Five things we learned for Tax Day from Financially Fearless with Alexa von Tobel

Tax Day is extended to April 18 this year thanks to a holiday observed in Washington D.C., and Alexa von Tobel has some advice for you! Here are five things we learned while listening to Financially Fearless.

File early.

“Get them done! Get them done before the due date.”

Be sensible with your refund money.

“Let’s use that to help your financial life take a step forward. That is not money to go on a vacation with or go shopping with. Let’s use that to make your financial life better and stronger.”

Follow the 90/10 rule.

“90 percent of this money is going to go to something very important for your financial life, and with 10 percent of that money you can do a little, tiny something nice for yourself. If you do something nice for yourself, you’ll actually put the money towards that’s important to your goals.”

Pay off your credit card debt.

“If you are out there right now and you have credit card debt, use that money to swipe it to zero. Do everything in your power.”

Save up for emergencies.

“Right now, I want the average family to have about six months of emergency savings. I like to call it a ‘Freedom Fund,’ because it’s what gives you the freedom to not worry about money. I want to make sure that you are in a position that you have that freedom fund, and that means you need six months of what your life costs you.”

Financially Fearless with Alexa von Tobel airs Thursdays at 12pm ET on SiriusXM Stars (Ch. 109).

Photo via Flickr/khrawlings

For a free 30-day trial, check out siriusxm.com/freetrial.