but itcould be something different
here in the weeks to come, andso I think one of the things I
admire about you and your teamyou always want to talk with our
(01:57):
members to see what are theirultimate financial goals and do
we have the right things thatwe're offering to them?
You know, are we offering themost advantageous rates?
That's right for our members,but it's also something right
for the credit union.
Billy Joiner (02:10):
You know we would love to have folks bring us
their excess cash and, you know,be able to pay them the best we
can.
But sometimes we're not able topay the best.
You know, if it's not good fora member, we'll tell them hey,
love, this is a good, this is agood opportunity somewhere else
and and it'd be better for youto go take that opportunity
there.
But you know, all in all wewould, we'd like to have their
(02:33):
funds here at the credit union,obviously, but if it's not best
for the member, it's, it's, it'skind of what we love.
Kelli Green (02:38):
Yeah, I love that.
To me, we're a localinstitution that just has an arm
that we can reach members nomatter where they are.
I still think the mostimportant and valuable thing
about Centric is what we have tooffer.
Our staff live here.
We're living in the community,we understand what people, the
hardships they may be facing andand we're living in it too.
You know, and I think that'sthe most important piece of this
(03:00):
is that we just don't take thehuman side out of banking
because it's so critical.
We all have different financialgoals and journeys, but having
someone as far as a financialexpert like you to guide our
members, I think that's soincredibly valuable and
something that you know a lot offolks may not get with a mega
bank or even a largecommunity-style bank here at the
(03:23):
credit union.
That is who we are.
Billy Joiner (03:26):
Yeah, just being able to save the local economy
is what we talk about here.
Yes, we like to make sure thatwe're providing the best value
for our members, whether it'sthrough financial counseling I
love better tips Visitingschools, financial literacy for
children, whatever it is,Centric is going to be there to
help them.
Kelli Green (03:45):
That's right, and I know our kids.
You've been a loyal supporterof Biz Kids from day one.
You've been a supporter of ourhigh school BizKids program, and
students enjoy having you inthe class for they are sure to
have a good ole time.
So again, if that's somethingthat's interesting for you too,
feel free to visit our websiteat MyCentric.
org, because now we offer BizKids online and people can
access that at their disposal,so that's beautiful.
Well, so we're exploring taxrefunds, and so I would love to
(04:09):
hear the most beneficial way toensure that tax preparations are
completely accurate, timely,and how members can really get
their maximum refund.
What do you suggest?
Billy Joiner (04:19):
with that.
I would say most people areprobably always in a hurry to
get their taxes filed and firstof the year comes around, that's
one of the first things folksget to working on or getting
their tax returns filed.
And one of the things that Iwould just make sure to make
sure it's most accurate ismaking sure that you have all
the applicable forms that youneed, whether it's some 1099s or
(04:42):
W9s.
Just making sure that you haveall your documentation that you
need before you file, becauseyou don't want to have to go
back and do an amended return oranything like that.
So making sure you have allyour documents together.
We're making sure that it'sfiled accurately and timely.
Just making sure you actuallyfile the return before the
(05:04):
deadline you can't file someextensions if you need to, but
just file it before the deadlineis probably the best thing that
would be helpful for ourmembers and making sure you get
the maximum refund.
It's kind of it's a numbersgame, right.
So making sure that yourdeductions and your income, kind
(05:26):
of, are maximum maximized andif you're not sure how to
accomplish that, get some help.
Ask for some help, becausethere are professionals out
there that can help you andthere's also software available
that you can use to help youthrough the process as well.
Kelli Green (05:47):
You know, and the thing I always try to share with
folks whenever they're thinkingabout preparing their taxes.
You know I encourage folks ifyou're gonna use like the
software you're talking about,even online.
A lot of times that's a verylow cost to no cost, especially
if it's just a simple return orif you're visiting with a local
CPA, which I advise, because ifyou have any questions or maybe
(06:08):
you're missing out on somedeductions that you never
thought about, you can talk withthem.
That's an expert that you wannareach out to.
