Young Professionals Corner: Frugality Comes Into Fashion

Editor's note: This is the latest in a series of guest posts from young VSCPA members dealing with topics of interest to young professionals. If you'd like to write or have a topic you'd like a future blogger to cover, please email VSCPA Academic & Career Development Coordinator Tracey Zink.

By Clare Levison, CPA
Alliant Techsystems, Inc.

I believe that as CPAs we are uniquely qualified to guide people who need help with their finances.  CPAs are distinguished by rigorous educational requirements, high professional standards, and a commitment to serving the public interest.

I’m very passionate about personal finance.  My recently published book on the subject is entitled Frugal Isn’t Cheap:  Spend Less, Save More, and Live Better.  The following is an excerpt from the book:

When I was growing up, I can remember complaining to my dad about it being cold in the house. Truth be told, it was probably plenty warm for most people, but I’ve always been cold natured. “Go put a sweater on,” he would tell me. Dad’s always been a frugal man.

But today’s society has become obsessed with excess. Frugal people are seen as dull and boring. Big spenders seem flashy and exciting. However, I think the tide is finally beginning to turn on these perceptions. And that’s a good thing. It’s just not fashionable to own 20 pairs of shoes that you’ve only worn once. It’s not cool to have 30 gadgets that you never use. And if you’re spending all your money on designer clothes, you’re not stylish; you’re silly. Now more than ever, frugality is coming into fashion, and it’s hip to be thrifty. It turns out Dad was frugal before frugal was cool.

Reprinted, with permission of the publisher, from FRUGAL ISN'T CHEAP © 2013 Clare K. Levison, CPA. Published by Career Press, Pompton Plains, NJ. 800-227-3371. All rights reserved.

A large number of Americans are re-examining their finances.  They want to learn more about personal finance and how it impacts them and their future.  When each person makes responsible decisions with their money, we all benefit.  As a CPA, what are you doing to promote financial literacy?

Clare K. Levison is a certi­fied public accountant and national financial literacy spokesperson for the Amer­ican Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She has appeared on major radio and television net­works across the country and has served as a member of the Vir­ginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) Board of Directors. Levison was named one of the 2010 Top Five CPAs Under 35 by the VSCPA. She has more than a decade of corporate accounting experience and is also an active volunteer, serving as PTA president, Girl Scout leader, and Sun­day school teacher. Levison lives in Blacksburg, Virginia, with her husband and two daughters.

 

Website: www.clarelevison.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/clarelevison

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorClareLevison

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/clare-levison/26/481/584

Financial Fitness for the Very Rich: ‘Broke’

Forgive this blogger for the lateness of this review, but CPAs with an interest in financial literacy, financial planning and/or sports should set their DVRs for a rerun of the second-season premiere of the “30 for 30” film series, “Broke.” Directed by Billy Corben (who also directed the University of Miami football documentary “The U” in the first season of “30 for 30”), the film focuses on the alarming numbers of professional athletes who go broke after their playing careers are done.

A 2009 Sports Illustrated article, “How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke,” goes into detail on, well, how and why athletes go broke. One of the athlete workshops mentioned in that article is shown in the movie, and workshop leader Ed Butowsky plays a prominent role.

For those sports fans out there looking for some nostalgia, among the players interviewed are:

• Former NFL players Andre Rison, Bernie Kosar, Dante Wesley, Keith McCants and Leon Searcy
• Former NBA players Jamal Mashburn (who, it should be noted, has been remarkably successful as an entrepreneur post-retirement) and Antoine Walker
• Former MLB players Curt Schilling (whose video-game company, 38 Studios, recently filed for bankruptcy), Cliff Floyd and Homer Bush (another post-retirement success story)

Another strong presence is former NFL player and coach Herm Edwards, who runs league workshops on financial literacy. The criticisms presented in the AV Club review of the movie are valid — Corben might have done better to narrow his focus onto fewer subjects — but overall, it’s a fascinating look at how even multimillionaires can lose it all.

"Broke" next airs on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

2010 Session Watch

The 2010 Virginia General Assembly session is in full swing, which means we’re busy taking action on any legislation that could potentially affect Virginia CPAs and their abilities to do their jobs — as well as continuing to monitor other bills under consideration.

