Don’t Buy The Truck, Maybe!!

Every once in a while, I hear a piece of tax advice that makes me pause.
Last year I met with two new clients who told me their CPA gave them the same suggestion:

“You need a bigger deduction… go buy a truck.”

When clients repeat that to me, I usually laugh a little—not because the CPA meant anything bad, but because that advice has been floating around for decades.

Here’s the simple math.
If you spend $70,000 on a truck to save $5,000, $10,000 or maybe even $20,000 in taxes, you didn’t “make” $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000.
You still spent $70,000.

A tax deduction reduces taxes, but what are the long-term costs?

A better way to think about tax decisions is this:
If you could save $1 in taxes today, but it costs you $7 to do it, is that really a win?
Or would you rather pay the $1 in taxes and invest the rest so it can grow into $10 in the future?

Most people I talk with would take the second option every time.

Good tax planning isn’t about chasing deductions.

It’s about making decisions that improve your long-term financial picture, not just your tax return this year.

Sometimes the smartest move is complicated. Many time it will depend on the variable.