Did you go to summer camp? Did you ever make a leather keyring for a parent with illegible initials burned into it? Did you receive a friendship bracelet that fell apart before you could remember the name of the person who made it for you? What about making ashtrays for people who didn’t smoke?
No? Read on, please.
As adults, we sometimes forget what made us so cool as little kids: a sense of adventure, a welcoming spirit, peeing in the woods. We have become so focused on the mundane that we have forgotten the beauty of the wind against butt cheeks in the silence of dawn.
Ladies and Gentlemen, if you don’t remember (or have never experienced these things) let me introduce you to the, adult only, summer camp, Camp Bonfire.
Camp Bonfire was first brought to my attention by a little magazine called Mel – Your Bathroom Reader, put out by Dollarshaveclub.com (oddly enough, it was in a public bathroom that I saw this). This camp is for adults who want to get away from it all in a loosely structured environment. According to their website at Campbonfire.com, the main premise of their existence is simple: We’re not here to fix you, cleanse you or launch you. We think you’re fantastic just the way you are. We’re here to be at summer camp, a place to relax, have adventures and connect.
What can one expect from an adult summer camp? Benjamin Camp, camp director/counselor, said “We wanted that traditional summer feel…the activities we have are pretty similar to what you’d find at a kid’s camp.” The man isn’t lying. They offer poetry, boating, archery, a talent show, even.
Of course, there are rules that are clearly defined on their website. Stripped down, the rules pretty much say: Don’t be a jerk. They provide alcoholic beverages at night, but direct those who would like to spend the weekend wasted to find another spot. Also, Camp Bonfire will not tolerate discrimination of any sort. They invite quite a diverse clientele and will not abide anyone treating other campers unkindly.
Oh, and don’t do drugs. According to the website: Your counselors want to play kickball…not feed you orange slices and wait for you to come down. See?! This is seriously summer camp for folks with their big girl/boy pants on!
I want to go and I think you should, too. A weekend spent in the Poconos wilderness with mellow folks looking for peace? Stop me when I’m wrong, but this sounds wonderful.
Bourke Accounting Clients, here is your mission: when you come in this year for your bookkeeping, financial and tax preparing needs, convince your Bourke Accounting associate that Camp Bonfire would make the perfect team/client building getaway. How can you really trust someone to do your taxes if you can’t trust them to help you build a kite?
Remind your Bourke Accounting expert that tax season just isn’t tax season without a skinned knee and a trust fall!
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon (hopefully at Camp Bonfire)!
There are a lot of things to worry about in this world: war, pollution, Social Security sustainability. Even closer to home, you get to worry if your kid is going to get into the school of her dreams, if your son will get his heart broken, even if you be able to retire before you turn 90. Yup. Lots of things to worry about.
So, here are 3 things you should ban from your Worry Plate:
1) Your armpits are fine. There is nothing wrong with your armpits. There are quite a few products out there that promise to lighten dark armpits and make your armpits kissably soft. These products also hint that your underarms aren’t as smooth as they ought to be. Armpits are kind of gross. They are dark and sweaty places. However, humans have sweaty armpits for a reason. Webmd.com reaffirms that “sweating is your body’s natural way of keeping cool.” Unless you have an oozing rash under your arms, you are okay. Don’t be mean to your pits.
2) Your eyelashes are fine. There is nothing wrong with your eyelashes. Many products on the market tell you that your eyelashes aren’t as lush as they should be. Who judges eyelash lushness? Also, neat side effects for a lot of these offerings are blurred vision, eye irritation, redness, and (in one, unsubstantiated, case) a permanent blind spot in the center of the eye. If you care that much about your eyelashes, there are a number of safe and easy to use false eyelash sets with non-side effect causing fixatives. Still, and I’m just saying, your eyelashes are okay.
