Tony Steuer Recommends: 10 Things to Change the Way You Think About Money

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Get Ready Movement Newsletter!  

Here are 10 things I recommend this week to help you change the way you think about money. 

1. Week 14 Action Item: Define your total income.

💭 Tony’s Take: Understanding your total income is foundational to your overall financial planning. It helps you set a clear spending and saving strategy, as well as identifying opportunities to increase your income.

👉 Action: Take five minutes today to list and calculate your income from all sources: wages, commissions, consulting fees, interest, dividends, royalties, and more.

2. Mindset Insight: 

💭 Tony’s Take: Ensuring that you are spending less than you make will provide you with peace of mind.

👉 Being able to live comfortably is impacted by how you manage your income—it helps you decide how much you can spend and how much you’ll be able to save.

3. Tactical Tip –Consider Opportunities to Increase Your Income

💭 Tony’s Take: Knowing where your income is coming from helps you make informed decisions about your future. Whether it’s increasing your income from your current job or finding new streams of revenue, every dollar counts.

👉 Action: Evaluate your income sources and consider how you might increase them—through a raise, side income, investments, or business opportunities.

4. The Week’s Resources and Reminders: 

a. 📝 Resources: 

Get Ready Movement members can access your resources for this week's action item (#14) from your dashboard (located in Monthly Focus Area 4: Cash Flow):

• The Get Ready Blueprint week 14 worksheet where you’ll walk through calculating your total income from all sources.
• Review the relevant fillable PDF’s and excel worksheets:
• Cash Compensation
• Other Earned Income, 
• Online Income/Sales, Royalties,
• Investment Income 
• Retirement Income
• The Get Ready Discussion Guide. Are you working on any ideas to increase your income?

 Access Your Get Ready Resources here

Note: These resources are now available to all members of The Get Ready Movement. You can support The Get Ready Movement here. 

b. Financial Calendar reminders:

• April 15: File federal and state income tax returns. Tax returns are due on April 15 (if April 15 is on a weekend, the IRS and individual states usually extend the due date to the following Monday, but check the IRS and your state’s tax websites to confirm). Request extension(s) if necessary. States have different rules, so check with your state tax authority. Fines and penalties can be assessed for missing deadlines. If you want an automatic six-month extension of time to file the return, file Form 4868 and pay what you estimate you owe in tax to avoid penalties and interest.
• April 15: 1st Quarter Estimated Tax Payment due for those who are self-employed or have other first-quarter income that requires you to pay quarterly estimated taxes. 
• April 15: The last day that you can contribute to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for the prior calendar year. You can apply for a six month extension to October 15.
• April 15: The last day that you can contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA) for the prior calendar year.
• April 15: The due date for those who are self-employed to contribute to a solo 401(k) or a simplified employee pension plan (SEP) for the prior calendar year.
• April 15: The deadline to withdraw excess IRA contributions made in the prior calendar year.

5. The Get Ready Money Podcast Update – New Episode Releases

a. Overcome Your Tax Fears Now! Featuring Farnoosh Torabi

💭 Key Takeaways: Don't let fear stop you from taking control of your taxes. Learn the mindset shifts you need to reduce stress and gain confidence in your tax planning. How do it yourself tax software works. 

👉 Watch or listen to the podcast (here) - also on YouTube and major podcast apps.

b. Unlocking the Secrets of Investing in Debt and Notes Featuring Scott Carson

💭 Key Takeaways: Learn how to diversify your investment strategy with debt and notes, and discover opportunities in this often overlooked space.

👉 Watch or listen to the podcast (here) - also on YouTube and major podcast apps.

6. Media Spotlight: 144 Experts on the Business of Financial Advising

💡 144 Experts. 12 Essential Topics. Joe Moss has curated a powerhouse list of experts covering key areas for financial advisors, from marketing to practice management. I’m honored to be featured in the Books / eBooks section—highlighting the role of writing in building credibility and sharing knowledge.

💭 Tony’s Take: Information overload is real. The key to success isn’t consuming more—it’s choosing the right insights and taking consistent action. Find what works for you and apply it with focus.

