All posts by TL Wall

I'm the owner of TL Wall Accounting, located in North Syracuse, NY
Budgeting, Managing Money

Are Sales Always Economical?

This weekend is one of the biggest sales periods of the year, and every year around this same time it seems like the best deals of the year are coming up. Whereas it seems like the best time to save money, one has to be wary of some of the deception that takes place at the same time.

For instance, there are many smartphone deals this weekend, and all of them might seem like you’re going to save a lot of money. You might, but you need to pay attention because most of the phones on sale are already obsolete. It’s rare to see the latest models having big discounts at this time of year, and truth be told, if you see a discount it’s probably not a new discount but something that was already available with a switch in plan that’s just been renamed for the holiday.

There are also places you’ll go to where you’ll see discounts of up to 50%, but if you do some homework and look at the prices during the year you’ll see those items have been marked up and then discounted, to the point where your savings aren’t really what they’re purported to be. That’s pretty sleazy but there’s nothing illegal about it.

The biggest thing to take into account is whether the item is something you actually need versus want; that is, if it’s for you. If you’re buying gifts for someone else we’d hope that you had a budget for that sort of thing. If not, it’s worth taking some time to think about things you really need, even if it’s for business purposes, and then determine if it’s worth the purchase.

Business furniture is always a good purchase at this time of year because it’s an industry where, sometimes, moving inventory is relatively static. It also works because things like desks and chairs rarely goes out of style.

Computers are something you need to take a good look at, even if you need one. It’s good to have an understanding of things like RAM and storage capacity and chipset. For instance, if you need office computers mainly for email and bookkeeping then you don’t need anything with 8GB of RAM, whereas if you’re making 3D models and the like the extra capacity is a great benefit. The same goes for storage, since most businesses will never reach a level where they’re going to need terabytes of files. As for chipsets, there’s mainly two (the names of which we won’t mention here) and, truthfully, both are good but one has a name that gets more respect and thus can drive the price of a computer higher than needed.

Overall, it’s best to figure out how much money you’re willing to spend after you put together a list of things you want, whether it’s for business or pleasure. Also, the best thing about shopping in today’s world is that you can take some time to do a little online research to see where you can get the best price.
 

Finances

5 Things You Need To Know In Trying To Sell Your Home

Are you looking to sell your home? No, we’re not buying, but we know that it’s a stressful time. You put your house on the market for a certain price and if you’re lucky you’ll get it. You hold an open house and people seem to be rejecting your home, or it prompts offer for way less money than you want.

It turns out that the things most people look at when they’re trying to sell their home aren’t the things that most buyers are looking at. If you’re looking to maximize the visibility of your home for potential buyers, and possibly make more money from the sale, there are some specific things you should look at.

We’re going to give you 4 of those things; the fifth is a money tip because, after all, we are accountants. Here we go!

1. Make sure your lawn is immaculate but not overly cluttered. Remember the line “you only get one chance to make a first impression”? Seems that’s true when it comes to homebuyers, especially new homebuyers. Sometimes the outside of a house might be enough to prompt someone to say they don’t even want to see the rest of the house. Having a lawn that’s trimmed nicely can do wonders. Also, if you have your home heavily landscaped with bushes and trees and many rock patterns you might want to think about getting rid of some of that. Few people move into a house without wanting to put their touch on it, including the lawn.

2. Work to emphasize open spaces. Do you have a table with trinkets sitting in a hallway, even a big hallway? Remove that, as well as some of your pictures if you have a lot of them. If you have a dining room with lots of other furniture in there you might want to think about putting it elsewhere. Just like your lawn, people like to put their own stuff into places where you might already have something sitting. You might think you’re showing the space well by enhancing it but instead potential homebuyers see less space than they thought they’d have to work with. Even people who are looking to downsize want rooms that look and feel spacious.

3. Paint all the rooms in the house the same color, preferably some kind of white. Once again, homebuyers aren’t interested in your sense of style. Turns out it’s hard to imagine what a room might look like when you get to it when the walls already have a different color on them, potentially a color the buyer might not like. Almost everyone is used to seeing a white background they can do something with.

4. Clean, clean, clean! Your house probably won’t get the white glove inspection from many buyers but they will notice if things look dusty or dirty. That gives the impression that the house hasn’t been taken care of and that if they move in they’re going to have to do a lot of work to get it the way they want it. The bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen are obviously your biggest targets but don’t miss the inside of cabinets and drawers and other rooms.