3) That extra 20 pounds are fine. Losing weight means sacrifice. If your diet pill tells you that you don’t have to change even one of your bad habits to lose weight, you might want to re-think using the product. We all know the healthy ways to lose weight: exercise and a good diet. If a company proclaims that your problems can be solved by swallowing a single pill, that company is lying to you. Or worse. You could become an unwitting speed freak or, and this is a thing, a victim of a biological diet aid. This, known as “The Tapeworm Diet,” is still practiced by some with strong stomachs. Healthline.com reports, perhaps obviously, that “you cannot get these pills from a reputable medical professional. The FDA [has] banned these pills.” Seriously, one swallows a tapeworm egg and waits for the “results.”
You are all right. You might not be perfect, but you are all right. Don’t do weird things to fight imperfections that just aren’t there for the rest of the world to notice.
I don’t know what the armpits of Bourke Accounting associates look like. I haven’t noted their eyelashes, either. I do know that Bourke Accounting experts want you to be healthy and happy – physically, mentally and financially. Bourke Accounting can’t solve all of your problems, but at least they can help to solve your monetary issues.
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
I think, that for renters, the almost impossible dream at the end of the day, is home ownership. There is something attractive about a little corner of the world that belongs to you. After five years of renting a place, there is a letdown when one is left with only a myriad of sagging boxes and a denial of a security deposit refund for a fabricated reason.
There are some perks to renting, of course. If the toilet backs up, you get to call and complain. Snow removal is something generally handled by a maintenance team. There is no responsibility for the day to day upkeep. But. Even with our lavatorial needs addressed, sometimes we want more.
With this in mind, I phoned up T.A., a realtor at Push Pin Rentals out of Brooklyn, NY (in NYC, even the realtors are too hip for last names). I wanted to know his tips for, very green, first time home buyers. During our October 21st conversation, he had this to offer:
1) Understand the tax implications of any purchase.
This is actually pretty useful. Realestate.usnews.com points out that home ownership makes one eligible for quite a few tax breaks. According to Realestate.usnews.com, “a major benefit of home ownership is that you can deduct your mortgage interest on your taxes.” In addition, your real estate taxes can be used as a deduction, as well. For someone used to renting, it’s nice to know that all of your hard work will be rewarded.
2) Invest in markets you know and understand.
At first I wasn’t sure what T.A. meant by this. He then mentioned that, “even though you found a steal of a house, you might not really want it”. For example, in Housely.com’s article, “The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Detroit,” the “median real estate price $26,318” for the area of Mack Avenue and Helen Street. This is great! I can buy a house today! Oh, wait. There are a number of abandoned properties, most workers commute long distances and, well, the wages aren’t very good. I get it, T.A. Know and understand the market.
3) Have a good accountant.
I think I understand this one. According to T.A., “just like going through a realtor is safer and easier than buying a house from the actual owner, figuring out your new tax status is safer and easier if you work with a reputable accountant.”
No matter if you are making your first home purchase or if you’ve been buying properties for years, Bourke Accounting can help navigate the ins and outs of your new financial situation. The experts at Bourke Accounting will make sure that you are reaping the benefits of being a home owner. Don’t be shy, though, they can also help all of you renters and sub-letters! So why not stop by, talk with a Bourke Associate, and maybe also get some really neat decorating advice?
Come see us any time. Our number is 502-451-8773 and don’t forget to visit our website at www.bourkeaccounting.com. See you soon!
Written by Sue H.
It is beginning to be that time of year when Bourke Accounting has a lot of social functions (parties, seminars, conferences) and everyone likes to hug
….or seems to at at least. And there have been some really awkward hugs…like the kiss that never worked out well. I remember once I dated this girl (in high school) and when I went to kiss her at the door (in those we days we walked our dates to the door) she pulled head back and almost broke the glass panes. Yikes, Maybe it was my breath or maybe she had never been kissed because it certainly couldn’t have been me!
But there is a way to Hug properly:
Mixed Company:
In a group with men and women, base your hugging on familiarity, not gender. If you know someone well and a hug is natural, go for it but if you’re unsure take the handshake… Also, if your indication is to hug women but give men a handshake, this kind of distinction is really noticeable.
