Natasha Verela brands herself The Moneynista. She’s a real estate investor and tax strategist.
She’s got 18 years of experience working in audit, accounting, and tax – 13 of which were with the IRS, where she examined corporate returns that reported $10 million or more in gross receipts and/or assets, and the high net worth individuals associated with those accounts.
Sheesh, no wonder she put “tax’pert” in her IG bio.
I’ll review her Money Masters Academy Tax Strategies Mastermind below.
Natasha’s journey started in 2013 when she converted her primary residence into a rental, saving her a wad of moolah on her taxes.
“Damn. This is awesome. I should get more rentals,” she thought.
So she tried to, but she couldn’t get a loan. Her debt-to-income ratio was too high. (Mostly because of student loans.)
To solve this problem, Natasha did something unconventional: she pulled money from her retirement account to pay off her student loans.
Calm down, you guys. The math mathed – and homegirl had a plan.
After that, her credit score shot way up, and she was able to get the funding she needed to buy more rental properties.
Today, Natasha’s a cash-flowing investor, business owner, and a wealth educator through tax strategies.
She’s personally saved over $300,000 on taxes in the last nine years.
The takeaway is that the tax code favors business owners and investors. If you’re an individual working a regular job, you’re in a tough spot. Uncle Sam’s gonna play hide-and-seek with your money.
The other thing you need to understand is that tax season is not just January through April. Tax season is year round.
Ya gotta be proactive, not reactive.
And don’t assume taxes are too complex for you to understand and optimize.
Yes, tax law is longer than a marathon runner’s playlist and it’s filled with jargon. But you only need to know a handful of insights to shelter your income.
And it all starts with turning your ordinary (W2) income into extraordinary income – via real estate and business.
“What normally happens is we all get a paycheck,” Natasha explains, “and then we focus and budget with the money that hits our account.”
“What we don’t do is look at the money during the year that does not hit our account,” she continues.
“And then we take that money – whatever’s left over – and we put it in a savings account. But hoarding money in a savings account is not smart.”
“Anything beyond your emergency fund is just a depreciating dollar,” Natasha preaches.
“Inflation will always outpace your bank’s interest rate. So you have to put your dollars to work.”
“In the Money Masters Academy Tax Strategies Mastermind, we use tax deferral techniques and tax avoidance techniques.”
“What we will not do is focus on evasion, or the misrepresentation of your true state of affairs.”
“So we’ll focus on real estate, business structure and business deductions, and tax deferral techniques like retirement plans.”
“Inside the course, I’ll show you how to use software to plan. Don’t worry, it’s easy to use, and I walk you through practical applications,” she promises.
Natasha’s program includes 25+ video training modules, visual learning, a private Facebook Group, dedicated Q&A for students, and lifetime access so you can go at your own pace.
Cost is $2,699, and there’s a strict no refund policy.
I’m in a bit of a pickle.
Sure, this is crucial information that we could all use.
Yet, I’d rather read a pamphlet on pebbles than immerse myself in tax code. Especially when it’s going to set me back almost three grand.
Think I’ll just keep overpaying my accountant to do the bare minimum and focus on making more.