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Even with the rising use of AI, picking market-beating stocks has not become any easier this year, a new report finds.

Musk’s trillioniare status means he’s wealthier than his next three contemporaries combined — and also worth more than historical tycoons like John D. Rockefeller.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… Charles Dickens might not have been writing about the stock market and economy of 2026, but he could have been. The stock market is hitting new highs, boosting millions of Americans’ 401(k) balances. Meanwhile, stubbornly high prices, rising borrowing costs and growing doubts about the AI boom are giving investors heartburn.
Energy prices have retreated from their eye-watering highs earlier this year, but diesel prices, which have a ripple effect on nearly everything American consumers buy, remain within pennies of the record high hit last month.
Borrowing costs have soared as investors grow jittery about the size of the U.S. debt, which recently eclipsed $40 trillion. And AI spending has become a double-edged sword, propping up parts of the economy even as questions grow about whether tech companies will be able to recoup their enormous investments.

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Americans seem increasingly uneasy about the divergence. A new survey from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement finds that roughly 3 in 4 Americans think recent market highs are “unsustainable” and believe that a correction could be on the horizon. What’s more, nearly 2 in 3 feel forced to delay financial decision-making because today’s economy is too “unpredictable” to act.
Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life, says it’s not surprising that Americans are feeling some financial whiplash.
“There’s all the bad news we’re getting on the amount it costs just to keep your standard of living. On the other hand, however, you’ve got the market continuing to hit all these records,” he says. “It’s these two almost opposite headlines.”
Smart investors make long-term plans that account for inevitable downturns, financial pros say. This means there are some steps you can take now to protect your assets and position yourself to take advantage of the opportunities that a less-frothy stock market offers.
Don’t batten down the hatches too early
A common “bubble” metric, the cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings (CAPE) ratio, is the second-highest it’s ever been. The only time it surpassed its current level was just before the dot-com crash. But while anticipating a correction is easy, predicting when that inflection point will happen is a task even investing pros struggle with.
“It’s really, really hard to predict a correction. We know it’s coming but we don’t know when,” says Ron Johnson, a wealth planner at Baird. “And if you over-prepare, meaning move to cash, you could be out of the market during some really nice runs.”
Position yourself for bargain buying
It might be tempting to load up on equities as the market soars, but maintaining a diversified portfolio gives you flexibility when market conditions change, Johnson says.
“Recency bias is a real thing, and we’re all screaming that the 60/40 portfolio is dead,” he observes. But while it’s true that investors — younger ones in particular — can afford to be more aggressive in equities, Johnson suggests that it’s short-sighted to put all your proverbial eggs in one basket.
“If you don’t have any fixed income, if the market were to take a large correction, you wouldn’t have any powder in your keg to rebalance and buy equities at a low price,” he notes.
Safeguard money for shorter-term needs
People approaching retirement or retirees should shelter some funds from market volatility. When stock values fall, “What you don’t want to do is be forced to sell them when they’re down,” says Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager and partner at Globalt Investments.
How much money to protect is a question with a nuanced answer, depending on how heavily you rely on your nest egg for living expenses, as well as your willingness and ability to reduce spending if necessary. Martin advises asking yourself, “What do you need the money for and how certain do you want to be?”
For some retirees, this might mean keeping three to five years’ worth of living expenses out of the market. Now that interest rates have normalized from their extreme, post-pandemic lows, you could ladder CDs or Treasury bonds to preserve access to your money and prevent its value from being eroded by inflation.
Stay the course
If you’re a 401(k) investor, this step is easy: Don’t pause your payroll contributions even if the market is in free fall. This is your best chance to buy equities at a discount, Johnson points out. “It’s called dollar-cost averaging, and that helps to mitigate” the financial hit of your total balance dropping.
Above all, avoid the impulse to yank your money out of stocks and stash it in cash, LaVigne warns. While the impulse is understandable, pulling your money out of the market after a downturn only makes recovering harder. “You’re creating a permanent loss,” he says.
“One of the reasons individual investors don’t do as well as the S&P is because of human behavior,” he says. “It’s not because of market performance, it’s because of human performance.”

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Anthropic paused free Claude Team and API credit offers for startups just days after launching the expanded program, triggering backlash from users.

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Why we love this deal

There are so many different types of outdoor furniture to choose from; it can be hard to know what’s best for your needs. That said, everyone could use a little extra storage space. That’s why we were excited to find a five-piece wicker patio set that includes storage in the coffee table, on sale during Walmart’s Deals. The furniture is durable, beautiful, and above all functional, making this deal a good one to consider before it’s too late. 

