Celebrating National Library Week April 7-12 & Money, Management and Taxes:

The Orange County Library is More Than Just Books. Our first guest, Steve Powell, the C.E.O. and Library Director of the Orange County Library shared that this week (April 7-12) is designated as National Library Week. They will have a library card drive. You can go into any library and sign up online www.ocls.info or call 407/835-7323. “Summer at Your Library” kicks off June 1st and focuses on school age kids to avoid the summer slide (where kids' aptitude decreases because they’re not focused on reading during the summer months). There’s even select events for parents also. Our second guest Louise Story is the author of “Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap.” Releasing on June 18th, this comprehensive story follows the history and the lives of Black Americans and how the Black-White wealth gap began and how we can close it. On April 12, join Louise Story and her co-author Ebony Reed at The Gallery 32789 in Winter Park at 5:30 P.M. for a symposium to share data, read through their book, learn from first-hand experiences, and recommendations. Louise, an award-winning investigative journalist for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal uncovered one of the biggest heists in history, shown in the Kleptocrats film, which is now streaming. https://www.amazon.com/Fifteen-Cents-Dollar-Americans-Black-White/dp/0063234726 Connect with her at www.15cents.info. Our third segment featured Lea Syphax, the CEO of her own company Palmtree Financial Services, LLC. She recommends that it is best to have an expert handle your tax return since they understand liabilities and proper filing. Lea Syphax encourages those wanting to start a business in 2024 to file basic information through FINCEN (financial crime enforcement network), a subdivision of the IRS. Lea emphasizes going to a tax preparer that is knowledgeable and to stick with them, avoiding switching to new preparers that can leave you open to fraud. Contac her https://palmtreefinancial.as.me/schedule.php In our final segment, we spoke with Philip Henry of Smart Wealth, a trusted financial advisory firm. Philip emphasizes the importance of managing your tax return properly. Saving 15%-20% of your tax return is his suggestion, teaching his clients to essentially “pay themselves first”. There is also a 50/50 plan, where 50% goes into savings and 50% for personal needs/ wants. He highlights leaning on financial professionals in the community, looking for banks online, investing in your retirement, and prioritizing your debt by making a plan. https://smartwealth.net/ https://www.phillhenry.com/