👉 Check out the full list (here)

7. Tariffs: The Tip of the Iceberg

Overview: What does this mean for your money? Inflation is estimated to rise which will increase annual expenses. And, the risk of recession is climbing.

💭 Tony’s Take: Don’t panic, take a deep breath and stick to your plan. Review your cash flow & cut unnecessary expenses. Make sure your emergency fund covers at least 6 months of expenses.  If investing, don’t focus on daily market swings—focus on the long term and re-allocate as needed. Increase your earning power and/or explore other opportunities like side-hustles. 

👉 Read: Trump’s Tariffs Aim to Create a New World Economic Order by Nick Timiraos in the Wall Street Journal (here)

b. Charts To Help Address Client Concerns On Recession Fears, Tariff Risks, And Market Volatility by James Liu and Lindsey Bell for the Nerd’s Eye View Blog.

💭 Key takeaway: While financial markets tend to rise in the long run, short-term volatility can be alarming for investors. Recent swings have been driven by economic policy shifts, persistent inflation concerns, and geopolitical uncertainty – all of which may unnerve even the steadiest of clients.

👉 Read it (here)

8. Financial Literacy Month

a. Your Money and the World with Cecile Biccari and Michael Gilmore on the Better Money with the MAIA’s podcast. 

💭 Key takeaway: How sustainable finance can be intuitive and engaging for the next generation!

👉 Listen on Spotify (here). 

b. Money lessons without money: The financial literacy fallacy by Anand Sanwal.

💭 Key takeaway: Teaching kids financial literacy without real money is like teaching swimming with PowerPoint slides. And we all know how that ends. And our response is to add yet another layer of complexity to the curriculum.

👉 Read it (here).

c. The 2024 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index). 

Overview: Measures knowledge and understanding that enable sound financial decision making and effective manage of personal finances among adults. 

💭 Key takeaway: This report highlights that many people remain uncertain about the best ways to save for retirement and how to make their money last.

👉 Check out the report (here).

d. Gen Z feels burned after taking financial advice from social media

Overview: A recent study reveals that 77% of Gen Z seeks financial advice online, but 37% of them have faced issues from bad advice.

💭 Tony’s Take: It’s crucial to be mindful of where financial advice comes from. Take action to learn from reliable sources.

👉 Study by Intuit CreditKarma (here)

9. What you need to know about financial abuse. 

a. Protect Your Parents From Scammers by Meg Bartelt for Flow Financial Planning.

Overview: Even if you’re not a big-time caregiver (yet?) for your loved ones (you’re not accompanying them to medical appointments or coordinating in-home nursing care, for example), this is a kind of caregiving that you can—and should—start early.

💭 Tony’s Take: Today’s the best day to start the conversation with your parents about their aging plan. 

👉 Read it (here). 

b. Financial Abuse Is Domestic Violence with Leah Davis, Barb Provost and Maggie Nielsen on the Women & Money: The Sh!t We Don’t Talk About podcast.

Overview: Did you know that financial abuse is one of the biggest reasons people stay trapped in harmful relationships? It doesn’t leave bruises, but it can be just as devastating. It’s about control, manipulation, and keeping someone powerless. So what does it actually look like, and how do you break free?

💭 Tony’s Take: Financial abuse is often a precursor to physical abuse. Understanding the signs can help you make a plan. This also allows you to help your friends and family, if needed. 

👉 Watch on YouTube (here).

10. Social Security: What You Need to Know

a. Social Security Fairness Act and Optimizing Social Security with Eric Blake on The Simply Retirement Podcast

Overview: The Social Security Fairness Act updates, including retroactive payments and accelerated timelines for increased benefits. And the impact of government pension offsets and spousal benefits, clarifying eligibility for survivor benefits.

👉 Listen to it (here)

b. Social Security: True or False? By Terry Savage.

Overview: There has been so much confusion about potential – and real – changes to Social Security that I am writing this column/newsletter, and will consistently update it at TerrySavage.com, with the latest real-time, FACTUAL information, and answers to your questions.

💭 Tony’s take: There are many misconceptions about Social Security. Terry has created a running list of the most common ones.

👉 Read the article (here)

Thank you for being part of the Get Ready Movement. Please hit reply to share your thoughts.

Let’s Change The Way We Think About Money!

Tony

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