Kyle Richert at Lifetime Financial Growth

3 SMART ways to use a tax refund This time of year, advertisements for everything from furniture stores to car dealers bombard your phones and television screens. What's their goal? To convince you to blow your refund on consumer purchases you don't need. You can do better! ... Instead of wasting your hard-earned money, here are three smart ways you can use your tax refunds. 1. PROTECT. Your income is your single greatest financial resource! Make sure it's fully protected. (For more info, click https://bit.ly/3d7QpEb) 2. SAVE. Bolster your emergency fund or consider contributing to your retirement account. 3. PAY OFF DEBT. Do you have any short-term debt like credit cards, personal loans, or student loans? It's time to pay those suckers off. It's okay to reward ourselves, but let's make sure we're triaging our money decisions. I hope this helps!

I understand marketing to a demographic, but do car companies think we all own $3 million mansions?

Every age can benefit from lessons about moneyeven toddlers can learn through playing store. Here are some ideas for introducing your kids of any age to the right financial concepts.

Dear LinkedIn community, If your marketing strategy is to connect with random people so that you can collect their email addresses and add them to your newsletter without their consent, your crap is broken. I can promise you 100% I'm unsubscribing and labeling you as junk mail. ... Respectfully, Kyle

Fun Fact Roughly 27% of the market value of the S&P 500 is held by just 10 companies (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, Berkshire Hathaway, JP Morgan Chase, and Johnson and Johnson). So much for a diversified portfolio!

I'm jacked up I'm vaxed up!

A seismic victory for #physicianassistants! Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed legislation that repeals requirements for PAs to have a specific relationship with a physician or other provider in order to practice. The new law also recognizes PAs' ability to practice medicine consistent with their education, training, and experience. This law is a crucial step towards health 3.0.

The most common mistake people make about taxes is assuming that all of their income is taxed at their highest marginal rate. In other words, if you make $100,000 and your top (marginal) tax bracket is 24 percent, that does NOT mean you pay $24,000 in taxes. Click the link below to learn more

#Champagnelifelemonadebudget This new post series is about thrifty ways to live luxuriously. I hope you like it! ... For those of us who eat meat, few things compare to a juicy ribeye But let's be real, who has the money to buy expensive cuts of meat?? Instead, consider the following. Buy a cheap cut of beef, for example, top round. Normally, this cut is super tough and chewy...BUT... if you marinade it in blended pineapple overnight (the whole thing not just the juice), it eats like filet mignon (kinda)! Enzymes in the pineapple break down all the connective tissue in the beef, leaving you with a soft mouthfeel that is quite enjoyable. Give this one a try and let me know what you think!

Do you want to help grandma and grandpa pick up a tax deduction? Then send them this article P.S. Taxes are due in 10 days!

Quick survey question! What is one financial lesson you would teach your younger self if you could go back in time?

Are index funds a diversified investment strategy? An index is just a hypothetical basket of companies meant to represent a sector of the economy. Indexes are purported to the public as low-cost diversified investments. Certainly buying an index is cheap, but is it diversified? ... The S&P 500 is one of the most commonly known market-cap-weighted indices. What that means is that your money isn't invested equally in all 500 companies. Rather, dollars are spread according to the size of the companies. So what happens is the larger companies represent a very large percentage of the overall portfolio. Right now, 25% of the S&P 500 is held by just 10 companies (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, Berkshire Hathaway, JP Morgan Chase, and Johnson and Johnson).

With all required payments and interest on Federal student loans suspended through at least Sept. 30, 2021, you might be thinking, "Is now a good time to refinance?" Possibly. For some, refinancing might be your best move. For others, it might cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in loan forgiveness! ... It's important to tread lightly and weigh the pros and cons. I hope this high-level summary helps you think through some of the key considerations. Click the link below and don't hesitate to DM with any specific questions.

PSA: Don't do barbell curls in the squat rack. EVER.

Dear healthcare employers, Interrupt your novelty bias! Now that COVID pandemic is trending in the right direction, hospitals and private practices all over the country are expanding their payroll. Awesome! ... BUT... It's probably not a good business decision to pay your new hires a better wage than the staff you're asking to train them. Sure, offering a competitive salary or hourly rate will attract new talent. However, it leaves current practitioners all up and down the clinical spectrum feeling underpaid and under appreciated. There has to be a better way.

You undoubtedly have malpractice insurance for professional lawsuits, but are you properly protected from lawsuits outside of work? If you don't know about umbrella coverage, you're not alone. It's extra lawsuit protection that stacks on top of your car and homeowners/renters insurance in the event you get sued for an at-fault incident, and it's something that every #physicianassistant should have. Think of it as malpractice insurance for personal lawsuits. ... Your future earnings are your single greatest financial resource, and it's critical that they're optimally protected. Click the link below to learn more

Hot take! Salmonella is a fake sickness made up by mothers as an excuse to eat all the cookie dough.

Finance pop quiz! Of the list below, which poses the greatest threat to your finances?