1. Taxes – We still have some bookkeeping issues to figure out and resolve before we can do our 2007 taxes. The accountant that we have used and every other tax professional in the city have all been buried with the tax deadline. Instead of trying to get someone to work with us on our problems at the busiest time of the year, I decided to file an extension and then work out the issues with our Quickbooks file in a less stressful way than trying to meet the April 15 deadline. This also requires an extension for our personal taxes. I was fine with that decision, but I did a little research on the government rebates that are going out this year. I wanted to verify whether or not an extension would disqualify us for the rebates (who doesn’t like free money??). Well, the information I read indicated that we would NOT be included in the rebate incentive if we did not file by April 15th. Just being a tax payer with W-2’s on file is not enough. That put me in a difficult position yesterday. Do I continue with the extension and give up the rebates? I decided to file a normal 1040 Individual return just like we always do. It includes our personal income from 2007, as well as our two rental houses (but nothing Nemo’s related). Getting that done and submitted qualifies us for the rebates. When we get our Quickbooks file straightened out for Nemo’s, I will have our accountant file an amended return for our personal stuff. In the end, everything will be correct, but we won’t miss out on the rebates.
2. Rental House – our closing is scheduled for Friday! It looks like everything is falling into place, except for me. I still have an enormous amount of tools and materials to get out of the shop and the storage shed. I have been moving things slowly, sorting and organizing as I go, and getting rid of extraneous junk. I had planned to finish up last weekend, but got side tracked by massive Point of Sale computer issues, noted in the posts below. As a result, I am two days from close and have a significant amount of work to do still. I am obligated from 6:00am to 5:00pm, and from 7:00pm to 3:00am both today and tomorrow. I don’t see me getting much, if any, sleep in the next couple of days. I am going to have to just pack things up and bring them to our house and sort and organize later, in the minimal hours available between Ft Carson and Intel, and in the middle of the night. One issue is that I have roughly $2000 worth of domestic and exotic hardwoods. They include Padauk, Narra, Purpleheart, Bubinga, Canarywood, Goncolo Alves, Redheart, Rosewood, Maple, Quartersawn White Oak, etc, etc. Most of the inventory is Padauk and Maple in 12’ lengths, and 10” to 14” wide planks. The extra wide boards and long boards cost a premium, as they had to be milled from a very large tree without defects. I do not have room at our house to store planks this long. As a result, I am going to have to cut them down to 6’ lengths in order to store them. So much for paying a premium for long stock.
3. Employees – I think we set a record for the shortest employment ever! We hired a new person who showed up 30 minutes late for their first training shift. They showed up 25 minutes late yesterday for their second shift and smelled like they had been smoking pot. Tracy cut them loose on the spot…
4. Computers – The POS is working great, for two days in a row!! I received some comments about switching to Mac computers instead of using PC’s. Apparently, they never crash. Well, that sounds great, but I own about 10 PC’s and all of my software is for PC. I don’t think I am in a position to switch to Mac, although it is certainly appealing after all of the problems I’ve had with Intuit software conflicts with Windows updates. I’d like to see one of those cool Mac commercials with Quickbooks as a topic…
5. Sales have been pretty steady, still hovering around the break even point. I have talked to other shop owners who have seen a decline in sales recently, as has Starbucks, per all of the recent negative press releases. For us to remain steady during an economical decline is encouraging. I guess you could call that growth in an abstract way of thinking. Tracy is doing an awesome job at the shop, and I’m hoping that we can survive at the break even point until the economy bounces back. Paying ourselves would be nice someday, but not entirely critical right now. One reason for that is tax returns that we will be receiving. Children and rental houses are amazing tax shelters. We have three kids and two rental houses. That has resulted in us getting decent tax returns for a number of years in a row. Some people are not aware of this, but you have up to three years to file a tax return, provided you get a return and do not owe taxes. We are the kind of people who will use money for something if we have it. I decided to save some tax returns for ‘rainy days’. In April of 2007, we were at a point where we had not had any personal income for 4 ½ months (We were working on construction of the shop and getting it open). I filed our 2004 return at that time, and got enough of a return for us to live on for three months. That was a huge help. I completed our 2005 return on Monday and we will be getting a decent return from that year (that was the year our second rental home kicked in). I also scrambled late last night to do our 07 taxes in order to qualify for the rebates, and I still have 2006 taxes to complete and file. In all, the returns will allow us to pay off all personal debt with the exception of our mortgage and our car. It will also allow us to put away four or five months of emergency money in a savings account. Some people told me I was crazy to let the government hang onto that money, but I see it as a wise move for us. We are at a point where the money will be very helpful, and I’m glad I did it this way instead of getting returns in those respective years and spending it then… Today is the rainy day, and I’m glad we had this resource stored away, in a somewhat unconventional savings method.
Attitude – Tracy and I have so very much going on right now, and not enough time to devote to it. I can’t even count the number of nights that I have gotten three hours of sleep or less recently. I decided long ago that attitude is a choice, and not a result of life’s ups and downs. The last several weeks have been a true test of that concept. My attitude has been great, and I am very happy. My life’s events recently would normally make me absolutely miserable, if I let it. If you are the kind of person swayed by stress and events in your life, try making a decision to be happy and have a good attitude no matter what. It is working for me, and I am truly thankful for my life and the blessings I have. Stress and problems and workload are all irrelevant to your attitude, if you make that choice. Good luck, as it takes some practice…
I suppose that is enough for now…
Take care,
JD
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