But something to really thinkabout is if you are getting a
refund, I highly encourage youconsider direct depositing your
return into the credit unionversus uploading your refund to
a debit card or credit card,because there's so many fees
that are associated with thatand we just see so many times,
(06:31):
even when you're calling in onthese prepaid cards that they
give you, they're trying tocharge you for that.
If you're inquiring about abalance, why worry about that
when you can just direct depositthat for free?
Billy Joiner (06:42):
Yeah, Centric is able to take those deposits on
the tax deposits and actuallypay you money for them.
Kelli Green (06:49):
Yeah.
Billy Joiner (06:50):
Instead of charging you for them.
So we actually pay a gooddividend rate on some of our CDs
and we don't charge you to calland ask come what you's in your
savings account.
So, yeah, just find the bestvalue for your money.
If you're not making money onyour money, it's the opportunity
now to make sure that you'redoing that.
Kelli Green (07:10):
Absolutely.
What better time?
So let me ask you this so wetalk about the good things that
are tax refunds, so think aboutthe pros and the cons of a tax
refund.
What are some things?
A lot of times is a very largesum of money and people are like
, heck, yeah, this is great,we're going on vacation.
But really think about what aresome real beneficial things
(07:32):
that families might be able todo to kind of change your
financial trajectory with thistax refund.
Billy Joiner (07:36):
Well, you think about when tax season is.
Tax season is right after theholidays and a lot of folks, a
lot of members, use those fundsto kind of catch up and some of
them may have some outstandingitems they need to take care of
and we see a lot of thathappening.
So some of the pros of a largetax return would be to catch up
(07:59):
on some of your bills, buildyour savings, put back some
emergency phone if you need one.
If you don't have one, put oneback.
Not a lot of times you're goingto get a big, large sum of
money at one time.
So when you do that, not a lotof folks are used to getting
(08:19):
those types of funds andsometimes they the money tells
you where it's going instead ofyou telling me where the money
it's going.
That's right.
Just making sure you tell yourmoney where it's going.
That's probably one of thethings that I would say when you
get a large sum of money.
And some of the disadvantages ofgetting a tax return.
(08:42):
There are some disadvantages.
First of all, I would say ifyou're getting a large lump sum
of money, you need to determinewhy you're getting that, because
what you're pretty much doingis giving the government an
interest-free loan becausethey're taking your money and
giving it back to you with nointerest.
(09:03):
So if you're getting a largelump sum of money, you're
probably having too much moneytaken out of your paycheck.
You're not.
Your W-2 is not filed correctly, it's not, the form's not
completed correctly.
So make sure you get with youradvisor or your HR department to
see what you can do to lessenthat.
(09:26):
If you want your money everytime you get paid.
Some folks wanna the max yeah,the max taken out and getting a
match refund, and that's a youdecision.
But there is some opportunitiesfor you to maximize your own
earnings by making sure thatyour withholdings are correct.
Kelli Green (09:47):
When you think about the time of inflation that
we're living in right now andif you're getting $10-15k, we
see very large tax refunds a lotof times here the credit union
and you think about that over ayear and I think, wow, if we
could pay them 5% on that.
You're giving this to thegovernment interest-free, but
(10:08):
you think about what does thatequate to every single month in
your pocket?
Could that being used forgrocery money?
Or if you're able to withholdthat from your check that tells
you you could use that money ina savings account, right?
That's why I highly encourageI'm all for.
I understand that with inflationand costs are out of control,
but sitting down with the CPAeven an HR professional, as you
(10:31):
mentioned that they can go overwhat your deductions are and if
they're understanding as well asfar as what you're getting out
of the refund, how does thatimpact you over your paycheck
over the whole year?
So you gotta think about thosekinds of things and
opportunities.
I think that's one of thebiggest questions and it's an
easy answer.
It doesn't take me just a fewminutes to look at those things
so you can make thoseadjustments and that's something
(10:52):
that could be an instant changein your overall budget.
