At Bourke Accounting, my office neighbor is Bookkeeper Mary. She’s a good neighbor – she doesn’t blast Cardi B., she doesn’t talk to herself any more than I do and she’s always willing to answer a question. I have lucked out.
Sadly, my neighbors in real life aren’t quite as wonderful. A man has been living in a tent for over three months in one neighbor’s backyard. I don’t know why, but he loudly threatens to steal all of his ex’s macaroni and cheese bowls. For some reason, I find this to be a vaguely intimidating threat. On the other side, the neighbors like to burn stuff in the middle of the night. I don’t know what they’re burning, but thick, black smoke and a noxious odor continuously hangs in the morning dew.
Although I sometimes feel like I’m reenacting the Tom Hank’s film The ‘Burbs, I don’t call the police. I’m not afraid of my neighbors, but I do understand the concept of picking one’s battles. For example, on July 10, WDRB.com reported that Indiana man, Robert Campbell, went to his neighbor’s house, pushed the neighbor down and then attacked the man’s service dog (what kind of a low-rent beast of a “human” hurts a dog?). The problem between the men started when the neighbor accused Campbell of selling drugs out of his house. Campbell didn’t take kindly to this, as he had previously gone to jail for another offense (the sort of offense that meant he was supposed to have registered himself in a certain database, which he failed to do).
When you think of all of the terrible ways that things can go, do you see why I choose to keep a temperate attitude? Obviously, if I heard gunshots (knock wood, I haven’t so far), someone screaming or witnessed a person being injured, I would contact authorities. However, Robert Frost’s belief that good fences make good neighbors is working well enough for now. Before I get mad, I try to ask myself, “will this situation even matter a year from now?” If I can honestly answer, “no, by next year I won’t remember the participants or the circumstances,” I shrug and go about my day. However, if the answer is an unequivocal YES, then it’s time to use those amazing Gemini communication skills.
When approaching a neighbor about questionable behavior, it’s important not to attack. You should have a rough outline in mind of what you’d like to address, but don’t barrage your neighbor with a machinegun spray of accusations. Also, don’t get personal. No matter what the neighborhood gossip is, don’t bring it up (i.e. “your lawn is a mess and – ha, ha – your husband is cheating with the yoga instructor down the street”). If your neighbor gets crazy, take two steps back and gently tell the person that you’ll be back when they’re feeling better. Of course, this could backfire if you say something like, “sir, sir, you need to calm down.” I shouldn’t have to say that telling someone to calm down will have the absolute opposite effect.
If your good communication skills don’t work, then it might be time to call the police. However, keep in mind that this is REALLY going to get the other person angry. If you take that step, you might want to install some cameras and hope for the best. Also, keep in mind that you have to live right next to this person (depending on what the grievance is) and their rage may lead to bad events whereas you weren’t that invested in justice over your mild annoyance. Remember to ask yourself if this really matters.
We are good neighbors at Bourke Accounting – we even say “good morning” to workers from other companies. Our Bourke Accounting bookkeepers and tax preparers are good neighbors to you, as well. When you sit down with your Bourke Accounting pro, not only will you receive the best financial services, but, if you ask, you’ll get all of the free condiments we can find in our break room. Being a good neighbor means giving out all of the soy sauce available.
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.
At Bourke Accounting, one of Bookkeeper Christina’s hobbies is playing bingo. She goes to a bingo hall, has bingo pals and even attends bingo pals’ birthdays parties. The entire thing is just so wholesome. She has invited me to go, but without cocktail servers, I think it might be a little too wholesome for me. I’ll probably change my mind, though. Right about now, I could use some innocent pastimes. I think we all could.
Please allow me to present three harmless hobbies:
1) Reborn Doll Collectors. A reborn doll is a freakishly realistic looking baby doll (pictured above). These things look so much like real kids that police officers have broken windows in order to save them from hot cars (Sheknows.com). They can run from about a hundred bucks to anywhere in the thousands; the most expensive was sold on eBay, a limited edition named Joelle, for $22,600 (Oddee.com). Those in this specialized subculture change their dolls’ diapers, talk to them, dress them and cuddle them. It could be argued that it’s bizarre for grown (mostly) women to play with dolls, but I still read comic books, so I’m not one to talk. Also, these people don’t actually believe the dolls are real (TheGuardian.com). Of course, there are those who pretend to be pregnant while they wait for their custom-made dolls to arrive, but that’s not the norm (Sheknows.com). Finally, they might be sort of creepy, but they’re so lifelike, they really are works of art. I wouldn’t want one in my house, but I can appreciate the workmanship.
