Talking About Money

Last week I saw my first round of Patreon unsubscribes, so I looked at the exit survey data. Most of the people who left did so because their "financial situation changed".  While I try to provide value here on Patreon, I don't want you to go broke while trying to support me. So please allow me to spend some energy talking about money. Tax season is upon us and that seems to be the only time of year this sort of conversation is allowed.  I've made a couple videos that are tangentially about money, but the truth is that I spend more time learning about personal finance than I spend learning about food.  A lot of what I know now was given to me as free advice, and if I can spread some of that I hope to offset the cost of reading this.

1. If you're about to get a big tax refund, try to be less excited about it. You're giving the government an interest-free loan under the guise of forced saving. Adjust your allowances with a new W4 form, and try to get a tiny return next year. Set up automatic transfers to a high-interest savings account so you never see that extra cash.

2. A Health Savings Account (HSA) is the single most tax-advantaged savings vehicle that's typically offered to normal folks like you and I. If you're allowed to max one out, do it! Just don't confuse an HSA with an FSA.

3. Every adult comes to a realization at some point in their life when they say "mother fuck I wish I started contributing to a Roth IRA sooner". That's because there's a limit to how much you can contribute per year, and you can't go back and contribute for a past year. There is one exception, though! You can contribute towards last year's limits up until April 15th. So if this is the year you start to kick yourself for not starting sooner, you have a couple months to soften the blow and go back in time a tiny bit.

4. Ask for more money when you can. Now that I'm one of those 30-something middle management losers at work, it's crazy to see how many young people come in and undersell themselves. You might be surprised by what happens when you treat yourself like a valuable bigshot!

Suggested Reading: MrMoneyMustache, Your Money or Your Life, Clark Howard, Stacking Benjamins