As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
I really like the IRS. I do not mind paying taxes. I do not like being robbed and tortured in the process though.
What I am going to share is how TL and I manage things, as it is a little of Mom, a lot of TL, a little of my Uncle and some of me, in explaining how we do things.
First, we have arrived upon a plan. TL is very computer program intelligent. TL used to at the chemist job TL had was required to make spreadsheets in order to keep track of all the work and formulas TL was creating in Research and Development. So this begins the tale.
When I bought this little laptop several years ago, there was a free download of OPEN OFFICE.
Open Office is just the free version of Microsoft Office which is huge and obtrusive.
In this program group are Spread Sheet, and on this are account forms, and all you have to do is put your entries in, in columns, highlight them, and it all adds up. No mistakes and it really is easy.
I keep my records in a Yahoo mail dump box, just in case a hard drive goes tits up. You could get a flash drive too if you have the extra money.
Now for accounting.
I use plastic as my Uncle did for his lawn business. Everything for his lawn service was put onto a credit card, and it was itemized and categorized every month in one bill, which is how he did his tax deductions.
I have gone mostly to plastic. Obviously when I purchase a bale of hay from my neighbor, I can not swipe the card on his lips....so that is still checks, but for the most part I am disciplined. I use Discover cards as I get cash back, and that is how I e pay for this internet and phone we have now. The high speed burns out in a week doing this blog, but that is faster than it was if I keep track of bandwidth.
The point is, when I have a tax deductible expense it goes to a specific credit card.
I have a Sinclair gas card, and that comes once a month, with discount, and that is itemized too.
All of my receipts on the plastic are in my bank 3 binder folder.
I do not like my bank debit card, as while it is itemized, it gets cluttered up with other stuff. So when I have to help Mom out with groceries that month, that goes to the bank card, and as that is nothing I can write off, it does not matter.
This is the way I keep track of bills and deductions, like gas and repairs on a home in the receipt situation.
Mom's account is the one for goatikins feed, so the farm stuff we keep separate for the blog stuff, or if I happen to trap an animal and sell the pelt.
Every week after errands, we now all sit down, TL, Mom and I, and we do the spreadsheet for each month. We have records of everything, and everything is in their place, so that when tax times comes, there is not trying add up 500 receipts and remember what things were.
Into that too, I write on every credit card bill what that item is, as a year out trying to remember a three point arm for a tractor is sort of foggy when my mind is cluttered up with this blog.
It requires a bit of learning to learn the spreadsheet, but there is a help guide on it like all things, and if you can do email, you can figure out a spreadsheet. I simply had sticks and the kid next to me in math class toes to do my counting.....TL was taught that in high school, so I imagine some one has grandkids or kids who could at least walk you through the basics.
I was amazed when I was watching TL add columns of numbers by highlighting them and typing in the codex. I had no idea that feature was there, but it is and all of this is far more simple to keep track of things, so it is not such torture when you are being robbed.
That is why I support Donald Trump, is I hate doing taxes as all of you do, and Mr. Trump is pressing to pass a three tier tax form, which will settle it, and when he makes the tax level at 50,000 and under is poverty as those people never pay taxes......well except me it seems, that will mean that my time will not be wasted in having to file taxes as if I saw 50,000 dollars I would be like looking at Jesus coming out of the tomb in something not expected.
You do have to discipline yourself and categorize things in plastic, but most of you are swiping to the wind any way, and all of you have computers, so adding Spread Sheet and doing that for a half hour instead of being brainwashed on Facebook will make your life easier next time taxes come due.
Any way that is the good help, which you can tailor to your situation.
Nuff Said
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