Teaching Tax Flow: The Podcast

This episode of the Teaching Tax Flow podcast tackles a frequently asked question: Do you need a personal advisory board?

We explore what a personal board of directors entails for your personal life, distinct from corporate or non-profit structures. Join us to understand how this concept can contribute to your personal growth and overall financial development.

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Defeating Taxes https://defeatingtaxes.com

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  • (00:01) - Understanding the Importance of a Personal Board of Directors
  • (03:42) - Building Your Financial Board of Directors
  • (07:19) - Building Financial Relationships for Future Home and Asset Purchases
  • (11:40) - Building a Personal Board of Directors for Business Success
  • (18:04) - Educational Insights on Tax Flow and Financial Advice

Creators and Guests

Host
Chris Picciurro
Founder, Teaching Tax Flow
Host
John Tripolsky
VP of Marketing, Teaching Tax Flow

What is Teaching Tax Flow: The Podcast?

Welcome to “Teaching Tax Flow: The Podcast”, the show that’s all about demystifying taxes and helping you keep more of your hard-earned income in your pocket.

Hosted by tax experts from the Teaching Tax Flow team, this unfiltered (but clean) podcast is designed to empower you with the knowledge and tools you need to confidently navigate the world of taxes. We’ll cover everything from understanding tax laws and regulations to maximizing deductions and credits.

In each episode, we’ll break down a specific tax-related topic in a clear and accessible way, providing practical tips and strategies you can use to optimize your tax situation. We’ll also answer listener questions, share the mic with amazing guests, and share real-world examples to help illustrate key concepts.

Whether you’re a freelancer, small business owner, real estate investor, or just looking to understand your taxes better, this podcast is for you. So tune in, take notes, and start building your confidence in taxes today.

Produced and hosted by Teaching Tax Flow.
www.TeachingTaxFlow.com

John Tripolsky:

Hey, everybody. And welcome back to the Teaching Tax Full podcast episode one seven six. It's 176 today. We're answering that question. We've been here to answer a lot, I should say.

John Tripolsky:

Do I need a personal board of directors? Or exactly, what the heck is a personal board of directors? We're not talking about not profit not for not for profits, nonprofits, corporations, none of that stuff. We're talking about your personal life here as an individual, family, any of that, and we're gonna dive into it. So we're gonna answer that question.

John Tripolsky:

We're gonna dive into a little bit what that makeup is. What is that board? Who needs to be on it? Why you need one? Maybe why you don't need one?

John Tripolsky:

Probably gonna answer that with a simple answer if you do. But as always, Chris Pacquero, welcome back to the show, sir. Let's dive into this and hear about your experiences, you know, where these all come from.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

One of the topics so one of the things that's important is the concept called the taxpayer board of directors. And your board of directors, just like a big corporation, is there to help guide you. Ultimately, a taxpayer or an individual, you've gotta make your own tax and financial decisions. That being said, having a board of directors in some and it doesn't have to be super formal. It could be informal.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

It could be is is important. You know? It's a sounding board for financial decisions. And we get asked often in our private Facebook group, which is defeatingtaxes, or defeatingtaxes.com gets you gets that link will get you there. You'll see a link to that.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

And if you're listening to this or watching this, you're invited. But we've had a lot of chatter in there about personal board of directors. I've actually had clients reach out, many of them in the last three months saying, hey. I'm trying to build this personal board of directors. You know?

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

What you know? Who who do you recommend, etcetera, etcetera? And so I wanted to do this episode just to talk through who someone should consider on their taxpayer board of directors. Now does it mean you need all these people at this point? Not necessarily.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

But it's important to maybe start thinking about or establishing those relationships before it's before it's too late. So And really

John Tripolsky:

with this, Chris, somebody might might not know what we're talking about here. Right? They might be like, what in the world are these guys talking about? Personal board of directors. I know what a board is.

John Tripolsky:

It sounds way over the top. I don't need one. I almost would bet that most people already have one started, and they don't even realize it. So what I mean by that, right, and tell me if I'm wrong, is it you mentioned it's not formalized. You're not like you're, you know, having to fly people in and sit around a table and interview these folks and take them out to a steak dinner or, you know, all this stuff.