Walmart has slashed the price of its Elposun 5-Piece Wicker Patio Set, and that’s good news for shoppers. It’s currently just $103. With an original price of $216, this discount shouldn’t be ignored. It’s not often you can get such an impressive patio set for 52% off. Even when you factor in the $50 shipping cost, you’re getting an amazing bargain. If you want to lock in this price, then you’d better do so soon, as there are only a few days left until Walmart Deals ends on Oct. 11. 

Elposun 5-Piece Wicker Patio Set, $103 (was $216) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

Shop at Walmart

Why do shoppers love it?

This set includes two high-back chairs, a coffee table, and two ottomans. The entire set is made of thick and strong powder-coated stainless steel. Each piece is corrosion resistant and rustproof. The hand-woven rattan wicker that surrounds each frame is weather resistant and fadeproof , making it an ideal choice for year-round outdoor use. The cushion covers also have a water resistant seal, so they’re safe to brave the elements for months at a timel.

Speaking of the cushion covers, they have a zipper enclosure which allows you to remove them whenever you wish for machine washing. The cold water cycle will have them looking like new in no time, and they can be tumble dried on a low heat setting. Each of the cushions is thick enough to provide soft seating while still being firm enough to be supportive to your back. The two wicker footrests also have cushions on top, making them ideal for putting your feet up after a long day’s work. 

The small coffee table is the perfect size for backyard snacks, drinks, or even your tablet or laptop computer. The tempered glass tabletop is shatterproof and scratch resistant, so you don’t have to worry about it being outside 24/7. The table also has a lower storage shelf that makes it convenient for keeping items close at hand. No matter what you want to keep nearby, this little shelf is strong enough to handle it. 

Related: Walmart’s $356 4-piece patio set is 45% off

Walmart shoppers were extremely happy with this patio set. One touted the “beautiful chairs” before adding, “The cushions are quite nice.” Many reviewers also praised how easy the set is to assemble. 

Shop more deals 

Elposun 7-Piece Patio Furniture Set, $319 (was $675) at Walmart

Grezone 9-Piece Outdoor Patio Furniture, $690 (was $1,060) at Walmart

Lofka 5-Piece Patio Furniture Set, $189 (was $380) at Walmart

The Elposun 5-Piece Wicker Patio Set is a great buy for anyone who appreciates good quality outdoor furniture at a great price. We recommend you take a look at it now rather than waiting, as it’s a clearance deal and could sell out at any time.

Advanced Micro Devices crossed a $1 trillion market value on September 21. Its shares are now up about 203% this year. Few companies have been rewarded this quickly for their place in the AI boom.

Yet the bigger story is not the stock price. It is the problem sitting underneath it. CEO Lisa Su took that problem to Asia, meeting suppliers in Taiwan with a trip to South Korea still ahead. What she told reporters there says a lot about where AMD goes next.

Also read: Bank of America resets AMD price target after major milestone

CEO Su promises a big supply jump in 2027

Speaking to reporters in Taipei on October 6, Su said AMD will add a lot more supply next year. The visit centered on raising CPU and GPU output to match the demand she expects.

“We’ve been able to increase our supply as we’ve gone through 2026, and we’re going to substantially increase our supply in 2027, but we can definitely use more,” she said.

The trip was about making sure partners can actually build that volume. Su met with Acer, Asus, Foxconn, Quanta and TSMC. AMD is also raising its Taiwan investment beyond the more than $10 billion it announced in May, though it gave no new figure.

AMD has also changed how far ahead it plans. The company used to look one to two years out with suppliers. Now it works on a three-to-five-year window so capacity comes online together.

The longer planning horizon gives suppliers enough visibility to bring wafer, packaging, and other capacity online at the same time. “There’s very, very high demand for the next several years,” Su said.

Asked whether TSMC had discussed a Texas investment with AMD, Su did not answer directly. She said AMD would need more advanced wafer capacity. TSMC is weighing a multibillion-dollar Texas campus on top of the $265 billion already committed to Arizona, Bloomberg reported. The proposed Texas fabs could each cost at least $20 billion, according to people familiar with the plans.

Advanced Micro Devices crossed a $1 trillion market value on September 21.Bloomberg / Getty Images

Memory may be the harder squeeze

Logic chips are only half the job. Su said AMD is working closely with memory chipmakers to lock in supply. She made those comments just before her planned visit to South Korea to meet Samsung and SK Hynix.

