Bookkeeping by Doreen
Can you believe December is actually here??
I cannot! My grandmother used to say the days can drag on but the years just fly by! I am here to say she was not wrong!
Welcome to the Holiday Season – the time of year that many of us scramble to buy those gifts and prepare enough food to feed a entire lacrosse team alongside our own family. We set early alarms or stay up way past our bedtime to wrap gifts, shop online, google new recipes and check our checking accounts and credit limits . . . Do you ever wonder why? I do and I got to thinking . . .
What if we could reduce the financial burden that the holidays can bring? What if we could stop throwing food that no one will ever eat in the garbage? What is we could give ourselves the gift of financial peace?
Let’s see what this might look like! I am sure that we all have felt the “pressure” to buy that hot toy or game or sweater for our children, siblings, parents and spouses. What if we just decided we are not going to that this year? What if we acknowledge the pressure of what the Jones’ are buying is not my problem and just decide not to create debt this year?
Make a plan! Who do you want to buy gifts for? Do you have a spending limit/person? Have you already acquired gifts for your kids or spouse? Do not forget about these! Set limits for yourself. Dare I say, create a “budget” for the holidays. And for the holidays for next year and pay yourself monthly so you have some cash for this moving forward. Keep an ongoing list of how much you have spent as you buy.
How about homemade gifts? Have everyone get together and brings ingredients for a cookie bake. Or bring fruit and make jams or jelly. It’s a great way to spend time together and create traditions. And everyone gets to take home the goodies.
Try experiences! You can invite everyone to an “date” with you instead of buying a gift. You can create or buy coupons and invite everyone to an experience with you. This can spread out your spending and create opportunities to spend time with each other doing something customized for each of your loved ones.
Getting help. You can work with a bookkeeper, accountant or financial planner to help you get organized by the end. It is a very worthy opportunity to put some key tools into motion to create a different plan for 2026. Being organized is always going to reduce stress and keeps on giving!
Doreen M Letofsky | Your Bookkeeper with 💜
What is happening?
What is happening!
It is November, so I thought I would touch on elections here today.
By all accounts, I am not here to support a political party, a specific politician or change your mind or opinions. I am just sharing some of what I have seen first hand and learned by talking to friends, colleagues and family members.
Monumental changes are happening in this country and this past election is proving it. In Montgomery County, PA a record breaking turn out of voters has been reported in press release issued by Montgomery County on their website, montgomerycountypa.gov on November 5th. 307,840 of the 618,301 voters let their voices be heard! That is 49.78%, y'all! Of these votes, 90,757 of them were mailed in, which is also a record breaking turn out for a non-presidential election. In Bucks County, a neighboring county, the people who were up for election in local law enforcement (the Sheriff) and district court judges were all unseated by the opposing party! This is huge people!
Several states are reporting that democrats have unseated their republican governor's for the first time since the 1960's! That is 60 years of dominance for these states, give or take!
What I see as part of the cause of this huge shift? Young voters, women voters and minority voters. These groups of people are changing the percentages based on demographics now. I also have raised two young adults and we talk about political views and where they learn about current events as well as how they feel about the Presidents they have paid attention to in their lifetime and it looks like more new voters are registering democratic than republican.
Why I think this is important to discuss here? Because the local only elections are putting the people who care most about you in Washington ultimately. These are the incoming influences determining tax code, tax brackets, how much of your medical costs can be deducted, whether or not you can get an extra deduction when you have children or credits for sending those kids to college.
We are all just one vote, but together we do make a difference!
Doreen M Letofsky | Your Bookkeeper with 💜