The Upgrade:
You might find that over the course of an evening, an introductory handshake is upgraded to a hug when everyone departs, but this only happens when you’ve gotten to know each other a bit. If you’re unsure where you’re at, follow the lead of other people…or go for a handshake initially and let them upgrade you to a hug by giving you that open-arms signal.
The Art of the Bear Hug:
Finally, if you know someone wants a big ‘ol bear hug, just throw your arms around someone and give them a good squeeze. As for hugging actual bears…you really give a bear a hug, however the bear wants to be hugged. Which, when you think about it holds true for people too..
SO, next time you are at Bourke Accounting let us know which kind of hug you may want but a hand shake is great too! Come see us any time our number is 502-451-8773 and don”t forget to visit our website at www.bourkaccounting.com. See you soon!
This past summer our office air conditioner has been on the fritz and the majority of our (individual) offices have large windows so you can imagine how hot our offices get. I have noticed some of the bookkeepers are crankier than normal. Luckily our conference room is in the back of our office suite and is the coolest of all rooms.
The fact of the matter is HEAT sucks, fact: Studies have linked it to increased stress, irritability and paranoia, as well as violent crimes up to and including murder. Due to the discomfort from heat, people tend to perceive minor infractions as major ones, over reacting as a result.
For Example: Say your spouse helpfully points out an upcoming STOP sign. Due to heat aggravation, you may perceive this as them telling you that you suck at driving, rather than them just trying to help. Worse still, since they’re also crazy from the heat, they’ll overreact to your overreaction, further triggering you, until you get into a full scale screaming match.
Why is this though? After all, cold is pretty uncomfortable too, but it doesn’t seem to send us into the same mad rage. The fact is the cold doesn’t affect us quite the same way because it is, in the broadest sense, more dangerous than the heat. From an evolutionary perspective, it was probably more important to escape cold temperatures than hot temperatures. It’s likely that when one is uncomfortably cold, the dominant motivation is to first deal with being cold.
In other words, we immediately act to remedy the situation of being too cold, thus we don’t waste time arguing over stupid things. Escaping heat isn’t so demanding, allowing the heat-irritability-aggression sequence to play out.
So there you have it: Because heat is less deadly than cold, it’s actually more annoying. Almost annoying as someone telling you how to drive…
Like I said earlier, our conference room is the coolest area of our offices so when you come visit Bourke Accounting, ask to be ushered into the office ASAP…we look forward to seeing you cranky or not; call us at 502-451-8773 or stop by for a visit. See you soon!
The other day I was standing in line at the grocery store in the 15 items or less line and it was moving very slowly. I assumed it was just my impatience (as I am from New York, and we New Yorkers have “that” reputation) until the lady in front of me said “geeeeez, he’s writing a check!” I looked ahead and sure enough this guy was writing a check for what seemed like, maybe 6 items. My first thought was who writes a check anymore at a grocery store and more to the point who even has checks? (I do everything online) But as I discovered in my research on checking accounts, the era of free checking accounts may be over and that guy at the grocery store may have to use his debit card next time….
If you struggle financially and have to write or cash checks , life may get a bit rougher. Bank of America stopped offering its last free checking account that does not require a minimum balance, prompting a loud chorus of “boos and hisses” from customers. People who had the free accounts have now been shifted to ones that charge $12 a month, unless the customer has a minimum balance of $1500 or a monthly direct deposit of $250 or more. The timing of the bank’s decision, right on the heels of a massive Republican-backed corporate tax cut was one reason for the outrage (especially since this change will predominately affect poorer Americans).
Roughly 7 percent of the country doesn’t have a banking account, while one-fifth doesn’t have access to banking tools such as debit or credit cards. Raising fees on basic services will only push such people toward predatory lenders and even riskier financial institutions that exacerbate poverty.
