Had a Car Show Here Today . . .
. . . and I learned something new.
There were some magnificent machines dating as far back as the 1920s in a variety of vibrant shades, but what I learned is that
I really don’t get much of a kick looking at cars owned by somebody else.
Better to Look Stupid . . .
. . . than be stupid when investing.
Betting on the Super Bowl is easier than gambling on the stock market because you don’t have to do a lot of checking. To begin with, there are only two teams and one of them is sure to be a winner.
Rather than toss the dice against the vagaries of the various markets that contain thousands of stocks, you should do some shopping before buying. And make sure your information is from a reliable source, not some chat room.
Don’t even think about securities offered on the telephone or by e-mail and deal only with a securities firm that you know or one recommended by a person who is familiar with the investment industry. You might ask your tax preparer, attorney, or accountant for a referral.
Beware of promises of quick riches. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Be sure you understand the extent of the possibility of risk of loss as well as the prospect of gain.
Get all the facts and support them with more research. Don’t buy on tips or rumors.
When dealing with a securities salesperson, ask to see their Securities Commission licenses as well as information about themselves and their company.
If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask them to clarify it. Ask them to write it down so you can consult with someone who does.
Don’t be afraid of asking a stupid question. You’re only being stupid if you don’t ask a question about something you don’t understand.
The More I Hear . . .
. . .read, learn and am told about social media,
the more I come to realize
that it’s really anti-social.
IRS Audit Needn’t be a Four-Letter word
If you’ve been audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you know it’s a pain in the neck.
If you haven’t been, there are some simple steps to take to alleviate as much of the pain and panic as possible. This is as good a time a year as any to begin.
The first thing is to make certain you have documentation supporting all income and expenses — receipts, canceled checks, and bank, credit-card and dividend statements, for example. Keep these records for at least three years. The IRS has three years from the date you file a tax return to audit it, according to the Financial Planners Association.
The IRS has up to six years to challenge your return if it thinks you have under reported your income substantially. You need the documentation to prove them wrong.
However, if you didn’t file a return or filed a fraudulent one, you’re subject to an audit at any time.
Your state (and your city, if it has an income tax) have time-expiration dates that may differ. If you file tax returns in another country, add those expiration dates to your calendar and make certain you keep tax records long enough so that you don’t get caught without documentation if your return is questioned.
The IRS treats everyone equally: you’re guilty until you prove your innocence.
That’s why a letter from the IRS can send shivers through anybody who receives one. The first rule here is, don’t ignore it.
Most notices include a deadline for responses and the IRS will expect to hear from you by that date.
If you have a tax-preparer, take the IRS notification to him or her immediately.
If you don’t have a tax preparer and the IRS is requesting additional information, make copies of the necessary documents and send them to the agency right away.
Even after all challenge limits expires, it’s a good idea to keep your tax returns for a few years extra, along with such documents as your year-end mortgage and investment- portfolio statements. It’s also a good idea to keep on file all records for assets you still own, ranging from your house to automobile to major appliances and jewelry.
If you don’t maintain your records and if the IRS asks for more information than you have kept, the agency is going to assume that you tossed them out for a reason — that you may be hiding something.
F I N A L L Y ! ! !
I’ve found something that always pisses me off.
It’s people who ask me for some advice,
then get pissed off because I tell them the truth.
Wars Are Started by Mistakes.
If the U.S. decides to go ahead with its plan
to protect the Ukraine
by launching cyberattacks against Russia,
that’s a mistake.
We Are Born to Die . . .
. . . and whether the in-between is
delightful, disappointing or disgusting
is up to us.
Aquamation Gaining Support
A global awareness of a totally new approach to funeral practice was unleashed when it was announced that Archbishop Desmond Tutu had died and was laid to rest behind his pulpit in Cape Town.
The 90-year-old cleric gained renown for denouncing bigotry and racial tyranny as well as giving speeches and writing articles about the need to take action to combat climate change and protecting the environment.
To cap his environmental crusade, he requested that his body be aquamated, described as a greener alternative to cremation.
Few folks knew what that meant.
Aquamation is a cremation method using water that funeral parlors are touting as environmentally friendly.
The process, known more scientifically as “alkaline hydrolysis,” is simply cremation by water rather than fire.
The body of the deceased is immersed for three to four hours in a mixture of water and strong alkali-like potassium hydroxide in a pressurized metal cylinder that is heated to around 150 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
Everything is liquefied but the bones, which are then dried in an oven, reduced to dust and placed in an urn. The water can be processed through normal wastewater-treatment facilities.
This method of body disposal was developed in the early 1990s to discard the carcasses of animals used in experiments. It was used later to dispose of cows during the mad cow disease epidemic that lasted until the turn of the century.
Then U.S. medical schools began using aquamation to dispose of donated human cadavers and the practice slowly made its way into the funeral industry, according to a 2014 research paper.
The process also is used to dispose of animal carcasses in slaughterhouses, where it is considered to be more efficient and hygienic.
With burial space in urban areas worldwide becoming increasingly scarce and expensive, aquamation has obvious attractions.
However, the practice has not been legalized in every country and about half of the U.S. states have yet to authorize it.
Advocates claim a liquid cremation consumes less energy than a conventional one and emits fewer greenhouse gases.
According to UK-based firm Resomation, aquamation uses five times less energy than fire and reduces a funeral’s emissions of greenhouse gases by around 35 per cent.
Environmentally Friendly Cremations based in Australia claims water cremation “produces less than 10 per cent of the carbon emissions” of fire cremation, and a firm based in the U.S. said the process “uses 90 per cent less energy than flame cremation.”
Mature Life Features 