Tax season can bring on some added stress, but Tori Dunlap has a solution to make it a little easier – and a lot more delicious.
The financial educator and founder of Her First $100K has teamed up with QDOBA to bring some much needed “Guac Relief” to Tax Day, offering free guacamole on select entrees and a $5 reward for fans who share their extra-guac horror stories.
Alongside the flavorful collab, Dunlap is also using the moment to drop real talk on money myths, tax mistakes, and why you shouldn’t feel guilty about treating yourself.
Tori Dunlap And QDOBA Team Up For Tasty Collab
Dunlap, founder of Her First $100K, is helping to share some delicious wealth during a stressful time for many – tax season. Nothing says comfort food quite like QDOBA and extra guac!
“Everything’s really expensive right now. I feel it both as a financial educator and a financial expert, but also just as a human being,” she told The Blast exclusively.
“One of the things that I love that QDOBA is doing is that there is free guac on any entree that’s create-your-own. And I think the demonization of avocado toast in the personal finance community has been really tough. This is a nice way of having a little bit of luxury while everything just feels really expensive.”
How You Can Get A $5 Reward At QDOBA
Now through April 15, QDOBA is giving Rewards members a chance to score some extra flavor this tax season with its “Tax Day Guac Relief” promo. Fans can take a quick survey sharing a time they paid extra for guacamole somewhere else. They’ll then get a $5 reward to use toward any full-sized entree.
To participate in the tasty fun, simply enroll in QDOBA Rewards, complete the survey at TaxDayGuacRelief.com by April 15 and the reward will be automatically added to their account on April 20 for use through April 26.
“That’s a really nice way of just making things a little easier and it’s definitely what I am doing on Tax Day,” she continued. “After the stress of the period, I’m going and stuffing my face with guacamole. It really truly is my comfort meal.”
She added, “Ordering at QDOBA is really easy. I was literally just there last week and it took me like four minutes to create my little burrito bowl. It’s a lot easier than trying to navigate everything taxes, even as a financial expert.”
Talking About Taxes…
When asked what one of the biggest mistakes people make during tax season, she said there are two things that instantly come to mind.
“One is trying to get a tax refund. That is a huge mistake. Your tax refund is basically you’ve lent the government money for nine months, right? That is your money and I think what often happens is one, we try to get a refund, but also two, when we get that refund, we misuse it,” she said. “That is your money; you worked hard for it. It is not like winning the lottery or Monopoly money. We want to make sure we have something to show for it, so we actually want to try to avoid a tax refund so that you are keeping more of your money year-round.”
She added that if you do happen to get a refund, you want to make sure you are using it in the best way, which includes building your financial goals but also analyzing how you got the refund and making sure you avoid it next time.
“And I think the second biggest mistake is, and I can say this a million times and people are still going to ignore me but is not waiting until two weeks before or even two days before to create a financial system throughout the whole year that can help you,” she said.
When it comes to a tax write off or strategy that most people aren’t taking into consideration, Dunlap said many aren’t classifying their business as a business, especially as a freelancer.
“First thing I will say is I am not an accountant, but I think the biggest one I am actually seeing is a lot of people are running businesses but they’re not classifying that as a business. If you are a freelancer or do any sort of work for yourself, there is a huge opportunity for you to get a lot of tax write offs,” she said. “You can write off part of your rent as a home office. You can write off your phone bill. You can write off your laptop.”
Tori Dunlap Said You Should Treat Yourself!
While Dunlap said spending all your tax refund splurging on something big isn’t the answer, she does believe you should “treat yourself” from time to time.
“I am always about treat yourself. My work is very much about personal finance, but also, life is meant to be lived,” she said. “If you know, you can tell me to go on a spending diet, we know that diets don’t work 99 percent of the time, and that’s not willpower, that’s just psychology. I am not saying to never celebrate or never make sure you are incorporating things into your budget that you want to spend, whether that is going to QDOBA or something else.”
While tons of people on social media love to give financial advice with many of it not being the best advice, Dunlap said there are a few money myths that drive her crazy.
“I think the biggest one is the demonizing of certain spending. Again, the latte or the avocado toast. I think that ultimately those are not the reason you’re not rich,” she said. “There’s a lot of systemic factors at play for the reason you’re not rich, but there’s also a lack of education in personal finance.”
At the end of the day, she said it’s not necessarily the things you’re spending your money on that is the reason you can’t afford to buy a house. She said you should be spending your money according to your values on things that you love while also making sure to progress in your financial goals.
“I hate the financial experts that tell you drinking coffee or ordering avocados or guacamole is the reason you’re not rich,” she said. “I am like, no it’s not. It’s categorically not. And I have both the number and the vibes to prove it.”
More About Tori Dunlap
Dunlap is a personal finance educator, entrepreneur, and founder of Her First $100K, which focuses on helping women take control of their money.
Known for her approachable and relatable, no-shame style, Dunlap breaks down topics such as debt payoff, investing, and saving for a new generation. She’s also the author of the New York Times bestselling book, “Financial Feminist” and the host of the top-ranked podcast of the same name, where she blends practical money advice with a mission to close the gender wealth gap.
“Her First $100K is a financial platform for women. We’ve helped over five million women save money, pay off debt, escape abusive relationships, build generational wealth. It’s what I believe I was put on this earth to do,” she said. She added that her favorite thing to do is “fight for women’s financial rights and give them the resources to actually better their money in a way that doesn’t feel restrictive.”
You can learn more about Dunlap on her website and Instagram page.