by Karla Dennis | Dec 20, 2018 | Blog
This post was originally published on Sept 25, 2015, and updated on December 20, 2018. Being self-employed is one of the best-kept secrets in the tax code. s a matter of fact, the self-employed individuals have their own tax code; a lot of hidden deductions, a treasure trove of deductions that are for the self-employed individuals. I will show you what you can deduct as a self-employed person. During strategic tax planning, I will show you how to take these deductions based on your unique vision, and that’s really the key. We have to have your unique vision written out to discover the deductions that are unique to you. We are going to be deducting a portion of your mortgage; perhaps a portion of your rent, home expenses, car expenses, travel expenses, entertainment, computers, software, cell phones, printers- and guess what? Even your kids’ allowance. That’s really important, especially in my world because I have four kids, and getting those kids’ allowance deductible is really important to me. read...
by Karla Dennis | Dec 12, 2018 | Blog
Job Skills Assessment If you’re looking for a job for the first time or you’d like to switch careers, you may be wondering where your talents lie. The one thing you know is that you want to find a job that you enjoy, but how can you tell what you would be good at before you get the job? The best way to determine a job worth pursuing is by doing a job skills assessment. A self-assessment will allow you to explore your personality type, find out what you’re good at, and determine your values. Here’s a list of questions that may be a part of a self-assessment: • Do you tend to be introverted or extroverted? • Do you generally remain calm, or do you get nervous easily? • How organized are you? • What is your general temperament? • What are your general interests? • Do you enjoy risky situations? read...
by Karla Dennis | Dec 5, 2018 | Blog
8 Tips for Improving Your Credit Score The first step to improving your credit score is to obtain a current copy of your credit report. Once you have something to work from, you’ll know where you stand and you can take action to improve your credit and raise your score. There are many systems and companies out there that’ll advertise a “free” credit report, only to enroll you into other paid programs or recurring memberships. These paid programs may benefit you, but read the fine print to ensure you’re getting only what you need. read...
by Karla Dennis | Nov 28, 2018 | Blog
Overcoming Financial Strain Financial strain is probably the biggest cause of stress, especially in today’s economy. With so many people losing their jobs, just trying to make ends meet can cause added stress to your already stressful lives. The good news is that there’s a way out! Map Out a Plan If you are not on a budget, you must get on one. I know the word budget seems like a bad word, and it does require effort and planning, but it is the best way to relieve financial stress. Living on a budget means you’re in control of your money, instead of your money controlling you. read...
by Karla Dennis | Nov 21, 2018 | Blog
Journaling to Increase Self-Understanding Do you feel like your emotions are complicated and confusing? If you struggle to understand why you feel or react the ways you do, you might benefit from using a journal. Journaling can help you appropriately identify and express your feelings to increase self-understanding. Once you learn to identify and deal with your feelings in acceptable ways, you have truly mastered self-understanding. By merely jotting down what’s going on with you and how you feel about it, you can get a handle on your emotions. Writing your feelings in a journal helps increase self-understanding in four ways: 1. Journaling compels you to think about and process a particular situation or occurrence. When you write about an event, you automatically process the event through words and description. Recording the situation in writing can lead you to notice details you hadn’t noticed when the event took place, thus increasing your insight about the situation. * While journaling, put aside other thoughts and just focus on the situation. 2. Journaling allows you time to identify feelings about the situation. Chances are you may not have time to analyze every event as it occurs throughout the day. However, if you pledge to journal, you know that you’ll later take the opportunity to reflect on important occurrences and consider how you felt about them. * Labeling your feelings leads to a better understanding of how you respond in certain situations. * Use “feeling” words when describing your emotions about a situation or event. Examples of feeling words are, “pumped,” “annoyed,” “ecstatic,” and “angry.” * A helpful sentence structure to use...
by Karla Dennis | Nov 13, 2018 | Blog
Some beliefs have the power to stop you in your tracks. If you believe that you could never run a marathon, you’d never try. Some toxic beliefs can permeate multiple areas of your life. These beliefs are more damaging than specific beliefs. Believing you can never learn to play the banjo doesn’t have the same negative impact as the belief that you’re too old to follow your dreams. Rid yourself of the toxic beliefs that limit your life: It’s too late, or I’m too old. Sometimes it is too late. You’re probably not going to start playing in the NBA if you’re 43 years old. But the number of things you can do is far greater than the number of things you can’t. Colonel Sanders didn’t settle on a chicken recipe until he was 49 years old. You know who he is, and you’ve eaten his chicken. There have been a few medical students that didn’t get started until their 60’s. Avoid jumping to conclusions regarding your age. You can do a lot more than you think. Failure is bad. Failure is normal. If you’re living, you’re also failing from time to time. The trick is to fail in the right way and make good use of it. Failure is nothing more than an undesired result. Take the opportunity to learn from your failures and adjust your approach. If one way doesn’t work, try another. If you continue to improve your method, how can you possibly fail over the long haul? The past equals the future. You have a fantastic ability to change and adapt. Just because you’ve...