John Tripolsky:

Right? It's really just you having a contact, multiple contacts that specialize in one thing, right, that you can call on, you trust, they know your situation enough. For example, if I have a tax question, you're on my personal board of directors. So you're the cochairman of my personal board of directors if I have a tax question.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

Well, think about it. If you're single, it's nice to have someone to bounce some things off of. And if you're married, it's great to have someone that could that could you know, to be an intermediary. Not that there's conflict on on everything, but, yeah, it's it's someone that someone to help you out. So, yeah, let's jump into who you should consider being on your board of directors as a taxpayer.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

And, really, in no particular order, but I can start with early on. Right? Probably important to be working with a property and casualty insurance professional. So it's someone that's gonna you know, if you have a renter if you're renting a a condo or an apartment, renter's insurance, vehicle insurance. It could be if you get engaged, you're probably gonna wanna, you know, insurance policy on on the jewelry.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

You know? So having someone in your life that helps you with your property and casualty that you trust, and it's not just about the rate, it's about understanding your situation, what your deductible is, That to me is one of the first relationships you're gonna form as a taxpayer. And then from there, working with someone on a potential life and disability insurance. Know, a lot of times, you know, people people delay life insurance or they say, well, I'll wait till I have kids, and I I like but but the the bottom line is, and that and I understand that, but the bottom line is you've got you you you have if you have people depending on you, you you probably have a need, and you're not gonna be younger, healthier than you are today. So that that life insurance professional and the property and casualty professional, that could be one firm.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

It could be two different people, but those are the people that you're probably gonna start working with early on. As you as your tax complexity grows, you might another person would be your a CPA or tax adviser. I highly recommend a CPA, an enrolled agent, or an attorney that's licensed to or an attorney that specializes in tax. It doesn't you know, now when you first get started and and let's say you have a situation where you only have a couple, two, three, four tax documents, but you really wanna work with someone. There's nothing wrong with having that person on your team and working with that tax professional.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

We have a whole episode on picking the right tax professional, and I always equate it to picking a pair of shoes. Right? Depends on how muddy the waters are. Depends on how complex your situation is and how much support you need. So that's someone that you're is gonna be in your you're gonna wind in your corner.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

From there, as you walk through life, a lot of times you're looking at maybe a licensed financial advisor. Hopefully, maybe a certified financial planner or someone that has some type of specialization or certification, and that could be the same person that helps you with your life insurance. So someone could wear multiple hats. But, yeah, I'd say the, you know, the core when it comes to, like, proper risk management and tax are gonna be your property and casualty insurance professional, life insurance professional, tax professional, financial adviser. And, again, the fat and the more that those people can interact and work together, the better.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

And like you said, it doesn't mean you're gonna you're calling meetings at Starbucks or you know what, Starbucks? You you should be sponsoring this podcast. I'm not gonna mention you anymore.

John Tripolsky:

The coffee shop that has a green, I don't know, not a unicorn. Queen lady.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

I don't know what she is. There you go. But so those people should be you know, are are gonna be working together. And then another spot on your board of directors, which actually could come before maybe a financial adviser or tax professionals or a banker or a lender. So so let's say you're getting to that point where you wanna purchase a home, you want to purchase a vehicle, you wanna refinance an asset.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

Having a relationship with someone is so important. And as the world moves, you know, obviously, the world that moves has has already moved online many years ago. Now it's moving into AI, and it's, and there's a lot of great information out there and great tools. Having that person that you could talk through and what and people that have been through things realize, like, when it comes down to mortgages, I wanna I, you know, I wanna work with the right partner. The rate's important, but the partner is even more important because you wanna get the deal done, and and you could be costing you more money if you don't do it the right way.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

And we have an amazing, you know, podcast sponsor with Parker Barofsky and their team as as lenders. I didn't not trying to plug them necessarily. It just but but when it comes to, like, hey. I'm self employed, and I yeah. I I don't think I can get financed or, man.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

I've got this old credit card or, you know, having someone to help you solve those problems is important. Having someone on that board of directors. Does it mean you talk to your mortgage person every month? No. Like, they probably like it because maybe you're buying a house, new new property, do real

John Tripolsky:

estate every month. But having someone something too. I need them. Really quick before before I move along too far, you mentioned, you know, obviously, you said choosing and walking through life is a different position to fill or positions are needed to fill. You know, when I took some time and originally looked at this because we have done a podcast way back in the day, and and we've brought this topic up a lot, but a lot of things have changed.

John Tripolsky:

Right? I mean, you we've Absolutely. Met more people. We've expanded our proverbial Rolodex with individuals. And I thought about this at one point of taking where somebody is now, looking back five or ten years.