Free checking is basically a thing of the past, and one major reason: The increased federal scrutiny of overdraft fees. Americans pay roughly $14 billion in overdraft fees annually, and federal regulators have in recent years begun to crack down on banks’ shadier practices, such as transaction reordering, which sorts withdrawals from highest to lowest in order to increase the likelihood of one or more overdrafts on a low-balance account. Fees generated by those overdraft policies were a big part of the free checking model. So as the revenue stream has dried up, it’s become more likely that customers have to pay for their accounts. This shift should be a vivid reminder that we shouldn’t expect banks to serve anyone but their shareholders.
Banks exist to generate profit, and households that struggle to maintain a minimum balance in their checking account are usually not very profitable customers, unless they are paying through the nose for overdrawing on their accounts.
Free checking accounts do still exist, if you look hard enough. Most major banks will waive their monthly fees if you have a regular paycheck deposited directly. If that’s not possible for you, internet-only banks are your best option. The venture -funded online bank Aspiration, for instance, has a no-fee checking account with no minimum balance, no direct deposit requirements, and no ATM fees; the trade off is that there are no brick-and-mortar branches if you want face-to-face banking assistance. Going forward, it will be interesting to see if this online option takes off. In the meantime consumers still have some choices, although they may seem limited.
So when I got to the cashier I pulled out my wallet and gave the gal a $20.00 bill and I swear I heard someone behind me say “what is that?” At Bourke Accounting we hear lots of unusual stories, maybe because we have been around a while and seen the change in the economy and the overall structure of life. Whatever your financial issues are, we are hear to help. Give us a call at 502-451-8773 or stop by for a visit. See you soon!
For years, tax prepares have reported payments that meet the requirements (under 71(b)(2)) as deductible alimony by the payer, along with the recipient’s Social Security number, to ensure the recipient reports the matching amount as income. The taxpayers must have a written divorce or separation agreement, and the agreement must meet several tests to be considered alimony. These requirements are still applicable despite the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
These requirements are:
- The payment must be in cash or cash equivalents.
- The payment is made to or on behalf of a spouse or former spouse.
- The payer’s obligation to pay must end upon the recipient’s death.
- The payer and the payee do not file a joint return with each other,
- Payments are made after the divorce or legal separation is final (they are no longer married for tax purposes), and the payer and payee cannot be members of the same household at the time the payments are made.
- The divorce or separation agreements does not date the payment is not alimony for income tax purpose.
- The payment cannot be disguised as child support.
Under the new law, there is no longer a deduction for the alimony by the payer, which eliminates the inclusion in income by the recipient. This treatment only applies to divorces and legal separations that are executed under court order after 2018. This rule, however, does not apply to divorces and separation agreements that were in effect before December 22, 2017, and executed after December 31, 2018.
Special provisions state that if taxpayers have an existing (pre-2019) divorce or separation agreement, and that agreement is legally modified after December 31, 2018, the new rules will apply to the modified section of the divorce or separation agreement only.
This modification provision could be a beneficial change to taxpayers, especially in cases where the alimony received causes the taxpayer to be in a significantly higher tax bracket.
At Bourke Accounting we often wonder why certain tax law changes happen and we’ve come up with a few “conspiracy theories” simple because some just don’t make sense (although we are versed and ready to help you with them). Give us a call today at 502-451-8773, or come by for a visit as we’d love to hear any of your conspiracy theories. See you soon!
Summer is slowly coming to an end, kids are beginning to go back to school, and the vacations are over. Do not worry friends as it is not all gloom and doom for a few different reasons. Reason #1 is football is back! And reason #2 is the Kentucky State Fair begins this week! You may not know it, but Kentucky has one of the largest state fairs in the country featuring animals, live entertainment (including the people watching), and fried food…lots and lots of fried food!
Tim has some amazing childhood memories of the fair as his Grandma would always take him to the fair to eat elephant ears, funnel cakes, and to walk around to see the massive cows, horses, and any and all things farm.