Billy Joiner (10:56):
Oh, absolutely.
It'll help you tremendously.
A couple hundred dollars extraof paycheck, I mean that goes a
long ways for folks who are justtrying to live paycheck to
paycheck.
And if you are one of thosefolks that are living paycheck
to paycheck and you're getting alarge tax refund, you've
probably got some opportunitiesto increase your earnings if you
(11:19):
could just make sure that yourdeductions are filled out right
on your W-2 forms.
Kelli Green (11:24):
Yes, I just love that.
I'm glad that you shared that,because those are some things a
lot of people don't think about.
You know you hardly ever lookat your deductions unless you
have a lifestyle change, youknow, or you start a new job.
It's really the only times youreally think about your prompted
to review that.
So, nonetheless, it's somethingthat I think would just take a
couple of minutes, and you knowyou mentioned earlier talking
(11:46):
about the financial counselorsthat we have here at Centric and
something that I wanna makesure that we do mention to our
listeners.
We talk about this a lot, butit's so critical, especially if
you're thinking about you've gotthese extra 100, $200 that are
coming in if you have adjustedyour deductions.
How does that?
You know, how do you add thatmoney into your overall budget?
(12:07):
And if you don't have a budget,how do you get started with
that?
Right?
Billy Joiner (12:11):
Oh yeah, I mean, the most important thing for me
and my family is I've said itbefore earlier today is telling
them our money where to go.
You have to tell them where togo or it's going to disappear on
you.
So a budget is really simple.
We've got folks that can helpyou with the credit union, that
can help you set it up, but youknow it's pretty much your hand
(12:33):
call on one side, expenses onthe other one and whatever's
left you're saving.
That's it.
So yeah, that's pretty simple.
Kelli Green (12:40):
I love it and I'm telling you just a couple
minutes to review yourdeductions, and anywhere between
10 and 15 minutes with afinancial counselor can change
your life.
I'm telling you when you'retalking about some of the
successes that you've had.
I would love to hear from you,billy, especially.
I know you're a big time saver.
If you have a goal or a plan oryou want to take your family on
a vacation, you create asavings account and you name it
(13:02):
for what you're saving for.
Billy Joiner (13:04):
That's absolutely true.
Yeah, so one of the things thatI can the very first time where
I can remember where I got alarge tax return back when I
first started working was, youknow, we had just had a kid and
I just had, I had just gottenmarried and we're probably four
or five years into our marriageand this is the earliest success
I can remember.
So we had a large lump sum andI was tired of, I was tired of
(13:28):
debt, I was tired of debt, andso I took that money and I put
it on my my wife's car that hadbought for her, and we paid that
thing off and it was such arelief that's kind of a relief,
such as that.
And you know, things change inyour life and you have to do
things that you may notnecessarily want to do but you
have to do.
(13:48):
You know, some of the thingsthat you know I definitely like
to try to save for or vacations.
I'm a huge traveler.
I love traveling with my family.
We've got some big plans comingup in the next year my wife's
our 20th anniversary, so we'relooking forward to it.
Yeah, looking forward to a bigtrip with my wife out of the
(14:09):
country, so looking forward tothat.
And you know we just traveledwith my family for Christmas and
we saved for that, sodefinitely have to tell your
money where it's going.
Kelli Green (14:18):
It's so interesting , though A lot of people say, oh
well, you know, because you'rea CFO, you know have a large
income and all these sort ofthings, but it's like no, no,
even so, regardless of theincome that you have, I think we
see so many single moms, singleparents, you know a lot of
times they're doing bettermulti-income family! Too many
times, they're not in controltheir money, they're not telling
(14:39):
their money where to go, and Ilove hearing from you how
important it is.
Regardless of where you are inyour financial status or what
have you, you still have abudget, you still create a
savings account for what youwant and you ensure that you set
up those automatic deductionsbecause that's a goal that you
want to see.
I love it also because yourwife is an educator.
I know that you know childrenis something that's near and
(15:00):
dear to both of your hearts.
