Get Your Train of Thought Back on Track
Recovery Hacks
Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation, presentation, or debate, stringing together thoughts in a way you hope is coherent and insightful when — poof! — you lose your train of thought? It’s frustrating. You just want to make yourself understood, but your brain has other plans. What if there were a way to keep your train of thought on track? Well, the good news is that recovering your train of thought is easy with the following hacks in mind. Repeat, repeat, repeat yourself. Paraphrasing your last few thoughts out loud can help you remember where you were going. Think of it as retracing your steps: You go back to the last words you remember
saying, and more often than not, you’ll find your direction again.
train of thought can help you recover from a detour and speak more confidently.
Take a short pause. Pausing briefly is a great way to make
Remember your overall point. The easiest way to drive your train of thought into the weeds is to forget your overall point — or not to have an overriding point at all. Always have a short, overarching point you can use to recenter yourself and get back on track. With these hacks, your brain will have to work a lot harder to make you lose your train of thought! Now you’ll be more prepared to tackle any subject matter, no matter how deep or technical, that comes your way.
recovering your train of thought seem natural. This hack works really well if you’re answering a question and you need time to think, and you also don’t want to be bogged down by a chorus of “ums” escaping from your mouth. Write it all down. This hack works well when you know beforehand that you’ll be speaking with someone or in front of people. Even if you never refer to your notes while speaking, simply writing down a road map for your
Tax Season’s Over — But What About Next Year?
“Unprepared for taxes” doesn’t describe the vast majority of our readers, but taxes still represent an outsized financial burden on most retirees. We say that everyone can be more prepared — but how can you move to the next level of tax readiness in retirement? It’s always a good idea to begin by reviewing your investment portfolio, especially if you haven’t done so since retiring. Making a move toward more conservative investments later in life can help preserve the principal and help save taxes for retirement. Profits from investments such as capital gains, dividends, accrued interests, and mutual fund earnings tend to attract the same kinds of taxes after retirement as they did prior.
Therefore, it is a wise option to restructure the portfolio to minimize the tax burden from investments. Another area worth your attention is Social Security tax — specifically, you should try to learn more about how Social Security is taxed and what a person can expect to pay in Social Security taxes during retirement. Whether or not Social Security is taxable is based on the person’s provisional income. Social Security is not taxable if a person’s provisional income is less than $25,000 for singles or $32,000 for married filing jointly. Managing income sources and smart charitable giving, among other things, can mitigate taxes.
One final trick? Although this is not an option for everyone, some can greatly benefit from moving to a more tax-friendly state. There are currently seven states in the U.S. with no income taxes, including Florida, Alaska, Texas, South Dakota, Nevada, Wyoming, and Washington. In Tennessee and New Hampshire, only interest and dividends are taxed. However, starting with the 2021 tax year, Tennessee will repeal this tax. If you’re considering a move or just want to discuss options, please reach out to us at (703) 535-5300 or at CampbellWealth.com. We are here to serve you.
This is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as tax advice. Consult your tax advisor regarding your situation.
2 • CampbellWealth.com
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