John Tripolsky:

You know, who have you needed in your life for certain things? Who were they? How was the experience? And then trying to forecast forward five or ten years on who you're going to need. And kinda taking those two lists, putting them together, and that is a heck of a kickoff point on who you might need.

John Tripolsky:

You know, maybe it's somebody like you mentioned. You're not talking to a mortgage lender specialist every day, but maybe you had a great experience with one five years ago. Maybe you are looking for a banker because you had a bad experiences with one. The I think the infamous question, which sometimes comes across too salesy, but if it's genuine, hopefully, you know, is, see, you go to meet somebody, and they say, alright. Well, you wanna do this transaction or you want this now, but what what are you trying to get to in five or ten years?

John Tripolsky:

That that's the best question somebody could ask. Now again, if they're genuine about it or it's part of a sales process, that's up to you to decide, but that's the goal for you is not today. It's for later. Really.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

Right.

John Tripolsky:

Right? Right.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

And and that's the thing is, like, look at your situation or my situation. You know, where I was at, like, we love the house we're in. I'm not concern we have a super low interest rate. So I'm not concerned about refinancing or anything. However, when we built we we end up building out a garage apartment and and this home office and stuff, we used a little bit of home equity line of credit at that time.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

That person kind of kind of played a role. And where you're at right now in your life is gonna be different in five years. Right? You might you might like, I know that you guys have a you know, where you're where you're located, you're in a small community and and you've bought an older house and you're so good at fixing it up, and it's a labor of love for for most well, usually.

John Tripolsky:

The love is diminishing. The labor is still there.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

But you might down the road, you know, down three years down the road, you might say, you know what? We we like being cold, but we really wanna freeze our butt off. So we're gonna buy a cottage in northern up north in Michigan. And, we're gonna you know, we'd like to buy it as a second property, and now you might be talking to the mortgage person again. And you might now be talking to the casual property and casualty person and saying, okay.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

Well, if I buy this house, should I is it on a floodplain? Right? It's it's near the water. Okay. My insurance is gonna be way higher.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

So there's there's, like, a bunch of these things that come into play as as and, you know, part of your board of director and then then you might not get a dovetail into the next one. You know what? Let's say you buy let's say you find a property and you and your wife like it and you're like, okay. This is cool. But the the owners, you know, they're willing to sell it on a land contract or they're they're they're, you know, okay.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

Well, I might not need a lender, but you know what? I need an attorney now. So having an attorney on your board of directors, I know people kinda cringe with attorneys and stuff, but is important. And and you could have different attorneys. You know, you're gonna state planning attorney or a and a just, you know, general attorney could, you know, could play could play a role.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

So you might have a situation where you have you're entering into a contract that you want someone to look at. And if you open up I almost said the yellow pages. Gosh forbid. But if you

John Tripolsky:

open Rolodex first, so you're safe.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

If you go to Google and say, you know, business attorney around Ann Arbor, Michigan just for you. That's not a Michigan fan. Looking for Spartan. Hopefully, you put that in there. Wait.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

You're looking for a business attorney, and you just call someone right off of Google versus, oh, you know what? Yeah. I I know this person. I'm going to church with this person. I'm It doesn't mean you're engaged with them on a daily basis, but, hey.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

I'd like to have them as part of my board of directors. Give them a call, and and they can help you out. So And we'll talk to about, you know,

John Tripolsky:

what we developed to build it. So, really, like, the hub that we built is literally built off of connecting people and all this stuff. Well, I'll talk about that a little bit more at the end, and I don't wanna do it right now. But then also before every attorney wants to completely yell at us for for kind of putting them on the spot a little bit there, it it's very similar, and I'll let you talk on this more when the time's right. But if finding the right person regardless what their offering is, I think one of their best qualities, and again, I struggle with this in certain things, is that I wouldn't say being confident enough, but having being able to basically say, like, hey.

John Tripolsky:

That's not what I do. Like, somebody else can do it better. I think is a great great quality for anybody that you bring onto your board. Because, right, you don't want a jack of all trades. You want somebody that's very specialized that's gonna be with you for a while.

John Tripolsky:

Right?