You know I have to tout yourbasketball team too, over at the
West Monroe Rec.
You'll have to go watch them.
We have a boys and a girls teamthat are playing, so you'll
have to go celebrate them.
But being involved in kids andwhether it be sports and
education, but seeing ourattitude around money and how we
spend or how we choose not tospend money.
(15:22):
I think that is teaching such alife lesson that they will
carry forever and ever.
You know some of the decisionsthat you and I have made a lot
of times.
We talk about this a lot.
As far as financially, it'slike, man, if we could have done
over, you know.
Or else the decisions that wemade, or because we saw things
didn't go too well in ourchildhood, you know.
And so what we do matters, eventhough our kids are probably
(15:45):
like we think they're notlistening.
Oh boy, they're listening, youknow.
Billy Joiner (15:49):
For sure, for sure .
You know I've learned.
I tell my, you know my friendsand my coworkers.
You know I learned how to be afather because of things that
happened in the past.
You know, and so I'm hoping mykids are learning some of the
things how to take care of theirfinances by watching me and
(16:10):
some of the things that they'relearning through me.
You know I'm very passionateabout financial issues with kids
.
That's something that is verynear and dear to my heart.
I think kids need a head starton getting this education.
I'm looking forward tocontinuing our best kids further
(16:30):
down and going forward withthat.
But yeah, if your kids needsome help, you gotta help them,
and also we got some help foryou if you need it.
So you need to sit around thetable, talk to your kids about
money.
If not, they'll be living withyou in your basement.
Kelli Green (16:47):
This is exactly right.
And listen, I love my girls, weall know this.
But you got to understand andknow, hey, this is when you're
ready to go.
And my daughter asked meyesterday.
She's like, mom, can you get me$10 out of that ATM?
I need $10.
And I'm like, well, why do youneed $10?
And she's explaining what sheneeds it for.
And so I'm like okay, you got aplan for this money.
(17:08):
We're not just gonna bespending frivolously.
So, anyway, nonetheless, Ithink starting your kids early
is the best thing that you cando.
We have kids savings andchecking accounts to give them a
debit card completely free,like why not?
So, Billy, thank you so muchfor joining us today.
This has been so good.
Well, so that brings us to theend of our episode of the Live
(17:28):
Better podcast.
We hope you found today'sconversation about really
opportunity is knocking with atax refund.
We certainly hope that this hasbeen great for you and we hope
that Century remains yoursteadfast partner in your
overall financial journey.
If this episode is resonatedwith you, we kindly ask you to
show your support.
Please hit our subscribe button, share the episode with your
(17:50):
friends and family and take amoment to leave us a review.
Your input is truly invaluablein shaping the content that
addresses your financialinterests and needs.
And, of course, let's stayconnected on social media.
You can find us on Facebook atCentric Federal Credit Union and
on all other platforms underMyCentric.
Stay in the loop regarding thelatest financial insights and
(18:12):
resources tailored to yourunique financial aspirations.
Until our next episode, alwaysremember that Centric is by your
side as you navigate yourfinancial journey.
Thank you for tuning in to theLive Better podcast.
Welcome to another episode of the Live Better
podcast, proudly presented byCentric.
I'm your host, Kelli Green, andtoday we're covering all things
tax preparation and how tomaximize your tax refund.
This time of year, manyfamilies receive a large sum of
money and can achieve hopes anddreams like a down payment on a
large purchase, pay down oreliminate debt or even stack
(00:21):
their savings for unexpectedexpenses.
So, whether you've been a loyallistener or you're joining us
for the first time, prepare todive into ways to grow your tax
refund and ensure most of yourrefund stays in your pocket.
Well, I want to welcome all ofour listeners to another episode
of Live Better podcast.
Today we are joined by BillyJoiner.
(00:41):
He is our CFO here at thecredit union .
And before we get started,Billy, share with our listeners
a little bit about yourself andwhat do you do here at Centric.
Billy Joiner (00:51):
No, I'm just a normal guy.
