“Coach Sizzle, I haven’t done my taxes, do you have any suggestions for last minute tax prep?” – SC

Woohoo tax time! For those of you who get money back.. I’m sure you are super stoked! Get it done! If you owe money, get it done, rip off the band aid. I know it is painful especially if you have not saved for your taxes.

“Coach Sizzle, my boyfriend just proposed to me and I said yes, yay! I have not shared with him the full extent of my financial situation, I’m feeling weird about it and I don’t know how to handle it. What should I do?” – MM

There are some things you want to share with your partner. You are concerned about his reaction and you want to have an authentic relationship. Here is where I would start:

I’ve got some awesome news! We received a grant from the Civic Joy Fund to put out a literary magazine celebrating SF and acting to counter the stupid “Doom Loop” narrative. It’s a gift to the people of San Francisco. And after months of working on this project it’s now available

Clearly I prefer Southwest Airlines, because of the cities I travel to as well as the fact that I have to check a bag. Also, the magic of this is all Southwest not me. I just travel a lot and am super flexible. You may not have a Southwest hub near you or you do not need to check a bag. You may have really specific dates that you need to travel on. There is a lot of information online about finding great deals, so don’t be bashful, look around! Since you asked me though, I’ll reiterate some of the conventional wisdom with a little sizzle twist.

“How much should I spend on massages each month?” – DW

Wow that is a super specific question AND you don’t sound like a broke ass! Ok, I’ll go easy on you. It is a fantastic question and one that is similar to questions that many people ask themselves. If you have read any of my articles you will know by now that I can’t directly answer most questions like this. Well, I could just say “$100,” but I would be way short of my article length expectation.

Sometimes this can feel stressful when you don’t feel like you have the funds to buy gifts, or the friend expecting the baby has registered for many expensive baby things. Also, you may feel resistant to buying something from a large store that feels impersonal. After hearing from friends that they received 5 times as much stuff as they needed for the first 6 months of their child’s life, it is motivating to think of other things that would be helpful and meaningful.

“I am standing up in my friend’s wedding. I am really struggling financially and I have spent over $400, and I just found out that the dress is going to be $250! I am freaking out… what should I do?” – SD

Standing up in a wedding for someone you love and support is a huge honor and it is one of the biggest financial commitments people make to their friends. Some would say that in that type of situation money “shouldn’t matter.”

“My dog’s tail knocked over a glass of water onto my friend’s computer, now the computer isn’t working. The computer is three years old. Should I buy her a new computer? A used computer of equal value?” – SD

Oh brotha. I am sorry to hear this happened. It is nice when these things are cut and dry, but often there is a lot of gray area when it comes to friends working out paying for broken items. Unfortunately sometimes it’s obvious to one person and not obvious to the other person.

When I was 23, someone tried to sell me a grave plot, for myself. He told me that I could get such a great deal and that it wouldn’t burden my family if I bought it when I was young etc. WHOA! It didn’t truly occur to me, until that moment, that one day, I was going to die.