And we have some great news so far! Our pass-through entity bill (SB 178) unanimously passed the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, January 26, with a minor amendment to add an effective date for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2009.

Other important news to report:

Financial literacy
The VSCPA continues to fight for maintaining the Virginia high school graduation requirement in personal finance and economics education. That’s why we’ve opposed any bills that threaten the requirement (which is currently law). We’re thrilled that one of the bills to repeal the stand-alone course (HB 196) has been amended to delay all of the new graduation requirements by one year due to the Commonwealth’s budget situation. We do not oppose the bill as amended because, while the graduation requirement should not pose major fiscal strain on school systems, we understand the financial impact any new requirement could have.

The other immediate threat to the stand-alone course in financial literacy was HB 622, which would have given school districts much more leeway to integrate the course into existing curricula — a move the VSCPA opposed because of the importance of a stand-alone requirement. The House Education Committee has agreed to carry over the bill until next fall, which they will address before the 2011 session starts. At this time, there is no immediate threat to financial literacy education to address during this session.

Conformity
We are strongly urging lawmakers to address conformity by letting them know that for each day that goes by without conformity, the burdens increase on Virginia’s taxpayers and preparers. Our bill (SB 179), to implement a more permanent conformity fix, is still under deliberation by the Senate Finance Committee. The regular conformity bills (HB 614 and SB 545) are currently facing opposition from the manufacturing industry, which is taking issue with a new Section 199 exception on the deduction of domestic production activities. We are very closely monitoring these bills and working to minimize the negative impact any delay could have on tax return preparers.

E-filing
E-filing is here to stay. The Virginia threshold for e-filing will become 50 returns if the legislation becomes law, and it is sailing through without problems. The Senate has already passed SB 357, and its companion bill in the House, HB 1045, will soon be reported to the House Finance Committee. The threshold for e-filing federal returns recently became 10 returns or more, and Virginia’s legislation has a positive budget impact. Those two factors will make this legislation virtually unstoppable. The VSCPA took a neutral position.

Stay tuned to CPACafe.com and www.vscpa.com for updates on these and other bills we’re monitoring on behalf of Virginia CPAs.

A PR Plan: Celebrating Financial Literacy Successes Through Virginia Media

When Gov. Tim Kaine signed into law the new Virginia high school graduation requirement of one credit in economics and personal finance, it was cause for celebration for Virginia CPAs. Here at the VSCPA, it marked a major victory six years in the making; for the past several years, the requirement was so important that it was on the VSCPA's legislative agenda.

We began talking about ways to get this exciting news out to the public. During a recession, we felt it was more important than ever that parents knew their children would be required to learn valuable money management skills before graduating from high school.

We also wanted to get the word out about the tremendous member support we had for this issue. During the Virginia Board of Education's comment period for the new requirement in 2008, 329 comments were submitted — primarily from VSCPA members and members of the Virginia Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy (a group spearheaded by the VSCPA in 2005). The Virginia CPA community spoke, and the VBOE listened. The VBOE indicated the comments were a key factor in their decision to incorporate the course into graduation requirements.

VSCPA Vice-President of Member & Public Relations Tina Lambert, CAE, was the perfect voice for this issue. She is currently on the Virginia Jump$tart Board of Directors and served as its chair from 2005– 2008.

We sent an opinion/editorial piece written by Tina, "Teaching Virginia's Children Some Cents," to several media outlets, and were thrilled that it was run in the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce's e-newsletter, as well as a national e-newsletter from WebCPA.

So when an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on December 10, 2009, "Mandatory Course Raises Concerns," brought some school teachers' and administrators' problems with the requirement to light, we were prepared. We immediately sent a letter to the editor of the Times-Dispatch, e-mails to the article's reporters and editors and requests for space to send in our op/ed. We were excited when the editor upgraded our letter to an op/ed. With a few tweaks to our original commentary, our response to the Times-Dispatch was off and printed December 18.

Ensuring we are an advocate for the financial literacy of all Virginians remains a major priority for the VSCPA, and we will continue to spread this message to the media. It's just one of the ways we advocate for our CPA members and the issues they care about most.