You know I've got a family offour kids, wife, been married to
20 years, so I've been at thecredit union going on 12 years.
You know I love helping peoplelive better.
Kelli Green (01:06):
Yes, you do, and so something to tell everybody too
, kind of what the CFO does.
You know, you don't just crunchnumbers all day long, right
you're more than that's probablywhat I do.
Billy Joiner (01:16):
But no, I I kind of dive into all the anything
related to finances for thecredit union, whether it be
making sure we're making themost on our own our money that
we have sitting around, makingsure we have the best rates
based, making sure we have thebest dividend rates for our
members, just trying to makesure that we're providing the
best value for our members.
Kelli Green (01:35):
Oh yeah, you know a lot of the things we talk about
.
What we do here at Centric isgenuinely helping members live
better, and we know this time isour economy is kind of all over
the place.
We don't necessarily knowwhat's happening with the rates.
I mean, we know today, but itcould be something different
here in the weeks to come, andso I think one of the things I
admire about you and your teamyou always want to talk with our
(01:57):
members to see what are theirultimate financial goals and do
we have the right things thatwe're offering to them?
You know, are we offering themost advantageous rates?
That's right for our members,but it's also something right
for the credit union.
Billy Joiner (02:10):
You know we would love to have folks bring us
their excess cash and, you know,be able to pay them the best we
can.
But sometimes we're not able topay the best.
You know, if it's not good fora member, we'll tell them hey,
love, this is a good, this is agood opportunity somewhere else
and and it'd be better for youto go take that opportunity
there.
But you know, all in all wewould, we'd like to have their
(02:33):
funds here at the credit union,obviously, but if it's not best
for the member, it's, it's, it'skind of what we love.
Kelli Green (02:38):
Yeah, I love that.
To me, we're a localinstitution that just has an arm
that we can reach members nomatter where they are.
I still think the mostimportant and valuable thing
about Centric is what we have tooffer.
Our staff live here.
We're living in the community,we understand what people, the
hardships they may be facing andand we're living in it too.
You know, and I think that'sthe most important piece of this
(03:00):
is that we just don't take thehuman side out of banking
because it's so critical.
We all have different financialgoals and journeys, but having
someone as far as a financialexpert like you to guide our
members, I think that's soincredibly valuable and
something that you know a lot offolks may not get with a mega
bank or even a largecommunity-style bank here at the
(03:23):
credit union.
That is who we are.
Billy Joiner (03:26):
Yeah, just being able to save the local economy
is what we talk about here.
Yes, we like to make sure thatwe're providing the best value
for our members, whether it'sthrough financial counseling I
love better tips Visitingschools, financial literacy for
children, whatever it is,Centric is going to be there to
help them.
Kelli Green (03:45):
That's right, and I know our kids.
You've been a loyal supporterof Biz Kids from day one.
You've been a supporter of ourhigh school BizKids program, and
students enjoy having you inthe class for they are sure to
have a good ole time.
So again, if that's somethingthat's interesting for you too,
feel free to visit our websiteat MyCentric.
org, because now we offer BizKids online and people can
access that at their disposal,so that's beautiful.
Well, so we're exploring taxrefunds, and so I would love to
(04:09):
hear the most beneficial way toensure that tax preparations are
completely accurate, timely,and how members can really get
their maximum refund.
What do you suggest?
Billy Joiner (04:19):
with that.
I would say most people areprobably always in a hurry to
get their taxes filed and firstof the year comes around, that's
one of the first things folksget to working on or getting
their tax returns filed.
And one of the things that Iwould just make sure to make
sure it's most accurate ismaking sure that you have all
the applicable forms that youneed, whether it's some 1099s or
(04:42):
W9s.
Just making sure that you haveall your documentation that you
need before you file, becauseyou don't want to have to go
back and do an amended return oranything like that.
So making sure you have allyour documents together.
We're making sure that it'sfiled accurately and timely.
