KIS & Tell May 2021

Hola! 

Welcome to a new KIS & Tell. It's got much of the same content, but a fresh look. Just like the rest of my website, it was time for an update. But, it was so hard to do! 

It always amazes me how some things are crazy hard for one person but simple for the next.  I put in lots of effort into this update. From conception to launch, it took over TWO YEARS. And it's not done yet. There are a few big additions to come (hint: a DIY shop!). But my main goal is complete—to provide more information upfront. So please check it out and enjoy! 

The timing wasn't great for a relaunch, and I had to physically relocate too. My visitor's visa in Sweden ran out, hopefully for the last time before I get a more permanent visa. For now, I'm living in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. 

Traveling/moving during tax season may seem insane, but it's doable. In fact, not much has changed. After a couple of days, I was settled in. I haven't faced any new problems here that I didn't deal with in Sweden (or anywhere else). The key is in my routines.

Routines ground me. It doesn't matter the day or place, I have a daily schedule that feels good and helps me get *ish done. Habits fascinate me. Even if I'm in a different place, it's easy to adapt. It would be infinitely harder to be productive and move every season without a solid routine. 

Launching a new website - terrifying. 

Moving every three months - no problem. Even during the pandemic.

Fresh Content

Hot off the press & onto the blog, website, and beyond.

I’ve published a few blogs since the last K&T. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum, from one of the very first rules of biz finance to adept ways to use your numbers. 

This rule is to keep your business and personal finances separate. It can take a little getting used to, and it’s okay if you slip up sometimes, but you need to keep them separate. It will make everything else easier - like reviewing if you’re making money or charging the right prices to filing your taxes. Good habits like this will save you money and take very little time. So check out the blog to learn some tips on how to do it.

Once you’ve got your finances sorted out, you can move on to learning how to interpret them. Most of the time we focus on creating financials, however, that is not why we create them. Your financials are historical data. We can use that data to project forward and plan. Here are 7 ways you can use your numbers. In the follow-up, I covered one area that is so key ---> cash flow. I highly recommend you check them both out. These tools are where you’ll see the value of doing your books.

App of My Eye

I'm always on the lookout for new apps that help make running a business easier! Here are the best finds over the past month.

An unsung hero before now, Grammarly is arguably the tool I use the most. I spend way more time writing than one might expect, and writing is a skill that I wasn’t so confident about when I started KIS. 

It’s way better than the normal auto-correct features built into the common word processors. You can start with the freemium version, however, I do recommend the paid plan for the advanced features. Beyond spell check and grammar, Grammarly analyzes the tone and clarity of my words. The tone detector is my favorite. I like to balance being friendly yet direct, and confident more than formal. 

At the end of the week, Grammarly sends me a recap. It tells me how I compare to other Grammarly users in productivity, mastery, unique words; my top tones; and my most common mistakes. I get a little competitive with myself which absolutely improves my writing!

Best Reads

I love to learn. Especially with business, there are always new perspectives and information we can benefit from. Here's my latest fav.

Okay. So this is a “read” per se, but it’s the same content. Audiobooks. I’ve recently gotten into podcasts and now audiobooks. And I found an amazing podcast full of free audiobooks! Some that would cost like $20 on Audible! 

The podcast is “The Bookshelf: Business & Self-Improvement.” You can download the entire book. Some are even narrated by the author. These books are by names you’ll recognize - Seth Godin, Brene Brown, Simon Sinek, Dale Carnegie -- all the big hitters. 

To date, they have 231 books ready to download. WIth copyright law, I don’t even know how that’s legal (but it must be, right?).

Practicing Simplicity

Practical tips to simplify your business.

Practice: Make fewer decisions

Rationale: Use your mental energy wisely by creating habits. The little decisions add up and waste more brainpower than you think. Decision fatigue is real. We can rely on good habits and save our willpower for when we really need it (I see you, tortilla chips).

Tools: Work clothes, what you eat for breakfast or lunch, morning routine, batch days, etc

QuickBooks Tricks

New features & hacks to get more out of your QB subscription

Next time you're in the bank feed, click on a transaction from a vendor that you've used before. You'll find a new link near the bottom of the shaded box - Categorization History. Now you can see how you've coded those transactions before! 

Tax Tips

The world of tax is constantly changing. Here's what you need to know.

Hey, Parents!!  This is a big deal! 

It’s not the latest round of Economic Impact Payments, tax cuts on unemployment income and ACA health insurance subsidies, or the extended filing deadline. The biggest change relates to minors and the Child Tax Credit. 

This is not a new credit, however, for 2021 only, it will be an advance credit. As in you’ll receive it before you file your return. 

Starting in July, most families will begin receiving monthly payments. This will be for the Child Tax Credit. The American Rescue Act upped the credit from $2k to $3 ($3.6 for kids 5 and under as of 12/31/2021). 

We don’t know much about how the IRS will manage this program. We do know that the monthly amounts will be based on their age and your household income and they’ll use your 2020 return to calculate it. 

For most people, this will be a big help. The stats on how it could combat childhood poverty and hunger make me eager to see the end results. It is insane that in a country where we have so much food, there are kids who don’t have enough.

But, this isn’t a big change in how much money parents will get overall. It’s only a change of when. So please be aware of how this may impact your tax refund or balance due when you file next.

Kitty Corner

It's impossible for me to get through a newsletter without mentioning my furbabies!

Our sweet friends and family are caring for our kitties. It was a fiasco bringing them back from Turkey so this time they’re staying home in Sweden.

Yigit joined me shortly after I arrived, with his mom! Mexico is a place my future mother-in-law has always wanted to visit, so it’s amazing she can explore it with us for a couple of weeks. 

Cami and Phoenix are in the cuddly care of our family and friends. They may not even miss us!  Our friend May visits them often. She dotes on them with treats, pets, and lots of play-time. I know this because she sends me cute pictures and videos of them playing and loving on her. It makes my heart swell! They’re so dang cute!

Before you go, can you do me a favor? You can find me now in the directory for The Contract Shop. Please check out my listing and like my page. It would be a huge help for me! 

If you’re unfamiliar with The Contract Shop, it is exactly what it sounds like. These are contract templates written by a lawyer and specific to many industries. For those starting out and cannot afford a lawyer to prep their contracts, these are a great start.