1) Put $1,000 aside. It doesn’t amount to a real emergency fund, but it will do until you get your finances in order. You can accumulate the $1,000 by allocating $10 a day for just over three months. Most people go into debt because they live hand to mouth, spending 100% of their take-home pay. Then life happens. Having a mini-emergency fund can help you get out of debt and stay out of debt.

2) Remove yourself from credit card debt-forever. I suggest paying off your credit card by starting with the smallest balance in order to achieve small successes and then working to snowball your payments as you tackle the larger balances. These first two steps, having $1,000 and paying off debt, simply prevent you from facing a financial emergency by starting out wounded and bleeding.

3) Improve your ability to handle fluctuating monthly expenses. If you can, set up a monthly budget so your day-to-day expenses are less than 65% of your take-home pay. The difference between those growing rich and those remaining poor is not the salary they make. It is the salary they keep. Relative to their income, the rich are frugal. They save and invest. They spend less than 65% of their take-home pay on day-to-day expenses. They save at least 10% in their retirement accounts and another 5% in taxable savings. They direct another 10% toward unknown big purchases. And they even live frugally enough to give another generous 10% to charities.

4) Automate your cash flow to promote saving and investing. Every month, have 10% transferred into your retirement account before you receive your paycheck. Then automate the transfer of 25% of your take-home pay into an investment account a day or two after your paycheck is deposited. Automating your savings makes savings a high priority and ensures that you pay yourself first. This investment account will grow over time, and you can use it to pay for big emergencies and charitable gifts.

5) Set up an asset allocation for your investments that’s diversified for safety while being invested for growth. If you make it to this step, you’re well ahead of the game…but the game ain’t over yet! Diversification works, and it’s never more obvious than in times of market turmoil. Without diversification, portfolios can have a zero return over a decade. After being well diversified, the likelihood of no return over a decade drops significantly.

6) (If necessary) Mobilizing during an actual emergency. Having the discipline to budget for small financial emergencies will help you be prepared when you encounter larger financial crises. When some unknown spending need strikes, take the money to cover the expense from your growing emergency fund. Then, determine if you have been budgeting for this level of unknown expenses adequately.

Usually emergencies don’t happen. So the money you have socked away makes more money. Keep an emergency fund for several years and it should double in value, giving you an additional emergency fund. Whether you need it or not, being prepared for a financial emergency means peace of mind, knowing that your lifestyle is frugal, so you won’t be in trouble.

Because retirement can last 20 to 30 years, it’s more important than ever that “pre-retirees” (those who plan to retire in five to seven years) practice how they want to live without work as the organizational focus of their lives:

• Try out different retirement lifestyles. For example, many people dream of selling the family home and traveling in an RV or going abroad. Practice this by renting a camper and going on the road for a long vacation. You may discover that travel is exhausting or boring. The same holds true for relocation dreams. Rent a home where you think you may want to retire to see if it really is where you’d like to move. The weather may not suit you, or the community may not be your cup of tea. Work these details out before you commit to an expensive change.

• Live with your spouse 24 hours a day. Most couples spend much of their early years working and, thus, spending much of their time apart. It may take some time to get used to the other person’s schedule, habits, and routines.

• Practice living on a retirement budget. Most retirees’ income is significantly less than their preretirement income. Add up all the Social Security benefits, pension income, and 401(k) and IRA savings to calculate what you can realistically expect to live on each month. Then live on that amount for a month to determine what changes, if any, you need to make to your plans.

You see, each tax professional does have certain qualifications. Some might be experts at this sort of tax law, or in working with farmers or with getting money back through IRS representation, or a whole variety of different things…but are they really providing what you, the consumer, wants?

What do you want from a tax preparer?

When I sit down and talk with regular consumers, here’s what I discover:

You want to be able to work with a caring professional…NOT one of those “cattle call” shops, where you’re squeezed in with a bunch of other people, and seen by harried, poorly-trained employees that just took a basic tax course.

You want an accurately filed tax return. You want the whole thing broken down in terms that you understand, and in a way that you don’t need a translator to communicate. You want there to be processes in place to ensure that the most money is kept out of the grasping hands of Uncle Sam, and in your wallet (legally).

You want a “heads up” about future ways you can legally add deductions and make sure that you can get even more money back in the future. You want assurances everything your tax preparer is doing for you is valid and correct, so a guarantee(s) is essential to the process.

And of course, you want to do it fast. Look, I know this is a big deal for consumers…you don’t want your accountant pushing back at you all the time, saying “give me more time”, when you know it’s not because they’re working hard on your behalf, but that they’re so poorly organized that they’re not getting ANYBODY’S work done on time!

Oh, and if you ARE getting a refund, you want a tax firm who can get you the most money back the fastest … with the most electronic filing options available.

Here’s the bottom line: You want professionalism … accuracy … you want clarity … you want to be aware of beneficial tax options … you want peace of mind … you want an efficient use of your time …. you want your refund money back in your hands fast …. And at the end of the day, you want to KNOW you got the most money back from Uncle Sam AND know that the IRS will stay off your back so you can sleep like a baby at night!

If the accountant or tax professional you are talking to can’t do these things, you need to call one that can.