Dee's Income Tax Service

With the “Where’s My Refund?” tool, you can start checking on the status of your tax refund within 24 hours of e-filing your return. See: www.irs.gov/refunds

When you're debt-free (except for a mortgage) with an emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses saved, it's time to start investing. I recommend investing 15% of your gross income each month.

If you have the option of investing in a 401(k), start there and invest up to your employer's match amount (if that's offered). Then, open a Roth IRA and invest up to the annual max amount. If you still haven’t hit 15% of YOUR income being invested, go back to your 401(k) and invest the rest of your 15% there. If your employer doesn’t offer a match, start with a Roth IRA and max it out. Then invest in your 401(k). If on the otherhand, you’re offered a Roth 401(k) and you have good, growth-stock mutual funds to choose from, you can invest the entire 15% there.

Employee matches are great, but do not include that amount in the 15% you're calculating to contribute yourself. Let that match be icing on the cake. Also, don't count on social security when retirement planning. We don't know if that will be around forever.

I recommend good, growth-stock mutual funds for retirement investing. Diversify your portfolio across the 4 types of mutual funds described in this post. Growth, growth and income, aggressive growth, and international. Avoid investing in single stocks, annuities, bonds, micro-investing, CDs, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, NFTs, etc. A mutual fund with a solid track record of success is a tried and true way to build wealth. The newest schemes and flashy ways to make a dollar are too risky to bet your future on. This is serious. You're not gambling with 20 bucks, you're investing your hard-earned money for a secure financial future.

But not all mutual funds are created equal.

✔️ Here's how to take a closer look at mutual funds for you and your retirement plan: https://ter.li/5r8af5

We are pleased to announce that our BLUE TEAM CAPTAIN this year is Laura Simon!

Laura anchors FOX 2 News in the Morning over the weekends. As a St. Louis native, she takes pride in her Midwest values and strong work ethic behind-the-scenes!

Please give a warm welcome to our blue team captain! We are so happy to have you, Laura.