AMD needs more than one kind of memory. Su pointed to high-bandwidth memory for AI servers as well as conventional memory for CPUs and personal computers. The company is chasing supply across several product lines at once. She added that AMD is coordinating with both suppliers and customers on those needs.

The market she is shopping in is brutally tight. SK Hynix expects customer demand to remain above its supply capacity even beyond 2030. Micron has already sold out its high-bandwidth memory supply for 2026, according to Reuters.

SK Hynix holds roughly 50% of the HBM market, ahead of Samsung at 33% and Micron at 18%.

Prices are moving the wrong way for buyers too. Nvidia CFO Colette Kress told investors that memory price increases have exceeded the company’s expectations and are headed even higher into next year. If the market leader feels that pressure, AMD will feel it as well.

Wall Street has already placed its bet

Investors have not waited for the new capacity to arrive. AMD shares hit an intraday record of $615.52 on September 21, pushing the company past $1 trillion in value for the first time.

AMD is still the challenger, though. Nvidia’s data center unit generated $89 billion in its latest quarter, more than 13 times AMD’s $6.7 billion. Nvidia’s roughly $5.5 trillion market value is only about five times AMD’s, as reported by Reuters.

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A big part of the rating traces back to OpenAI. The October 2025 deal calls for AMD to supply 6 gigawatts of GPUs over several years, starting with 1 gigawatt of MI450 chips in the second half of 2026. OpenAI also received warrants to purchase up to 160 million AMD shares, about 10% of the company, tied to deployment milestones.

The squeeze is not limited to AI accelerators. KeyBanc said back in January that AMD was largely sold out of server CPUs for 2026 because of hyperscaler demand. It also said AMD could raise prices by 10% to 15%. The firm expected AI revenue of $14 billion to $15 billion this year.

What this means for AMD investors

Su was not all business in Taipei. She called AI potentially “incredibly good for the world” but said companies need to think carefully about the risks. She pointed to the White House summit, where tech firms committed to working with independent auditors on their AI systems, according to Reuters. For chip suppliers, that kind of industry-government alignment tends to reduce regulatory uncertainty down the road.

What does this mean for shareholders? Right now, supply is what stands between AMD and more revenue. The company’s second-quarter data center revenue hit $6.7 billion, up 107% from a year ago. The demand is already there. Each additional wafer Su locks in is revenue AMD would otherwise leave on the table.

The risk is that much of this is already priced in, while memory costs keep rising and new capacity takes years to build. The stock rose 2.8% after Su’s comments.

Investors betting on AMD now are betting that Su’s three-to-five-year plan actually delivers on schedule. The 2027 supply ramp is the next real proof point to watch.

Related: Meta Muse gives AMD and Intel investors a reason to cheer

Supply disruptions during the Atlantic hurricane season usually end up being a blip. This year could be very different.

SoundOn is tapping fitness, dance and fashion creators to introduce A$AP Ferg’s new single, “Cycle,” to new listeners and explore how TikTok engagement can drive streaming growth.

Your dog is slowing down on the evening walk, and you’ve already started scrolling through supplement listings at midnight. I get it. I did the same thing when my Lab mix Rufus turned ten and stopped meeting me at the door. Somewhere between the third browser tab and the fourth “vet recommended” badge, the whole category starts to blur.
Here’s the short version before you spend a dollar. Mushroom supplements for dogs are not a magic fix, but the good ones are genuinely worth trying, especially for older animals dealing with mobility or focus issues. The catch is that the shelf is crowded with powders made from mycelium grown on grain, which is mostly starch. Learning to tell the difference takes about ten minutes and will save you a lot of money.
Most of what you’ll read about Mushrooms for Dogs splits into two camps: people who swear by them and people who call the whole thing a gimmick. Both are partially right, and the deciding factor is almost always what’s actually inside the bottle. So let’s talk about how to check that.
What functional mushrooms actually do for a dog
Functional mushrooms are the fungi people eat for a specific purpose rather than for flavor. Reishi, turkey tail, lion’s mane, chaga, cordyceps, and maitake each carry compounds called beta glucans and triterpenes that researchers have studied for decades in human contexts. In dogs, the interest centers on the same broad areas: normal immune response, joint comfort, digestion, and cognitive sharpness in seniors.
Notice the wording. Nobody credible claims these cure anything in your pet. A mushroom extract is a supporting player, not a treatment plan. If your dog has a diagnosed condition, that conversation belongs to your veterinarian, full stop. What the supplements can do is give an aging body some raw material it might use well.
My honest read after three years of using these with Rufus: the changes are quiet. He climbs the stairs a little easier. He’s more present in the evenings. If you’re expecting a different dog in a week, you’ll be disappointed and you’ll blame the product.
Why most mushroom powders are a waste of money
This is the part that made me angry the first time I learned it. Walk into any pet store and grab a random “mushroom blend.” Flip the bag over. If the first ingredient says mycelium, or “myceliated grain,” you’re largely holding ground-up oats or rice with a little fungus threading through it.
That’s not a scam in the legal sense. It’s cheap to produce, and the label isn’t lying. But you’re paying premium prices for filler, and the active compounds end up as a rounding error. According to the National Agricultural Library, mushrooms and their cultivation have been studied extensively for their nutritional and bioactive properties, and the research consistently centers on the fruiting body, which is the actual mushroom you’d recognize, not the root-like network it grows from.
What you want on that label is one phrase: 100% fruiting body. Two extraction methods, typically hot water and alcohol, matter too, because some compounds dissolve in water and others only in alcohol. A product using both is called dual extracted, and that’s the standard worth paying for.
A thirty-second label test
Before you buy anything, do this with the bag in your hand:

