Taxes

January Monthly Goals–Not Met Yet!

MC900434929-1Wow, it’s hard to believe the month of January is almost over.  Where did it go?

Each year I start out with great intentions yet somehow time gets away from me. This year I decided to try something different to help keep me on track.  I wrote out a monthly plan of goals I want to work on.

I know I won’t meet January’s goals. Of course that could be because I didn’t write them down until the middle of the month. Oh well, there’s still four days left to work on them! …

January Monthly Goals–Not Met Yet! Read More »

So Many Things All At The Same Time

This is the time of year where so many things are happening at the same time.  In the next three weeks there is Easter, Passover, taxes (USA) due, and Spring has come extra early with gardening chores in full gear.  As Willie Wonka said in “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”:

“So much time, and so little to do! Strike that, reverse it.”                                          ~ Willy Wonka

 

Tax formsRight now I’m trying to finish up the taxes so I get them out of the way. They are due three weeks from today (April 17th) so it’s time to finish them up if you haven’t already.

 

Passover matzoA week from this coming Friday is the first Passover Seder.  I’m using my planner ( see last blog post on how to set one up) to help me stay organized. I’ve already purchased some of the food items. I check the planner on a daily basis to see what babysteps I can take each day to help me prepare for my company ahead of time and prevent the last minute panic. I’m still working on changing my lifelong procrastination habit!

 

Easter is less than two weeks away so if you celebrate this holiday and are having the family over you should also be taking babysteps to prevent the last minute panic.

CB030060If you haven’t see up a planner yet I suggest you do it today. It gives you a place to write down all the information and schedules so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to remember to do something. 

 

 

Here are some sites to help you prepare for either or both holidays.

Easter:

http://holidays.kaboose.com/easter/

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/easter-fun/

http://wilstar.com/holidays/easter.htm

http://www.holidays.net/easter/

Passover:

http://www.aish.com/h/pes/

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/holidaya.html

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/default_cdo/jewish/Passover.htm

To a lighter load along the way!

Janice

 

 

 

 

So Many Things All At The Same Time Read More »

Organize Your Tax Papers

It’s income tax time again, Americans: time to gather up those receipts, get out those tax forms, sharpen up that pencil, and stab yourself in the aorta.    ~Dave Barry

Last night I decided it was time to start getting all my tax papers together and organized. All year long I put receipts, pay stubs, and other tax related papers into folders. Now I need to separate the papers in each folder by category to make it easier to do my taxes.

I use Turbo Tax and when you go through the program it asks for information in a certain order. You may use a different tax program but it probably works the same way. By having the papers separated it’s much easier, faster, and less likely I will not miss entering any information.

Here are the categories I use to separate my papers.

Income:

  • W-2’s
  • 1099’s: Misc., Retirement, Interest, Dividends, etc.
  • Investment Income: Brokerage and bank year end statements

Deductions:

  • Charity donations
  • Mortgage Interest
  • Property taxes
  • Student loan interest paid
  • College expenses
  • Medical expenses

If you have business income and will be filing a Schedule C (self employment) then gather all those papers and separate them by income and expenses.

Now you’ll be ready to sit down and do those taxes.

Today, it takes more brains and effort to make out the income-tax form than it does to make the income.   ~Alfred E. Neuman

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

P.S.  If you’re looking for support with dealing with paper clutter, join the free private Facebook group. “Controlling Paper Clutter Support Group” 

 

 

Organize Your Tax Papers Read More »