5 Things You Should Do Before You File Your Taxes

 My husband and I just got back from filing our taxes and we were talking about when we used to file our taxes years ago, and we needed that money right away. Every bill we had depended on our tax returns. Back then, I never paid ANY of my bills on time. Never. We had other things we wanted to do with our money that was much more exciting than paying bills… like shopping for things we didn’t need. We were young, uneducated and untrained on what to do with our money. Most of us are uneducated and untrained. We don’t learn this stuff in school. And most of us grew up in homes and the only thing we learned about money was, “We don’t have enough, ” being raised by parents that were uneducated when it came to money. That’s all we would hear our parents say, “We don’t have enough” As adults now, it is our responsibility to teach ourselves about one of the most important things in life…MONEY!

Now, I am not some money guru by any stretch of the word, but we did ‘guru’ our way off of welfare, and I want to simply share with you the steps we took in order to increase our finances and get our credit going in the right direction. You must, in fact it is IMPERATIVE, that you have a mind shift! You’ve heard how some people win the lottery and soon after are broke again, simply because they never invested in their education on how to handle their money. 
I remember one cold winter day where we had a snowstorm the day before. There were mountains of snow on the ground; kids were out sledding, screaming and playing! My daughter, Kiara, was five years old at that time, and asked if she could go out and play. I had to tell her no because she didn’t have a snow suit or any of the proper attire to wear in the snow, and we didn’t have the money to buy her one either. In that moment I realized just how HORRIBLE and IRRESPONSIBLE it is to have children and no money planned or prepared to take care of them. However,  just because I was tired of living that way did not mean my situation was going to change, WE had to change; we had to do something about it. We had to have a MIND SHIFT! Here’s what we did.

1. DECIDE.
Decide you want to change your life. There is so much power in making a decision. When you make a conscious, intentional decision about ANYTHING, not just your finances, the UNIVERSE hears you and starts working on your behalf. The moment you make a decision, every person, place, and thing starts to line up with what you’ve decided on. Making a decision also separates you from the crowd. Most people in the world are simply going along to get along so when you make a decision to change your life, everyone isn’t going to roll out the red carpet for you, but that’s OK. You have to be OK with losing some people along the way.

2. PULL YOUR CREDIT.
I know, I know… this step can be a little scary, but I promise you that if you face your credit and face your finances they won’t be so scary to look at. When you face a fear in your life you take back the power it has over you. In order to know where you’re going you need to know where you’re at. So, pull your credit and make sure all the information on there is correct. Go through it and make phone calls to the people you owe. They would love to hear from you! And I don’t say that in a sarcastic way- really, they would love to hear from you. Can you imagine if you loaned someone $10,000 and you haven’t heard from them in five years, then one day you get a phone call from that person and they tell you they’d like to start to pay off their debt? You’d be delighted to hear from them, and also even more delighted to make a payment arrangement with them. Well, that’s the same way our creditors feel when we acknowledge the debt we owe. 

3. GET CURRENT ON YOUR BILLS.
Write down all your current bills that come every 30 days, like your cell phone, car insurance, rent/mortgage. Get in the “know” about how much it takes you to live every months. I used to make payments on my monthly bills like once every three month. I was always on the phone with Sprint, Verizon and all my other bills making payment arrangements. Not because we didn’t have the money, but because we were just spending it on other foolish things. Do whatever you have to do to get current on these bills. There is such a peace that comes upon you when your bills are being paid on time. Let’s face it, when we are out shopping with our bill money there is no peace in that. We are not honoring ourselves or the commitment we made to our service providers. I remember that I HATED paying my bills. HATED it because I could think of a million different other things I wanted to spend my money on. I started working with a money coach, Meadow DeVor, and she said, “Think of all your service providers as your cheerleading team of people who BELIEVE in you that you can create this money every 30 days.” That changed my life FOREVER! Who doesn’t need more people to believe in them?! Especially around finances! She also suggested that I write “Thank You” in the memo part of my check. Giving thanks and showing gratitude towards paying my bills literally changed how I paid my bills. Don’t spend another DOLLAR on anything else in your life until your current bills are current!

4. CARRY CASH
This step is so much FUN and also very crucial to your financial success. Try this for seven days if you can. Get a $100 dollar bill and carry it around with you in your wallet for seven days (or longer). There is something that happens in your brain when you constantly see cash in your wallet. More often than not, most people, as soon as they see money, want to go and spend it. I was like that for years! As soon as I saw that we had even $20 in the bank, I wanted to spend it. However, I had to get used to HAVING MONEY! All of us want more money, but we need to learn how to HAVE MONEY. There is a sense of security that comes over you when you know you have COH--cash on hand.

5. STOP SPEAKING LACK OVER YOUR LIFE.
In order to increase your finances you must FIRST increase your language around your money. After doing all the steps above, you must nurture your actions with your words. You words are containers of POWER! Every word you speak leaves your mouth, goes right into the universe, and starts to create the reality of what you spoke. Instead of saying, “I never have enough money to do what I want” say, “I have more than enough money to do what needs to be done, and then some.” You have to understand that every word or thought you have predominantly, determines the outcome of your life. When you write out your checks or pay your bills, say, “Thank you” I TALK to my money! You have to have a respectful relationship with your money in order for it to stay around. If someone always talks bad about you, would you want to hang out with them? No! You’d find a way to get away! And that’s the same thing your money does. When you say, “I never have money, I hate paying my bills,” your money will ALWAYS find a way to get away from you. So build a healthy relationship with your money and your money will always take care of you!

Do all of this before you get your taxes back. Decide you’re going to change your financial situation. Know what your credit looks like. Know how much you currently have in the bank. Get your $100 dollar bill. And start speaking LIFE into your finances! Make the right decision with your money this tax season!