Find the ingredient list. If “mycelium” or “myceliated grain” leads, put it back.
Look for “fruiting body” and a mushroom species name, not a vague “mushroom blend.”
Check whether the label mentions dual extraction or lists both water and alcohol on the process.
Squint at the beta glucan figure. A number listed with no testing method behind it is decoration.
Confirm there’s a way to reach the company with a real question. A contact form that goes nowhere tells you plenty.

That last one sounds trivial. It isn’t. The brands doing careful work tend to be the ones willing to talk about it.
Which mushroom fits your dog’s situation?
You don’t need a cabinet full of bottles. Match the fungus to the concern and give it several weeks before you judge anything.

Concern

Mushroom to look for

What pet parents usually notice
 

Stiff mornings, slower stairs

Reishi, maitake

Easier movement over weeks, not days

Senior fog, staring at walls

Lion’s mane

More engagement and recognition

Loose stools, picky eating

Turkey tail

Steadier digestion and appetite

Low energy on walks

Cordyceps

A bit more stamina and interest

Itchy, dull coat

Chaga, reishi

Less scratching and a shinier coat

If your dog is healthy and middle aged, turkey tail is where I’d start. It’s the most studied of the group and the least likely to cause any upset. For a senior with cognitive changes, lion’s mane is the one I’d pick first, and I’d give it a solid two months before deciding.
How to introduce them without a mess
Start with a fraction of the suggested serving and hold it there for a week. Tinctures go under the tongue or into the food bowl, and most dogs don’t notice a few drops mixed into wet food. Powders are easier to hide but harder to dose consistently, so measure rather than eyeball it. Watch for loose stool, vomiting, or unusual lethargy. A small share of dogs react to new supplements, and stopping is the right call if that happens.
According to the American Kennel Club, any new addition to your dog’s routine is best introduced gradually and monitored, and supplements are no exception. Keep notes on the calendar so you’re judging behavior against something real instead of a vague memory.
One more practical thing. If your dog takes medication for a heart condition, seizures, or a clotting disorder, call your vet before adding anything. Mushroom extracts can interact with how the body processes certain drugs, and that’s a conversation worth having with someone who knows your specific animal.
What the regulatory picture looks like
Here’s the uncomfortable truth about this whole category. Supplements for pets don’t go through the same pre-market approval that drugs do. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversees animal supplements under a framework that puts most of the responsibility on manufacturers to label and market products honestly, which means a flashy bottle proves nothing on its own.
That’s not a reason to avoid the category. It’s a reason to buy from companies that publish their sourcing, name their growing region, and submit their formulas to independent testing. Several do. The ones that don’t tend to have beautiful websites and vague answers, and you can usually spot them in a five minute phone call.
My four rules for buying mushroom supplements for dogs
After a lot of trial and error, here’s what I actually do now. First, fruiting body only, no exceptions, even when the mycelium version costs half as much. Second, one mushroom at a time so I know what’s working. Third, at least eight weeks before I form an opinion, because that’s the realistic window. Fourth, a written record of what changed, because memory is a terrible witness when you’re hoping something worked. The same habit shows up in the ten minutes a dog gets before the laptop opens.
If you follow those four rules, you’ll waste less money than most people do, and you’ll have an actual answer about whether mushrooms help your dog instead of a feeling. Rufus still takes his lion’s mane every morning, mixed into a spoonful of wet food. He’s thirteen now, and last month he met me at the door again. Could be the mushrooms, could be the cooler weather, could be him deciding the couch was boring. I don’t need to know for certain, but I do want you to know what you’re buying before you start. Pull up the ingredient list on whatever’s in your cart right now and check the first word. What does it say?
The post Functional Mushrooms for Dogs: What Pet Parents Need to Know Before Buying appeared first on Addicted 2 Success.