2) Coupon Clipping. If the amount of Youtube.com videos are any indication, there are a lot of people who find coupon clipping very relaxing (seriously, these videos just show people clipping coupons. Sometimes while whispering about the savings). Also, there are a lot of websites dedicated to the frugal. For example, one, called CouponsintheNews.com, offers sneak peaks into the coupons that will be available soon. This site also speculates whether or not drone delivery services will accept coupons. Another site, TheKrazyCouponLady.com, invites readers to share “shopping successes” using pictures of items and the coupons. They also encourage readers to brag regarding how much they saved. I don’t want to be condescending, but this is just too cute!
3) Dungeons & Dragons. If you’ve never played this, it’s really fun. This is a game where all of the players create their own characters and then one person (“The Dungeon Master” – hey, mind out of the gutter) invents a storyline. Then, everyone sort of wanders around in this made up world. Your success on different missions depends on the roll of the funny looking dice. This game is reliant on a lot of imagination, which, obviously, is cool. You can play D&D in Billy’s mom’s rec room or, if you happen to be very adventurous, you can go out into the real world and act things out (also known as LARPing – Live Action Role Playing). I was never good at LARPing, though – keeping a straight face while pretending to be a 4,000-year-old vampire sorcerer elf was too much for me.
The world isn’t all bad. Sometimes, we can find pretty neat things to distract us from the distress of reality. I’m not saying that everyone should play D&D, while cooing to fake babies and clipping coupons, but find what gives you solace and do it.
Bourke Accounting pros have hobbies outside of work and Bourke Accounting experts just so happen to like numbers, too. Bourke Accounting bookkeepers and tax preparers understand the importance of a good work/life balance. Let a Bourke Accounting specialist share their hobbies while keeping you in a stable financial place. And then we can all go LARPing in the parking lot!
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.
No one has student loan debt at Bourke Accounting. This is especially nice for me, as I’d feel kind of stupid spending 10-21 years paying off the ability to write a paper on Beowulf. Oddly enough, that’s not a talent most 9-5 jobs are really clamoring for (I know! I’m surprised, too!). Even though the current talk regarding the cancellation of student loan debt doesn’t affect us Bourkers outright, I think we’re all curious to see what happens.
Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley is a big fan of cancelling student debt. She feels that this will help to both “address racial inequalities and stimulate the economy” (Forbes.com). If every student debtor could stop chucking monthly payments down a well worth $30,000, of course, that would ease a lot of stress. Considering that student loan debt now exceeds $1.6 trillion (Forbes.com), that erasure would free up many and many dollars to rebuild the economy. All right, I’m with you so far.
College educations are good for Americans. Not only does one learn critical thinking, time management and responsibility, there’s also a lot more money to be made after graduation; the Federal Reserve reports that “college graduates earn 80% more than high school graduates” (Marketwatch.com). Obviously, an educated populace, blessed with financial solvency, would benefit the entire country. So yes, loan cancellation and free college educations would be beautiful things.
You know I hate to be the malcontent in the back of the room, but I see just a few problems with these lofty goals. Perhaps I’m puritanical, but I think debt cancellation really amounts to theft of services. So, you go to a good school, you’re taught by good teachers, you receive a good degree and then say, “Oh, being in debt is hard!” And then, the government says, “There, there, we didn’t mean to hurt your feelings! All is forgiven!” Of course college is expensive! A Tesla is, too, but I don’t hear anyone knocking on my door to hand me one.
Another problem with cancellation is the fact that school tuition is used for many things, not just a professor’s salary. When you consider utilities, security, insurance, maintenance – well, these expenditures add up. Who is going to pay for the cafeteria ice cream machine when it breaks down? And, isn’t it possible that professors would be laid off indefinitely, if that $1.6 trillion in debt just goes “poof”? Now Bernie Sanders (whom I have a mild crush on) suggests what he calls a “speculation tax, a small levy on every stock, bond or derivative sold in the US” (NPR.com) to pay for all of this. I swear I’m not pals with Ayn Rand, but wouldn’t this be penalizing those who have made solid choices? Also, this sort of seems like investors would be taxed twice. Is that fair?
Finally, as I’m petty and jealous, it would annoy me that all these people are entitled to a free education when I wasn’t (yes, yes, my parents helped a lot, but that’s not how I’m remembering it). I think people should pay their own way, within reason. For example, in Australia, student loans aren’t repaid until the borrower reaches a certain income level and there’s no interest involved (Marketwatch.com). It could be argued that some will never reach that level, leaving the debt unpaid anyway, but if Australia is still doing it, it must work.
While education is important, it’s hard. Those who would be educated must be willing to sacrifice. Much like free medical and free housing – I would love to see both – it’s simply not possible yet.
Bourke Accounting knows that education benefits everyone. However, until your student debt is erased, Bourke Accounting also knows how difficult it is to make ends meet. While your Bourke Accounting bookkeeper or tax preparer doesn’t have a magic word to make your life easier, they do have a lot of knowledge and a lot of advice. Why not make your world a better place by sitting down with a Bourke Accounting expert?
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.