IPTU, IPVA, school supplies: see how to prepare for the beginning of the year bills

New year, new goals and new goals. Tickets, however, continue. The turn of the year is also synonymous with a higher volume of expenses in the first few months due to bills such as IPTU, IPVA, school supplies and so on.

THE CNN spoke with Ricardo Teixeira, economist and responsible for the MBA in financial management at FGV, and Ricardo Rocha, professor of finance at Insper, to show how to better organize yourself for the beginning of the year accounts. Check out:

Financial planning

Taking advantage of the inspiration that comes with the renewal of the year, this is a great time to do some financial planning. To do this, first of all, you need to put your expenses on paper, in a spreadsheet or even in an application – whichever is more convenient and comfortable – whether they are short, medium or long term.

Rocha suggests splitting expenses into two: ordinary and extraordinary. The ordinary ones are the ones that come every year—like taxes and school fees, for example.

The ideal is to add up the amounts spent on these expenses and gradually place the amount in a low-risk fund, which already adjusts for inflation. Thus, at the end of the year, you will already have the necessary money for these expenses.

In the case of extraordinary expenses – such as travel, parties, gifts – you need to be careful. The 13th and vacation advance, according to experts, may seem like a lot of money, but it ends quickly if there is no finance organization to compute these expenses.

That money can be used to deduct some expenses from the early months of the year – and it can also become a financial reserve.

“This is the moment for you to prepare yourself, carry out good planning, balance the accounts and build prosperity in the next year”, says Teixeira.

Not afraid to cut

The hardest part of sitting down and accounting for expenses is coming to the conclusion that you need to cut back. It is necessary to adapt expenses to the financial reality of each family. Reduce everything possible, change consumption habits, opt for cheaper tours and replace expensive items with cheaper ones. Sacrifice can avoid the total lack of control of the accounts.

Teixeira recommends that non-essential spending be numbered by priority. Those essential to the happiness and well-being of the family can stay if they fit the budget – the rest needs to go out of the accounts.

“When we let desires be stronger than needs, you create an imbalance. Always,” says Rocha.

Renegotiate the values

For experts, the beginning of the year is the best time to renegotiate debts.

Rocha argues that maintaining healthy credit is even important for an individual’s emotional health. Therefore, sitting down with your manager and laying out your cash flow — without delay, so you don’t end up having to pay very significant interest — is critical to starting your financial recovery journey.

When negotiating, the main point is that you need to have a break in values. You cannot negotiate at the limit of what you can afford. Furthermore, the debtor can only be honest and show good faith. For Teixeira, showing proactivity and good will to resolve the situation is already a big step towards getting out of debt in a sustainable way.

With an eye on taxes

In the case of IPTU and IPVA, the recurring doubt is: pay in cash, when you have the money in cash, or choose to pay in installments?

For Ricardo, when you have the money, the best option is to pay the amounts in cash — to resolve the issue once and for all. In installments, the chance of the individual getting in the way and ending up forgetting that these values ​​exist is greater. Therefore, from a financial management point of view, it may be more fruitful.

Rocha also defends cash payment, especially for cases such as IPVA, where the discount is significant.

* Under the supervision of Thâmara Kaoru