Fazzles Creative Living Newsletter Archive
 

Creative Living Home, Business and Family...

Welcome to the Fifth Edition of "Creative Living."

Monday, April 21, 2003

In this issue we have:

 1.) Article: Secrets the IRS Does Not Want You to Know
 2.) Hot Craft Tip: Flower Pressing Tip
 3.) Recipe: Stuffed Potatoes and Eggs
 4.) On Parenting: -
 5.) Home Tool Tips: Window Washing
 6.) Car Tool Tips
 7.) Tasteful Joke
 8.) Reader's Questions:
 9.) Editor's Word Pick
10.) Last Minute Reminders
11.) Inspirational Quote

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Secrets the IRS Does Not Want You to Know

by Collin Almeida

For average Americans, taxes are the single largest bill they
will pay.  Almost 40% of every working person's wages go to
taxes: that's more than most people pay in utilities, rent,
car loans, or education expenses.  And while the burden of
most bills can be lessened by working harder and earning more money, the tax liability only increases, so earning more money
just equals paying more taxes.          

Most Americans don't realize that Uncle Sam's piece of their
hard-earned pie is so enormous. After all, the amount is
divided into a number of small deductions: federal taxes, state
taxes, county taxes, Medicare, social security, and so on.
Each individual chunk looks like a reasonable price to pay in
order to keep the country operating smoothly, but when added
together the sum is staggering. The majority of people resign
themselves to a lifetime of working too hard for someone else,
paying too much in taxes to the government, and then struggling
to maintain a comfortable life after retirement.  But they've
been brainwashed!  The truth is every person can learn to work
less and keep more of their earnings, not by cheating the IRS
or by hiring a staff of overpriced accountants, but simply by
following the American Dream and becoming an entrepreneur.    
   

Business owners, especially those with a home office, have
a tremendous advantage over the average working taxpayer.
While most people pay taxes on the total amount they earn, business owners only pay taxes on the amount left over after
their expenses.  Imagine being able to deduct work-related
transportation and clothing expenses from a paycheck before
taxes come out. Imagine being able to write-off the rent,
utilities, remodeling, and cleaning expenses every April.

It is possible.  Business owners can legally deduct all of
these expenses from their revenue before Uncle Sam
comes to collect his fee, and so can the average American
simply by starting a home-based business. For home-based operations, theIRS treats home and living expenses as tax-deductible business expenses. These eligible expenses
could include the following:

     Furniture
     Landscaping
     Postage
     Meals
     Travel
     Newspapers & Magazines
     Phone Bills
     Computers
     Insurance
     Donations
     Cleaning Services
     And much, much more

The average person could save $5000 or more in completely
legal tax deductions like those mentioned above.

While keeping more money in their own pockets sounds
like a blessing to most Americans, few people believe it
could be that easy and that legal.  But it really is.  And it
doesn't take an accounting degree or an MBA to
understand what the government will allow nor does it
require a separate clerical staff to keep records of the
deductible expenses.  All it requires is time, organizational
skills, and a desire to lower the yearly tax responsibility
substantially.           

Time is essential.  It will require time to set up a home-based
business and to begin generating a stream of profit.  It also
takes time to study the tax laws relating to business expenses.
 Unfortunately, many people are unwilling to expand the initial
effort required.  They prefer to make their $5000 the
old-fashioned way:  by slaving away for forty hours or more a
week to make someone else rich. In reality, the time
commitment of starting a home-based business is
considerably less and is required only once.

Organization skills, however, are an ongoing necessity.
Records must be kept of all deductible expenses and all
business-generated revenue in case of an audit.  Even though
only .5% of taxpayers are audited a year, record-keeping will
turn a stressful, time-consuming hassle into a temporary
inconvenience. Record keeping is as simple as balancing a
checkbook and can be effectively handled through various
computer software programs or with the aid of a notebook and a
pencil.

Most important is the desire to become free of the
burdensome tax-harness yoked around each worker's
neck.  While most pay their nearly 40% every week without
question or complaint, every one of them have the potential to achieve the true
American Dream: financial freedom and a lighter tax load.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Discover little known but highly  lucrative tax advantages you
can legally claim as a home based business owner by visiting
http://www.homebusinesstaxsecrets.com 
Get the FREE REPORT: "5 Hidden Tax Dangers..."
 that shows you how to save $1000's in
taxes and avoid costly audits.

by Collin Almeida

********************
Craft Tip:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I read a very interesting thing on pressing
flowers such as daffodils and tulips.
To take a straight pin and puncture the
flower at the base where it has the most
liquid and it will help it dry faster.