Just making sure you actuallyfile the return before the
(05:04):
deadline you can't file someextensions if you need to, but
just file it before the deadlineis probably the best thing that
would be helpful for ourmembers and making sure you get
the maximum refund.
It's kind of it's a numbersgame, right.
So making sure that yourdeductions and your income, kind
(05:26):
of, are maximum maximized andif you're not sure how to
accomplish that, get some help.
Ask for some help, becausethere are professionals out
there that can help you andthere's also software available
that you can use to help youthrough the process as well.
Kelli Green (05:47):
You know, and the thing I always try to share with
folks whenever they're thinkingabout preparing their taxes.
You know I encourage folks ifyou're gonna use like the
software you're talking about,even online.
A lot of times that's a verylow cost to no cost, especially
if it's just a simple return orif you're visiting with a local
CPA, which I advise, because ifyou have any questions or maybe
(06:08):
you're missing out on somedeductions that you never
thought about, you can talk withthem.
That's an expert that you wannareach out to.
But something to really thinkabout is if you are getting a
refund, I highly encourage youconsider direct depositing your
return into the credit unionversus uploading your refund to
a debit card or credit card,because there's so many fees
that are associated with thatand we just see so many times,
(06:31):
even when you're calling in onthese prepaid cards that they
give you, they're trying tocharge you for that.
If you're inquiring about abalance, why worry about that
when you can just direct depositthat for free?
Billy Joiner (06:42):
Yeah, Centric is able to take those deposits on
the tax deposits and actuallypay you money for them.
Kelli Green (06:49):
Yeah.
Billy Joiner (06:50):
Instead of charging you for them.
So we actually pay a gooddividend rate on some of our CDs
and we don't charge you to calland ask come what you's in your
savings account.
So, yeah, just find the bestvalue for your money.
If you're not making money onyour money, it's the opportunity
now to make sure that you'redoing that.
Kelli Green (07:10):
Absolutely.
What better time?
So let me ask you this so wetalk about the good things that
are tax refunds, so think aboutthe pros and the cons of a tax
refund.
What are some things?
A lot of times is a very largesum of money and people are like
, heck, yeah, this is great,we're going on vacation.
But really think about what aresome real beneficial things
(07:32):
that families might be able todo to kind of change your
financial trajectory with thistax refund.
Billy Joiner (07:36):
Well, you think about when tax season is.
Tax season is right after theholidays and a lot of folks, a
lot of members, use those fundsto kind of catch up and some of
them may have some outstandingitems they need to take care of
and we see a lot of thathappening.
So some of the pros of a largetax return would be to catch up
(07:59):
on some of your bills, buildyour savings, put back some
emergency phone if you need one.
If you don't have one, put oneback.
Not a lot of times you're goingto get a big, large sum of
money at one time.
So when you do that, not a lotof folks are used to getting
(08:19):
those types of funds andsometimes they the money tells
you where it's going instead ofyou telling me where the money
it's going.
That's right.
Just making sure you tell yourmoney where it's going.
That's probably one of thethings that I would say when you
get a large sum of money.
And some of the disadvantages ofgetting a tax return.
(08:42):
There are some disadvantages.
First of all, I would say ifyou're getting a large lump sum
of money, you need to determinewhy you're getting that, because
what you're pretty much doingis giving the government an
interest-free loan becausethey're taking your money and
giving it back to you with nointerest.
(09:03):
So if you're getting a largelump sum of money, you're
probably having too much moneytaken out of your paycheck.
You're not.
Your W-2 is not filed correctly, it's not, the form's not
completed correctly.
So make sure you get with youradvisor or your HR department to
see what you can do to lessenthat.
(09:26):
If you want your money everytime you get paid.
Some folks wanna the max yeah,the max taken out and getting a
match refund, and that's a youdecision.
But there is some opportunitiesfor you to maximize your own
earnings by making sure thatyour withholdings are correct.
Kelli Green (09:47):
When you think about the time of inflation that
we're living in right now andif you're getting $10-15k, we
see very large tax refunds a lotof times here the credit union
and you think about that over ayear and I think, wow, if we
could pay them 5% on that.
