Episode 39

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Published on:

19th Jul 2021

Tax Basics: A Beginners Guide to Taxes | E39 Sean Mullaney

A month ago, I went to Instagram and asked what money topics you’d like to learn more about. To my utter surprise, taxes had the most votes.

I figured side hustles, investing, even budgeting would attract more attention but maybe I failed to realize the desire you had to learn and feel more confident about this perplexing topic.

I went looking for a guest that had a deep understanding in this field but could also explain terminology and foundational concepts in a simplistic, engaging way.

In my experience, this isn’t the traditional profile of a tax professional but my guest today will deliver on that promise.

Sean Mullaney is the President of Mullaney Financial & Tax where he provides financial planning services to individuals and families. His credentials include a Bachelors in Accounting from Georgetown University, a certificate in Financial Planning, a law degree, a CPA designation, and spending the last 20 years working with corporate or individual taxes which include stops at Deloitte, PwC, the IRS, and now his own practice.

Sean is a glorified tax nerd in the best way possible. Since he apparently can’t get enough of tax, he also created a blog, FITaxGuy.com, where he writes about the intersection of tax and financial independence.

This episode will include both breadth and depth on a myriad topics related to taxes including tax brackets, standard vs itemized deductions, retirement accounts, and more.

Friendly reminder: this discussion is general and educational in nature and does not constitute tax, investment, legal, or financial advice with respect to any particular individual or taxpayer. Please consult your own advisors regarding your own unique situation.

 

Key Takeaways:

[9:17] What are the tax deductions you see on your paycheck?

[15:46] How do tax brackets work in the US?

[19:01] Standard deduction vs itemized deduction

[22:57] What is the difference between a 401K and IRA?

[36:31] How does vesting work?

[41:17] How do you open up an IRA?

[50:30] Why is FI important to Sean?

 

Favorite Quotes:

[6:14] “Tomorrow hopefully I will be better than I am today but all I can do today is do my best.”

[29:18] “The right answer starts with I’m paying attention to this stuff and I'm going to be intentional about how I do my retirement savings.”

[57:49] “Nobody is on their deathbed thinking, you know I didn’t save enough in my HSA.”

 

Mentions:

Nerd Wallet, Federal Income Tax Calculator: https://www.nerdwallet.com/taxes/tax-calculator

The School of Life: https://www.youtube.com/c/theschooloflifetv/videos

 

More of Sean:

www.FITaxGuy.com

www.mullaneyfinancial.com

 

More of TSIR:

Find show notes and more at https://www.tsirpodcast.com/

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/tsirpod/

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About the Podcast

FI Minded - Financial Independence, Early Retirement & Lifestyle Design
Achieve Financial Independence & Have Fun Doing It
Pursuing financial independence, financial freedom, or early retirement often leads to the same questions: How do I become financially independent? How much should I save? What happens after I reach FI?

FI Minded helps you use money to create more freedom, without turning your entire life into a financial optimization project.

Host Justin Peters explores the decisions behind building a flexible, work-optional life, from reaching financial independence and navigating Coast FI and Slow FI to spending your money, changing careers, stepping away from work, and figuring out what comes after FI.

Each episode combines practical personal finance with conversations about early retirement, lifestyle design, work, spending, healthcare, self-employment, and life after financial independence. The goal isn't simply to reach FI as quickly as possible. It's to make progress toward financial freedom while actually enjoying your life along the way.

On FI Minded, you'll learn how to:
- Reach financial independence without burning out
- Build a flexible, work-optional lifestyle
- Navigate Coast FI, Slow FI, and other paths to FI
- Make smarter decisions about spending and saving
- Prepare financially and emotionally for early retirement
- Figure out what life can look like after financial independence
- Think through the tradeoffs behind major money and lifestyle decisions
- Make progress toward financial independence while actually living your life.

Some of our past guests include Carl Jensen (1500 Days), Jeremy Schneider (Personal Finance Club), Nick Loper (Side Hustle Show), Andrew Giancola (The Personal Finance Podcast), Jordan Grumet (Earn & Invest), Rachael Camp (Work Optional), Jillian Johnsrud (Retire Often), Sean Mullaney (FI Tax Guy), Jill Sirianni (Frugal Friends), Jackie Cummings-Koski (Catching Up to FI), Joel Larsgaard (How to Money), Cody Garrett (Measure Twice), Jesse Cramer (Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors), Jess (The Fioneers), Chris Hutchins (All The Hacks), Diania Merriam (EconoMe), Andy Hill (Marriage Kids Money), Fritz Gilbert (Retirement Manifesto), Maggie Tucker (Inside Out Money), Cody Berman (The Financial Independence Show), Joe Saul-Sehy (Stacking Benjamins), Doug Cunnington (Mile High FI), and and others helping you rethink how to approach financial independence.
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