Also, it will help the flowers stay fresher
longer in a vase.

A drop of chlorine will also help your flowers
stay fresher longer in your vase of water.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Recipe:
********************

Stuffed Potatoes and Eggs.

Microwave 2 Potatoes - for 5 minutes.
Cut off the ends of the potatoes
Then slice the potatoes in half

Scoop part of the potato out of the
big pieces and out of the end pieces.
(You can brown this part and eat that too,
if you wish)

Fry your eggs with one egg yolk
and three egg whites to a delicate
yellow.

Fill the four halves of the potato with
your egg.

Then fill your end pieces with salsa
or ketchup, or sour cream, or whatever
else you would like to eat with your
eggs and potatoes.

Garnish with parsley.  Remember, parsley
is often found on a beautiful plate of food
but few eat it.  Parsley is very good for you,
and it freshens your breath.

Season as you wish.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Parent Tip:
~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a toddler, always check for three things when your
child gets difficult.  THIRST, HUNGER, and is he
TIRED?
Even the most easiest going children will act up
when any of the above are needed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Household Tip:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, spring is in the air, and so is window washing
time. Windows have been said to be the most
dreaded chore, but you know, I like to wash windows.
They are so nice when finished.

Have you seen the squeegees that are used at
gas stations? It's a rubber wiper with a sponge on the
end. It makes washing windows easy.

You can use ammonia and water, or vinegar and water
and a spray bottle of window washer and a soft rag
or even paper towels.  1 part vinegar to 3 parts
water or 1 part ammonia to 3 parts water

First wash window with the wet sponge end.
Then take the rubber blade and firmly bring the dirty
water down, wipe the blade..... then start at the top
with the new edge even with the freshly cleaned edge
and repeat. Wipe the blade. Do this until the main part
of the window is clean.

Next, at the bottom of the window, take the blade
from side to side, curving it down. There will still
be some areas that are missed.  Sop up any
water.

Next, take your soft rag or paper towels and spray the
areas with the window cleaner that have left extra water or
had a little streak..
DONE!!! 
Windows to be proud of.
And, yes you can refill your window cleaner with ammonia
and water or vinegar and water.

JUST never mix bleach and ammonia.

************************
Car Tip

Have you ever noticed when you get fogged up
windows that you tend to want to wipe the windows
with your hand. Keep some window washer and
paper towels in your car. If all else fails, leather
gloves do not leave streaks.

What is in your trunk?

Have you checked your spare tire for air lately?

If you have power windows, do you have a seatbelt
snipper and a small hammer gadget to quickly release
yourself when in danger?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you know children under 12 should sit in the
backseat with cars that have air bags?

Also, did you know that many injuries that people suffer
are from loose items in the car, that end up as missiles?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Tasteful Joke -

A man and woman are driving... 

A man and a woman are driving down the same
road at the same time.
As they pass each other the woman leans
out the window, points and yells, "PIG! "

The man immediately leans out his window,
 shakes his fist and shouts back, "WITCH!"

They each continue on their way, and as the man
rounds the next corner, he slams into a pig that
had wandered into the middle of the road.

If only men would listen.


********************
Editor's Word Tip on Commonly Misspelled Words
~~~~~~~~~~~~
cupboard
believable

*************
Last Minute Reminders
~~~~~~~~

If you have a question that pertains to this newsletter,
please hit reply and send it in.
If you have some advice in any category to offer, please
hit reply and send it in.
If you have any hot craft tips or an article, we are interested
in those too! 

Inspirational Quote:

" All inspirations start as frail as a redwood seed,
yet can grow to be the mightiest of trees."
Anonymous
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Announcing my new ebook.
"Your Attitude - Your Self-Esteem
It's all About Self-Improvement"
by: Teresa King
Read about it here:
http://www.tipsfortop.com/attitude.html
~~~~~~~~~~~
If you do not have this cool email program,
check it out. Boy, it has personality. I easily
imported my stuff from outlook express to
use this fun FR-EE program.
http://www.tipsfortop.com/incredible.html

Thank you for being my reader!

I will see you in about ten days. I am truly
working on getting these editions out a little
more often.
Next time, I am going to take you to a site. It has
nothing for sale, but it has the most incredible
retro decorations I have ever seen done by a lady
who just loves to make things from old jars, old
lamps, old shelves, in the most dynamite colors.
I don't know her but it is just gorgeous stuff.
She takes you on a tour of her house and her
little cottage. I spent two hours going through
her site. It's inspiring for any crafty person.

Teresa King

Creative Home Living
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