GRASSROOTS FINANCE

Happy National Bring your dog to work day. My coworker wants to know when its break/walk time?

As we step into the beautiful month of May, it's an opportune time to focus on mindful spending and saving to optimize your financial well-being. Here are some steps you can take for yourself or your small business:

1) Take a closer look at your spending: It's essential to understand where your money is going. Take a moment to review your recent expenses and identify areas where you may be overspending. By gaining insight into your habits, you can make conscious choices to better align your spending with your financial goals.

2) Embrace frugal spring activities: With the arrival of warmer weather, explore low-cost or free activities that spring offers. Consider outdoor adventures like hiking, picnics, and bike rides. You could also try your hand at gardening to save on grocery expenses or take advantage of local community events and festivals.

3) Set specific savings goals: May is an excellent time to establish savings goals tailored to your needs. Determine the amount or percentage of your income you'd like to save and set a target to work towards. Remember, small steps can lead to significant progress. Automating savings through automatic transfers can help you stay consistent.

4) Review and optimize subscriptions: Take a moment to assess your subscriptions and cancel any that are no longer serving you. It's easy to accumulate subscriptions over time, and eliminating unnecessary ones can free up funds that can be redirected towards savings or other financial goals.

5) Plan for summer expenses: Anticipate your summer expenses in advance to avoid any financial surprises. Create a budget specifically for these costs, whether it's for vacations, summer camps, or home maintenance projects. By planning ahead, you'll have better control over your finances and can enjoy the summer without straining your budget.

6) Embrace energy-saving measures: With the warmer weather, consider adopting energy-saving practices to reduce your utility bills. Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs, adjust your thermostat settings, unplug electronics when not in use, and make the most of natural light to save on energy costs.

By embracing mindful spending and saving this May, you'll be making conscious financial choices that align with your goals. Remember, I'm here to support you or your small business every step of the way. If you have any questions or need further guidance, feel free to reach out.

SVB’s collapse began last week when it said it needed to raise $2.25 billion to shore up its balance sheet. Venture capital firms told their portfolio companies to withdraw money from the bank and other clients looked to get their cash before it became unobtainable. This effectively led to a bank run. The bank had to sell assets, mainly bonds, at a massive loss. U.S. regulators shut down SVB on Friday and took control of its deposits. Regulators then said Sunday that depositors at SVB would have access to their money, in a move aimed at stopping further contagion.

Observations as we reflect on the SVB collapse.

- No need to panic. More than likely your cash is under $250,000 and fully FDIC insured. But maybe just double check to help you to sleep safely.
- Regulation is a good thing and could help with situations like this and with the crypto space. But I'm an ex auditor so I am biased. However, KMPG did issue a clean audit opinion a mere two weeks earlier, so what do I know.
- "You don't know who is swimming naked until the tide goes out." - Warren Buffett; It appears the tide is going out.
- This will impact the tech start ups for years to come. Some will fold and others will need to tighten their belts.

What Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse Says About the Easy Money Era Ending The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is among the kinds of disruptions economic experts say may happen as the Federal Reserve winds down its “easy money” policies.

Found this article interesting. I knew about the pink tax, but never really thought about the amount of time and money spent on grooming to social standards.

4 Ways Women Pay More While Making Less | Financial Gym Even though women on average are paid less than men, they have to spend more on basic necessities. Read about four ways the economy takes a bigger bite out of women’s paychecks and what to do about it.

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As we make more money, it is tempting to spend more money. But if we automatically reallocate our funds towards things that go up in value (investments, real estate, bonds) rather than down (I see you Tesla), we can set ourselves up for a bright future.

Here Are 5 Ways to Prevent Lifestyle Creep If your job gave you a raise next week, what would you do with the extra cash? Would you order the most expensive wine bottle in your celebratory dinner? Go on a shopping spree and buy things you never thought you could afford? For many people, the natural excitement that comes with additional incom

The IRS is delaying the $600 1099 reporting requirement for the Big payment processors like Venmo, Ebay, Paypal and keeping it at $20,000 and 200 transactions until 2024. It is important that you report all income to the IRS, but this gives you a little more time to get your books clean and up to date. Need help with 1099 reporting and navigating the rules? We can help.

I.R.S. Delays Tax Change for Users of Venmo, Cash App and Other Digital Wallets Users who receive income through digital payments will have another year before having to comply with a new tax rule that had sown confusion and concern.

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Own crypto in your business? FASB has released it can now report at fair value rather than an intangible asset.

Accounting standards board clears up crypto reporting FASB clarifies the rules for reporting crypto assets.

No time like Fall to get ahead of your accounting and bookkeeping. Call us for a Year-to-Date Clean Up project.

Year end is just around the corner and now is the perfect time to assess your business and get real with where you stand. ☀ Are your books clean and reconciled every month? ☀ Were estimated tax payments made? ☀ Have you reviewed expenses for leakages in the boat? ☀ Do you have a game plan for how to make the fourth quarter your best yet? Don't wait for next year, start today.

As of June 2022, inflation was at its highest level since November 1981. For the 12-month period from July 2021 through June 2022, prices rose by 9.1%. But why?

What Are the Major Causes of Inflation? There are two main causes of inflation: demand-pull and cost-push. Both are responsible for a general rise in prices in an economy, but they each work differently.