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Chris Picciurro, CPA:

One of the hacks of of building your board of directors is asking other people on your board of directors to fill the open spots. Look, we get asked constantly as as a CPA firm. We're very trusted about the about things that you wouldn't think we would have be asked about, but but it does pertain to their tax situation. Like, hey. I'm you know, I'm thinking about doing this.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

I'm thinking about doing this. And and it so so, yeah, an attorney on your personal board of directors or taxpayer board of directors is important. I'm gonna wrap wrap up with a with a couple other two other people that should be on your board of directors if you are a business owner. One would be some type of mentor or some type of peer group. We you and I are part of a mastermind group of of of tax people that own tax accounting businesses.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

It was some we started about now. It's almost two and a half. I don't know how many years. Is it coming up coming up on two years ago? And these people have become friends.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

They're trusted advisers. You might not wanna be in a larger in a mastermind group. You might want a mentor relationship. Wanna, you know, maybe one on one mentorship. And it it so having a mentor as a business owner is important.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

And then also, excuse me, having someone that can help you with some type of bookkeeping or your finances or fractional CFO work as a business owner, that's the first thing you're gonna you're gonna grow out of. You're gonna get frustrated with. I mean, we're in a CPA firm, I haven't done our bookkeeping in probably fifteen years. I know you've outsourced your bookkeeping function early on. And and you used to try to do it on your own, and we all did.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

Right? It's just something that you wanna might wanna grow into.

John Tripolsky:

Relinquishing control, I think, is a is a skill set that I'm working on.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

It's tough. Every day. So So that that's your common taxpayer board of directors. If you're listening to this, watching this, and you realize you have a gap, you need someone, we're here to help. Either reach out or either comment here on the YouTube channel or just jump in our Defeating Taxes private Facebook group and and ask.

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

Or you can go to our our to our hub like John mentioned. The cool thing is if you ask in the private Facebook group, you can ask anonymously,

John Tripolsky:

and we we will reply. So Absolutely. And, yeah, I won't I won't go into detail on, you know, how how we built the hub and what it really is, but in a nutshell, I'll put the I'll put the URL below us here wherever wherever we listen to this and click on that. Really, all I'm gonna tell you about it is there's a lot of resources there as far as for the people. So you're not gonna have to sift through all this stuff.

John Tripolsky:

It's more topic based. And these are people that we've vetted. These are people that we've worked with, not just people that we like because we have a lot of people on there. People that we've actually had experience with both sides of the way, not just heard good reviews on. So check them out.

John Tripolsky:

Very easy. Put a couple information piece of information, click on a button, off it goes, and we handle the rest. And, yeah, there's no no impact on anything except if you don't do anything. It's very similar to, the myths we were talking about in the taxpayer world. Right?

John Tripolsky:

Some of those the worst thing you can do in some case is not do it. Right? Like, buy you're not gonna buy insurance after you need it. Right? Or after you need to make a claim or something.

John Tripolsky:

So I'm glad we dove into these, and, it's we're expanding on this. We're always talking about this board of directors. Again, if you're listening to this for the first time, here's a here's a thought for you. You've actually come in at a great opportunity because now you understand what this is, and every piece of content you will ever hear from teaching tax flow was built on this too, even tax planning, all that. So you came in at the best point.

John Tripolsky:

Like, you you learned where most people wish they probably would have ten years ago. And heck, if you have a real Rolodex, kudos to you, and you stole it from the Smithsonian that's still around, and maybe Chris's Yellow Pages that he's still talking about. Although he does still tell me once in while, hey. We need to we need to, videotape something. And that's when

Chris Picciurro, CPA:

I tell him. When yeah. That's when I'm like, but that's alright, John. Well, I know you're going on a trip soon, and I'm sure you'll have a triptych ready.

John Tripolsky:

I'm out of here. I'm hitting the road. We'll see everybody back here again on the teaching tax flow podcast next week. Same time, roughly, same day of the week, a completely different topic. See everybody soon.

John Tripolsky:

The information in

Disclaimer:

this podcast is educational and general in nature. It reflects the opinions of teaching tax flow and does not take into consideration the viewer's personal circumstances. It is not intended to be a substitute for individualized financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult the appropriate qualified professional prior to making any decisions. Are offered and supervised through Cabin Securities Inc member, FINRA SIPC.

Disclaimer:

Investment advisory services are offered and supervised through Cabin Advisors LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. Chris Picuro is a registered representative of Cabin Securities and an investment adviser representative with Cabin Advisors LLC, teaching Tax Flow as an independent entity and is not affiliated with Cabin Securities or Cabin Advisors.