The October 15 tax-extension deadline is approaching, and failing to file could result in costly IRS penalties and mounting interest. Rackaye Christie of Manifest Tax Services explains why taxpayers should submit their returns on time—even if they cannot pay the full balance—and why the late-filing penalty can be more damaging than the late-payment penalty.

Transcript:

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Rackaye, it’s so great to see you. Thanks for popping on the program this morning.

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

Absolutely, Jeff. Thanks for having me.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

I appreciate it. Here we are. It’s Friday morning.

You and I are chatting, but just around the corner is October 15th. Outside of it being a day, my first question is, this is a pretty meaningful day on the tax filing calendar, is it not?

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

Yes. Actually, the importance of that is so overlooked because I feel like we as taxpayers, we hear about the April 15th or 17th date, tax deadline. But for those people who have requested an extension, this is a pretty significant day because this is also another deadline calendar date for the IRS that you have to get it done.

You requested the extension and now the time is here where you have to submit that tax return.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

I guess just to follow up on that, and thank you for that explanation. I would hope, but I don’t want to make the assumption that people are already working with tax experts like yourself to meet that deadline. If not, can you file another extension after the 15th, or is this the drop-dead date you got to do it?

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

This is the drop-dead date that you have to do it if you requested an extension. Let me clarify one thing that a lot of people don’t know. If you did not request an extension on the last day of April, well, April is the last filing day, April 15th or 17th.

If you did not request an extension that day, you’re already late. But for the people who requested the extension, and it is an application that you have to work with a professional or maybe you do it yourself that you submit and IRS now knows, we’re moving that deadline out to October 15th. A lot of people don’t realize that if you don’t meet this deadline, there’s no more extension, and that is the accumulation of interest and penalties that starts from the 15th.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Let’s talk about that. I would prefer to talk about the carrot rather than the stick, but let’s talk about the stick because there are penalties that happen if you do not do the filing. Every American, I would assume, has to file taxes and they have to file this tax return.

What happens if I don’t do what I’m supposed to do by the 15th?

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

If you don’t do what you’re supposed to do by the 15th and you are going to owe taxes whenever you do file that tax return, the IRS is just waiting for you to do it. If you never do, the interest just keeps compounded month after month. The IRS has a calculator for late filers, so you get a $525 penalty late file automatically or 100 percent of what you owe.

If you’re going to owe $1,700, the IRS in their rule book can charge you a late fee of up to that $1,700, but a minimum of $525. I’m sorry, go ahead. Finish your thought.

On top of that, there’s also interest on what you owe.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Let me just follow through on that. Let’s just say hypothetically, again, we’re talking carrot and stick, the best thing is always do it. If you don’t do it, what happens if you get fined?

You get this interest plus you get up to $1,700 in addition to what you owe. Can they, they meaning the IRS, can they come after your wages? Can they garnish wages like a collection agency if you don’t do this over a period of time?

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

Yes. I think one of the biggest things that taxpayers need to be aware of is whether you are a business owner or a W-2 employee or a 1099 contractor, whomever employs you are probably reporting you on their taxes. If you avoid tax and you don’t file your taxes, that entity that paid you is probably using you as a deduction.

Something I’ve seen with taxpayers in my business and been in the space for some time is you assume that, hey, I’m just not going to file. Well, the IRS has already gotten a projection of what you made, which is income. Because said company reported that they paid you $100,000 on the W-2.

They already know. They’re just expecting you to file. If you never file, the accumulation is what would be the taxes on the $100,000 income that you made, or in the case of a business, the 1099 that you got from a company that you contracted with.

If you never do that, they can still come after your wages. Yes, they can garnish your bank account. They can put levies or leads against your properties that you owe.

If you own a home, they can put a lien against the home. I’ve seen that first case where a homeowner is trying to sell their home, but the IRS will have to be paid first from whatever the profits or proceeds that you get from the sale of the home.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

It’s probably best that you don’t run afoul. I think most Americans know this. It’s probably best you don’t run afoul of the IRS.

