IRS Audit Red Flags: The Dirty Dozen - Kiplinger

As tax season approaches, this article will either soothe your fears or help you make sure you have the documentation you need. Good for small business owners as well as individuals.

IRS Audit Red Flags: The Dirty Dozen - Kiplinger

Tip:  book mark this link; the info is updated annually.

Ask a Stupid Question Day

I've just discovered  September 28th is Ask a Stupid Question Day. How much fun could you have with that! 

This and lots more is included in a FREE downloadable calendar from AWeber. It's meant for marketers to use to create fun ads, but I can also see using it to create parties or office contests around that day's or month's theme (did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month in the US?).

The calendar also includes major public holidays in several countries (US, Canada, the UK and Australia).

You can add this to your own Google Calendar or download it to your computer calendar. Here's where to go for more info and/or to download: Aweber .

If you download it to your Outlook, iCal, or Google calendar, make sure you create a separate calendar (for instance, name it Promotions or Event Ideas) first. Then download info into that calendar. That allows you to easily filter whether or not you see that info by checking or unchecking the 'show calendar' box.

Have fun with this. Would love your comments on how you might use this.

I can't stand that once I clean out my inbox, there's just more right behind it...

Have you ever thought 'I can't stand that once I clean out my inbox, there's just more right behind it, ready to fill it up again!'?  One of my client success stories in 2011 was a busy professional with this problem, times two (paper and email).

Our solution was multi-step. Two of the most successful strategies were:

• radically reduce the amount of paper coming in, signing up for e-delivery whenever possible (sounds counter-intuitive, but read on)
• Set up rules in email to auto delete the e-deliveries he would never read anyway (caution: note the 'from' email address, it is usually slightly different for different types of mail, even from the same corporate sender - so you can auto-delete the notification of a new prospectus without auto-deleting a personal message from your broker, for instance. By law the brokerage has to send you the prospectus, you can't opt out, but you do have the choice of paper or email delivery.)

The easy way to implement this strategy is daily, as you scan your mail. If you find yourself tossing envelopes aside (or in the trash or shredder) without opening them, ask yourself if the information is available easily available online (a bank statement, prospectus, or health insurance statement, for instance). If yes, this is a good candidate to 'go paperless'. You will need to spend a few minutes setting up online access, if you have not already done so, and verifying you can find the same information on the website, but that's a one-time investment of your time for never having to deal with a pile of paper statements again. [one caution - if you close an account, you may not be able to access the closed account statements online. Make sure you download what you need before closing the account].

And, for heaven's sake, sign up for auto-pay and paperless delivery of your utility bills. If you really want to check your usage, it's available online. 

The payoff? After a very busy December, when all he was doing was throwing new mail on his desk for 28 days, this client had only a small pile of mail to sort through on Dec 28, half of which were holiday cards. The entire processing time for 4 weeks worth of mail took him 1 hour. For you math whizzes, that's less than 2 1/2 minutes per day. 

Maura Raffensperger offers Inbox Simplicity, taking you from angst to ease in minutes a day. Call or email me if you would like to learn more about this program. 805-616-2466