Many people I talk to have worries around finances and money.  Renee Daggett has some tips aimed at business to make life easy when dealing with the money aspect of business.  Although these are aimed at businesses many of them can be used for personal finances too.  Many of the less stressed people I have met treat their personal finances as if they were a business and by having systems in place reduce the worry potentially tied to money.

The information below about Renee comes directly from her website www.adminbooks.com

Renee Daggett – President, Administrative Bookkeeping

Certified QuickBooks Consultant with Intuit and The Sleeter Group, is the founder and President of Administrative Bookkeeping Co., Inc. She received a bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University in 1989.

Because education is important to her, Renee teaches QuickBooks classes for beginners and a QuickBooks class specifically for real estate investors and property managers. Born and raised in California and happily married since 1990, Renee is the mother of two sons. She lives her life with purpose and thrives on helping her clients do so as well.

Business Tips

• Keep all receipts.  Make copies of thermal receipts that fade over time

• Do not co-mingle personal and business expenses.  Make sure you have separate bank and credit card accounts for personal and business.  Credibility goes a long way in an audit.

• Meals are generally 50% deductible.  Make sure you document who you ate with and what business you discussed.  You must show intent to earn an income from the meal.  The only time meals are 100% deductible is if you ask employees to work overtime, coffee and water at the workplace, an occasional cocktail party or picnic or a holiday gift of food.   Having lunch or Starbucks by your self is not deductible!  Meals by yourself are not deductible unless you are traveling for business.

• Reconcile bank and credit card statements monthly.  This will reduce the chances of forgotten or transposition errors.  You can easily overstate or understate your income or expenses if you do not or leave un-cleared items in financial statements.

• The IRS has strict rules needed to substantiate expenses on the following categories: home office (regular & exclusive), business gifts, car & truck, travel, meals and entertainment.

• Business gifts are limited to $25 per person per year. If you and your spouse both give gifts, you are jointly limited to $25.  It does not matter whether you have separate businesses or an independent connection with the recipient.  Small gifts of $4 or less are not included in the $25 limit.  They can be imprinted items like pens or desk sets.  There is no limit if the gift is given to a corporation.

• All officer’s of a corporation must receive W-2 wages.  If an officer loans the company money, interest MUST be charged.  There must be a repayment plan written.

• Remember, tax laws change annually and they can be complex.  Always consult your CPA or Enrolled Agent for assistance, strategies and recommendations for your individual situation.

• Do not wait until the end of the year to enter all the income and expenses for your business.  If you do a little each month, tax season will not be stressful for you.  Also, having a “tax file folder” that you can put all your important documents in will help gather everything you need to take to your preparer.

• Keep a log book in each vehicle to record business miles.  Document date, beginning and ending odometer and the purpose of the trip.

• The following are NOT typically deductible: owners draw, credit card payments, dry cleaning costs, federal tax payments, clothing, or your morning coffee!  Seek advice.

• Collect any W-9’s from vendors.  Verify if you paid anyone over $600 that will require a 1099.  You will also need to send out a 1096. Call the IRS to get FREE forms: 1800-829-3676 (will take 2 weeks)

• Is your business a hobby?  The IRS can disallow any business losses if they think you are deducting activity that has elements of personal pleasure or recreation.  Ask yourself: how much time and effort do you spend in your business?  Do you have a written business plan?

• Corporations are required to keep annual minutes.  Anyone can sue for any reason.  Do not be lazy in completing your minutes.  Keep your liability veil strong.

• Business plans are crucial if you are serious about your business.  They force you to focus on your business to achieve a destination.  S.C.O.R.E. will provide FREE evaluation of your business plan.

• Budgets are not a four letter word.  They allow you to know exactly what your costs are – do you know??  What are your break-even costs for your business??

• Being able to read and understand financial statements is huge to the success of your business.  If you are not sure what they mean, ASK and get informed.  You cannot make wise decisions if you do not know your financial position.

• Do you know how the IRS determines if a person is an employee or independent contractor??  Be careful on this.  You will be subject to the highest penalties and interest if they find that you should have been paying someone as an employee, rather a contractor. Do it right!!

• Be careful if you extend credit to your customers.  Make sure you’re your business will not fail due to their uncollectible invoices.

• Remember to take a physical inventory count on the last day of the year.

• Remember to write down your ending mileage on December 31^st each year.

• Shoeboxes are for shoes, not for business records.  It is important to have clean, easy way of tracking your income and expenses, those you owe money to and those who owe you money.  This is not a luxury, but a necessity in order to make good business decisions.

Rule one, of course, is to book in advance – 14 days is good – 21 days  better. Booking more than 30 days in advance gives you time to look for specials.

If you fly on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, the fares are often less than weekend travel days of Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday especially after a big holiday weekend.  By coming home from Germany on Wednesday after New Years we saved $400 each on air fare and used that money to visit Munich for a few days.

Are you getting the best price available?  After finding your flight information, go to

Kayak.com, put in the exact same information, and watch Kayak spin through multiple combinations. My web site usually has the same prices as the low price for Kayak. JoansTravelAdventures.com

A great new web site for discount travel, especially international travel, Vayama.com

If you make an error, they are wonderful at helping you correct it.

I prefer the shortest travel times but two of my clients selected flights with 5 hour layovers in New York City. One took the A Train into Grand Central Station and had dinner; the other stayed in the airport meeting with her sister New Jersey for lunch.

We visited Sea World in Ft. Lauderdale on a long connection time, creating a vacation within a vacation.

Specials — If you find an incredible special, book it quickly.  I missed a $99 flight to New Hampshire because I wanted to check with my husband.

Work toward getting free flights with credit cards. Those opportunities are less than in the past, but still good.

The most amazing thing?  With 24 hours of travel time, you can be almost anywhere! What a miracle!

Joan Banks Stutes

408-806-7230

joan@joanstraveladventures.com

By Todd Maurice Hebert

Ginger was introduced to me at a very young age. My grandmother knew the power of ginger as did her mother before her. I am positive that if I was able to go back in time I would find that my ancestors started off with Wild Ginger which grows all over here in Vermont and is also medicinal but in smaller doses.

I remember every time I had a cold as a child my grandmother would brew up a cup of Ginger tea. I have to say it was not a pleasant experience but boy did it work. My grandmother who was Native American knew the herbs to use when sickness struck. She would make the ginger tea by boiling dried or fresh Ginger Root in water and adding a dabble of honey to help with the flavor. My grandmother has since passed on but as I am learning about herbalism I have come to realize that my grandmother was right.

Ginger is very powerful for colds and flu but what I have learned is that Ginger can also be used for other things. A few years back I was diagnosed with GERD a gastrointestinal disorder causing bloating and an upset stomach. I felt that I was always sick until I discovered that Ginger could be used to treat this illness. Ginger will help calm an upset stomach and will rid the body of toxins that cause such a thing. I cannot describe the difference this has made in my life. I no longer have to take chemicals (over the counter meds) such as Mylanta to calm my stomach.

Another great use I have found for Ginger is its heating ability. I have found that there are some cold people out there. I am not talking about rude people I am talking about people who are cold all the time. Ginger is a welcoming herb for these people. The heating power of Ginger brewed as a tea will warm them up and make them comfortable. Senior citizens are good candidates for the warming qualities of Ginger.

Well I have covered some of the great uses for Ginger. There are many more such as Ginger can be used to treat arthritis, colic, diarrhea, and heart conditions. I hope you will find that Ginger can be used to help you. It sure has helped me.