You're giving this to thegovernment interest-free, but
(10:08):
you think about what does thatequate to every single month in
your pocket?
Could that being used forgrocery money?
Or if you're able to withholdthat from your check that tells
you you could use that money ina savings account, right?
That's why I highly encourageI'm all for.
I understand that with inflationand costs are out of control,
but sitting down with the CPAeven an HR professional, as you
(10:31):
mentioned that they can go overwhat your deductions are and if
they're understanding as well asfar as what you're getting out
of the refund, how does thatimpact you over your paycheck
over the whole year?
So you gotta think about thosekinds of things and
opportunities.
I think that's one of thebiggest questions and it's an
easy answer.
It doesn't take me just a fewminutes to look at those things
so you can make thoseadjustments and that's something
(10:52):
that could be an instant changein your overall budget.
Billy Joiner (10:56):
Oh, absolutely.
It'll help you tremendously.
A couple hundred dollars extraof paycheck, I mean that goes a
long ways for folks who are justtrying to live paycheck to
paycheck.
And if you are one of thosefolks that are living paycheck
to paycheck and you're getting alarge tax refund, you've
probably got some opportunitiesto increase your earnings if you
(11:19):
could just make sure that yourdeductions are filled out right
on your W-2 forms.
Kelli Green (11:24):
Yes, I just love that.
I'm glad that you shared that,because those are some things a
lot of people don't think about.
You know you hardly ever lookat your deductions unless you
have a lifestyle change, youknow, or you start a new job.
It's really the only times youreally think about your prompted
to review that.
So, nonetheless, it's somethingthat I think would just take a
couple of minutes, and you knowyou mentioned earlier talking
(11:46):
about the financial counselorsthat we have here at Centric and
something that I wanna makesure that we do mention to our
listeners.
We talk about this a lot, butit's so critical, especially if
you're thinking about you've gotthese extra 100, $200 that are
coming in if you have adjustedyour deductions.
How does that?
You know, how do you add thatmoney into your overall budget?
(12:07):
And if you don't have a budget,how do you get started with
that?
Right?
Billy Joiner (12:11):
Oh yeah, I mean, the most important thing for me
and my family is I've said itbefore earlier today is telling
them our money where to go.
You have to tell them where togo or it's going to disappear on
you.
So a budget is really simple.
We've got folks that can helpyou with the credit union, that
can help you set it up, but youknow it's pretty much your hand
(12:33):
call on one side, expenses onthe other one and whatever's
left you're saving.
That's it.
So yeah, that's pretty simple.
Kelli Green (12:40):
I love it and I'm telling you just a couple
minutes to review yourdeductions, and anywhere between
10 and 15 minutes with afinancial counselor can change
your life.
I'm telling you when you'retalking about some of the
successes that you've had.
I would love to hear from you,billy, especially.
I know you're a big time saver.
If you have a goal or a plan oryou want to take your family on
a vacation, you create asavings account and you name it
(13:02):
for what you're saving for.
Billy Joiner (13:04):
That's absolutely true.
Yeah, so one of the things thatI can the very first time where
I can remember where I got alarge tax return back when I
first started working was, youknow, we had just had a kid and
I just had, I had just gottenmarried and we're probably four
or five years into our marriageand this is the earliest success
I can remember.
So we had a large lump sum andI was tired of, I was tired of
(13:28):
debt, I was tired of debt, andso I took that money and I put
it on my my wife's car that hadbought for her, and we paid that
thing off and it was such arelief that's kind of a relief,
such as that.
And you know, things change inyour life and you have to do
things that you may notnecessarily want to do but you
have to do.
(13:48):
You know, some of the thingsthat you know I definitely like
to try to save for or vacations.
I'm a huge traveler.
I love traveling with my family.
We've got some big plans comingup in the next year my wife's
our 20th anniversary, so we'relooking forward to it.
Yeah, looking forward to a bigtrip with my wife out of the
(14:09):
country, so looking forward tothat.