Do you have any memories or traditions associated with the state fair? If you’re planning on going out to the fairgrounds check out this link that features the animal and livestock schedule. Have a great rest of summer and if there is ever any tax & accounting information we can provide, do not hesitate to reach out!
Bourke Accounting is a big fan of fried foods, massive cows and all things KY State Fair. Come see us and tell us your stories. See you soon!
Monday’s is generally the most stressful day at a tax & accounting firm. Bourke’s founder, Tim, always says all kinds of shit happens on Mondays… I always laughed at that but then noticed that there were more phone calls, more mail and the computers were always “Monday slow.”
But what I always do, “when all kinds of shit happens” is dream about the future (after winning the lottery) and I’ve bought my luxury RV and on the road…seeing America.
One day I found some great tips about RV living and thought I’d share… for those of you in the middle of Monday dreaming, like me as my computer program is in the midst of a major update (yes on Monday morning), enjoy….
Work Out the Math: Like living in a house, RVing can be done cheaply or extravagantly. The main cost are the payments on the RV, fees at campgrounds, fuel, food, vehicle and health insurance, and RV maintenance (because things will break).
Do Your Homework: Choose your RV wisely! Things like tank size, layout, length, insulation, build quality and storage capacity will impact your life significantly.
Find a Stationary Friend: If you want your mail forwarded, you’d better arrange that in advance. When you need a package have it sent to the local post office. You can have your regular mail sent to family or a friend and they can forwarded it to you on the road every few months or so.
Become Mr. Fix-It: To live on the road means being pretty handy. It is crucial to be patient, self-reliant and hands on; knowing how your rig works and how to maintain it will keep you on the road instead of in the repair shop.
Don’t Road Rage: While it is wise NOT to get violent with a 3.5 ton vehicle, it’s probably just as important to be sure you and your mate aren’t the type to argue too much. Full-time RVing probably isn’t ideal for couples who fight often, since it forces you to be together nearly all of the time. Though the space is confined, there are separate spaces with a door in case you need your space; though I’m told it’s really no different than being mad at each other in a house.
Have the Right Mindset: RV life has a large learning curve: you can’t anticipate everything; you just have to trust that once you hit the road, you will tackle the challenges as they come up.
So my program has finally rebooted and my day dreaming time is up (for now). At Bourke Accounting we want to help you achieve your dreams, even on a Monday. We can help you with all things financial. Give us a call at 502-451-8773 or stop by for a visit. See you soon!
Never heard of a “shower beer?” A quick online search will show you just how passionately some people feel about hitting the showers with a can of their favorite adult soda. Or you could just try one for yourself – we’ll wait.
There, wasn’t that great? Now, let’s dig into the science of why drinking a frosty beverage in a piping hot shower makes you feel so good.
It’s all to do with something called “thermic alliesthesia.” All physiological processes within the body are regulated so that the organism stays within a range that’s optimal for physiological function, i.e.”homeostasis.” In terms of body-temperature regulation, our body adjusts its internal temperature so that this is maintained within a certain range (around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Whenever we do something that shifts us out of that range-warming up in a hot shower, in this case-our body starts working its inner temperature back to normal. In essence , your cold beer is seen by your brain as a useful stimulus that could help bring its temperature to the range it likes to be within. Both hot shows and cold beer cause the release of the brain’s pleasure chemical, dopamine, so when combines with the satisfying sensation of alliesthesia, the whole shower beer experience becomes utterly sublime.
Sadly, the effect is short lived, since alliesthesia only occurs while the body is trying to return to its normal state. Once you’re there, the rush is over, leaving you with nothing more than shampoo in your beer.
And why is Bourke Accounting blogging about having a beer while showering? Well, we like to think that coming to your tax preparer is similar to a beer shower. You get up and drag your self in for your yearly appointment, but once we give you that good news, or help you lessen the financial burden you thought you would have…the dopamine kicks in and you are good for another year…or until you see us again. So give us a call at 502-451-8773 and set up a time to come in and have a beer. See you soon!