Financial Education on the Job

September 16, 2007

My blog has seen some idleness, but my mind has not. I am very busy teaching H&R Block’s Basic Building Blocks class.  This is the beginning tax class that H&R Block uses to recruit new preparers.

I’ve only been a preparer for a year, but I worked 12 tax seasons for my mom’s franchise in Alabama taking care of back office stuff.  I decided to take the plunge to tax pro  here in St. Louis because things have become more automated and my mom really doesn’t need me.

What I gained was an opportunity in financial education.  One of H&R Blocks great strengths is in the area of expertise.   We have to have 69 hours of tax training and pass an exam just to be able to be considered for an interview.  After that, beginning tax pros have to take another 60 hours before and at the beginning of tax season.   

Each year we have to have a minimum of 24 hours just to get rehired.  Raise that to 30 to go to another level of certification (which involves more pay).  Plus, you can’t get certification hours for a course you took in the last 3 years.

What’s my point? Well, in order to keep this level of expertise with all of the tax pros, they offer a gazillion courses in all different tax and business subjects.  The best part is we get to choose as many as we want, in a classroom or online,  for $20 a year.  Add to that all of the on the job experience and it’s a grand education in taxes and in business and marketing.

Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad fame says that for those who think like rich people the main  reason to get a job is for the financial education it can provide you.  If you are familiar with the Rich Dad principles, you know that rich people think in terms of assets - businesses and investments.  

Apart from the fact that taxes are fun (yes, you hear tax pros say it all the time) and H&R Block is a great company to work for with lots of advancement opportunities, working for H&R Block gives a great financial education.

Tax attorney Drew Miles (Tax Tips - Asset Protection - Pathfinder Business Strategies ) tells the story of watching Bill Gates being interviewed on a national news channel.  He was asked what was the key to his success.  He said having a “working knowledge of the tax code.”  Not the answer you would expect, is it? 

You hear a lot of people complain about how the rich get all of these tax breaks while the poor and middle class keep paying higher taxes.  The reality is that they make an effort to know about their money and how it works.  A huge part of that is knowing how taxes work for and against them. 

The poor and middle class have so many more opportunities available to them that they don’t take.  Many times because they are afraid to take them. If you are rethinking wealth in your own mind, consider how you can make better decisions in the area of taxes.  It will help you overall financially.

Deborah

Posted in General, H&R Block, Rich Dad, Uncategorized, education, financial, financial education, taxes