Let me ask you, just to follow up to that, Rakeh, if they do put a lien against my, say Jeff Snyder didn’t do the filings, didn’t pay his taxes, if they put a lien against me, does it also impact my credit score? Let’s talk a little bit about that because that credit score, you can’t help, you need that for everything in terms of borrowing. That’s an important number.

Does that also count or does it get impact in any way, the credit score of the individual?

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

That is a perfect question. Now, it can show up on your credit report as a debt. So in some cases, it can affect your score because it depends on how much you owe.

There are times when it does not show up on your credit and you just don’t know. You know there’s a debt there, but it’s assigned to anything, real property. So if there’s a lien and it shows up against real property, is if you own a vehicle, they can do a title search and they can find these things.

The IRS, a lot of times they attach to real estate like properties that you owe. So if you ever were to make a sale or attempt to sale, that is one of the first liens that will be paid. You can’t do anything about it.

To answer your question, when it comes to a credit report, sometimes not necessarily. The one size doesn’t fit all. Do you understand?

But if you do have a lien or debt, you’ll always be against your name, so you will never get a refund. So if you ever go back and file, the monies that you owe has to be satisfied first before you ever see a credit from the IRS. But it doesn’t show up on your credit report.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Thank you for clarifying that. You know, I know plenty of people that work for the Internal Revenue Service. They’re not heartless, cold people.

Say you can’t make your payment for whatever reason. Maybe you’re having difficulty finding a job. Maybe you’ve got some competing priorities.

As a tax preparer, I’m sure you’re an advocate for your clients, but will they work with you to create like a payment plan? Because ultimately, the IRS wants to be paid. So will they work with people that can’t afford to pay all the money up front?

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

Absolutely. I say it is a reasonable conversation. The IRS does have measures in place that even if you can’t pay your tax debt, still file because filing is a compliance check.

Once you file, you are now in compliance. You can’t qualify for a payment arrangement if you have not filed. So there are certain benchmarks that the IRS looks for to be able to see what you qualify for.

They also have different type of conditional offers or acceptance that different people may qualify for. It could mean that, hey, I have a 0% on that debt for a certain amount of time because you applied for an exception and you got it. There’s also abatement that can happen.

So every situation varies. But the first step is filing. And that is the first action to show good faith to be able to qualify for any other programs that the IRS has.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

And that’s the benefit of working with someone like yourself as a tax professional is that you probably have relationships with many of the people at the Internal Revenue Service, so you can be an advocate and say, hey, Jane Doe, John Doe, they’ve done X, Y, and Z. How can we broker a payment plan or something like that?

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

Absolutely. It is one of those situations where when you work with a tax professional like myself and we have the credentials with the IRS, we can advocate on your behalf. We can paint the picture to the IRS representative.

Or there’s already tools that we know from looking over your particular circumstance that you will qualify for. We could submit that application on your behalf and wait for the IRS to approve it. Sometimes it’s over the phone agreement.

Sometimes it’s something that we have to prepare in fax or mail. So it’s always good to work with a professional who understands the resolution component of the IRS.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, like I said, they want to get paid the money. They don’t want to chase people down. That’s not a fun job.

I got a question for you that’s maybe a little bit out of left field, but I’m going to ask it anyway. And that is in terms of your role as a tax preparer, how are you seeing artificial intelligence kind of, is it creeping into your business? And if so, how is it?

What are you seeing in terms of its implementation within accounting and tax preparation, if I may ask?

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

I believe the use of artificial intelligence has been penetrating the financial services significantly, particularly in my firm. We do use tools on the intake process, but not necessarily preparing taxes. There are chatbots that I’ve seen different firms utilize to support their staff.

It’s like a SOP that is created into an AI that say, if this were to happen, what should this happen? What should happen? And I feel like that helps to transform because it is the key players in the business, technical skills that is used to train these AI bots.

So there are times when AI can be a benefit. There is a strict guidance, especially from the IRS and also just from handling personal information for individuals as to not to utilize AI for that. But when it comes to generic handling administrative work inside of a firm, I do feel like it brings more efficiencies and it can add to the deliverable time.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, it’s really hard to replace all that expertise that you have gained over the course, and others like you over the course of your career. But from what I understand, it’s become very complimentary. Rackaye, we’re going to have to leave it there.

Thank you so much for making a few minutes. And look, we look forward to having you back on the program again very soon.

Rackaye Christie, MBA, Manifest Tax Services

Thank you, Jeff. Appreciate your time. Thank you.