And you know we just traveledwith my family for Christmas and
we saved for that, sodefinitely have to tell your
money where it's going.
Kelli Green (14:18):
It's so interesting , though A lot of people say, oh
well, you know, because you'rea CFO, you know have a large
income and all these sort ofthings, but it's like no, no,
even so, regardless of theincome that you have, I think we
see so many single moms, singleparents, you know a lot of
times they're doing bettermulti-income family! Too many
times, they're not in controltheir money, they're not telling
(14:39):
their money where to go, and Ilove hearing from you how
important it is.
Regardless of where you are inyour financial status or what
have you, you still have abudget, you still create a
savings account for what youwant and you ensure that you set
up those automatic deductionsbecause that's a goal that you
want to see.
I love it also because yourwife is an educator.
I know that you know childrenis something that's near and
(15:00):
dear to both of your hearts.
You know I have to tout yourbasketball team too, over at the
West Monroe Rec.
You'll have to go watch them.
We have a boys and a girls teamthat are playing, so you'll
have to go celebrate them.
But being involved in kids andwhether it be sports and
education, but seeing ourattitude around money and how we
spend or how we choose not tospend money.
(15:22):
I think that is teaching such alife lesson that they will
carry forever and ever.
You know some of the decisionsthat you and I have made a lot
of times.
We talk about this a lot.
As far as financially, it'slike, man, if we could have done
over, you know.
Or else the decisions that wemade, or because we saw things
didn't go too well in ourchildhood, you know.
And so what we do matters, eventhough our kids are probably
(15:45):
like we think they're notlistening.
Oh boy, they're listening, youknow.
Billy Joiner (15:49):
For sure, for sure .
You know I've learned.
I tell my, you know my friendsand my coworkers.
You know I learned how to be afather because of things that
happened in the past.
You know, and so I'm hoping mykids are learning some of the
things how to take care of theirfinances by watching me and
(16:10):
some of the things that they'relearning through me.
You know I'm very passionateabout financial issues with kids
.
That's something that is verynear and dear to my heart.
I think kids need a head starton getting this education.
I'm looking forward tocontinuing our best kids further
(16:30):
down and going forward withthat.
But yeah, if your kids needsome help, you gotta help them,
and also we got some help foryou if you need it.
So you need to sit around thetable, talk to your kids about
money.
If not, they'll be living withyou in your basement.
Kelli Green (16:47):
This is exactly right.
And listen, I love my girls, weall know this.
But you got to understand andknow, hey, this is when you're
ready to go.
And my daughter asked meyesterday.
She's like, mom, can you get me$10 out of that ATM?
I need $10.
And I'm like, well, why do youneed $10?
And she's explaining what sheneeds it for.
And so I'm like okay, you got aplan for this money.
(17:08):
We're not just gonna bespending frivolously.
So, anyway, nonetheless, Ithink starting your kids early
is the best thing that you cando.
We have kids savings andchecking accounts to give them a
debit card completely free,like why not?
So, Billy, thank you so muchfor joining us today.
This has been so good.
Well, so that brings us to theend of our episode of the Live
(17:28):
Better podcast.
We hope you found today'sconversation about really
opportunity is knocking with atax refund.
We certainly hope that this hasbeen great for you and we hope
that Century remains yoursteadfast partner in your
overall financial journey.
If this episode is resonatedwith you, we kindly ask you to
show your support.
Please hit our subscribe button, share the episode with your
(17:50):
friends and family and take amoment to leave us a review.
Your input is truly invaluablein shaping the content that
addresses your financialinterests and needs.
And, of course, let's stayconnected on social media.
You can find us on Facebook atCentric Federal Credit Union and
on all other platforms underMyCentric.
Stay in the loop regarding thelatest financial insights and
(18:12):
resources tailored to yourunique financial aspirations.
Until our next episode, alwaysremember that Centric is by your
side as you navigate yourfinancial journey.
Thank you for tuning in to theLive Better podcast.
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