5. You do all of this because for the overwhelming part of the population all the profit is yours. That’s right, the more money you get, the more you get to keep for yourself, after paying off the balance of the mortgage if that’s still an issue. Turns out you can claim capital gains on a primary residence for up to $500,000, or $250,000 if you’re single, as long as you pass the residency requirements in your state and haven’t sold another primary property within a 2-year period. When you think about it this way, if you’re looking to get $150,000 for your home and you keep getting offered $125,000, maybe spending $5,000 to take care of the things mentioned about will get you the rest of what you’re asking for; sometimes you have to spend money to make money.
 

Budgeting

4 Ways To Save Money On Gift Buying

It may be too late to get some of the best bargains for some holiday shopping but anytime you can get some ideas of how to save money that might fit within your budget as it pertains to gifts it’s a good day.

We want to preface this by saying that even with savings, you should always make sure you’re staying within your budget as much as possible. Nothing’s a deal if you can’t really afford it. Here we go:

1. Buy online. There are many deals to be made online, even for new items. Be cautious that you’re not losing your savings via lousy shipping deals, which some retailers are sneaky about (such as charging you multiple times for multiple items you know are going in the same box). There are the generic sites where you can bid on things and other sites that offer low prices by comparison, but sometimes the best deal you can get is directly from the manufacturer.

2. Buy within the first two weeks “after” a holiday. This may not work well for items that won’t come out until just before a holiday but for everything else almost all businesses are trying to clear out inventory at drastically reduced rates. If the item you want to buy isn’t time conscious this is a great way to save a lot of money.

3. Don’t always buy “new”. There are a lot of big ticket items that are still pretty good that people decide to sell for reasons other than because something went bad. Things like cars and jewelry, sometimes even appliances, often get sold because someone didn’t like it as much as they thought the would but otherwise are just like new. Sometimes you can save as much as 75% on some items that aren’t fully new, and we’ve seen some cars with less than 5,000 miles go for upwards of 40% off, depending on the model.

4. Look for “vintage”. Going further with the theme of not buying new all the time, things like paintings, quilts and furniture sometimes retains itself pretty well over time and, in some instances, if you shop properly you can save some money on really nice stuff. Of course some vintage items go up in price over time so you might want to think about your purchases as an investment to help someone make money later on.
 

Managing Money

Businesses Sometimes Must Spend Money

As much as we tell businesses and individuals that they need to budget their money in case something comes up, we need to also mention that if you’re a business you need to spend money from time to time for multiple reasons. It’s hard to spend money you don’t have, which is why we talk about budgeting, but it’s important for your business not to be too shy about buying a thing or two here and there.

The biggest reason of course is that you get to write off those expenses when it comes to taxes. This is why we say to keep receipts and track your mileage. As we stated in our previous post, you can still make good money while having your business considered as operating at a loss, and it’s all legal.

What should you be spending your money on? Here are 5 things to consider.

1. Business meals. Networking is the name of the game when it comes to most businesses and a major perk is that you get to write off your meals when you’re doing any sort of business. You get 50% off of any meals you pay for towards your taxes, which means you don’t have to meet potential clients at McDonalds. And if you’re traveling a lot, any meals you buy out of town count as business expenses.

2. Education. There isn’t a business in the world that stays stagnant. Yet the first thing businesses often do is stop training and learning when things get financially tough. That will put you behind your competitors and that’s never a good thing. You get to write off training seminars and materials.

3. Networking. Most businesses have some kind of professional group they can join to either learn more about their business or network with others who are in business for themselves. Chambers of Commerce in your local area are always something to consider, especially if you tend to spend most of your time alone, if only because it not only gives you a reason to get out of the house, but it’s tax deductible. Getting to know other professionals, even if they’re not in your field, is always a good business move.

4. Office equipment. Unless you’re a large business you’re probably not depreciating any of your office equipment, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think about changing things from time to time, especially when you get to write it off. Computers, software, office furniture… sometimes you have to bite the bullet and buy something new, but knowing you get to write it off should lessen the blow somewhat.

5. Clothes or uniforms. There’s no rule that says you have to keep wearing the same thing over and over. Clothes and uniforms sometimes wear out, and since you get to write off the costs of these things it makes sense to update your wardrobe from time to time. You may not be able to write off that Syracuse University t-shirt, but if you buy a couple of dress shirts and maybe a pair of shoes… you’re good to go.

Accounting

Operating At A Loss Even When You’re Making Money

Whether you’re a small or large business, sometimes your business runs at a loss. Many times that’s the sign of growing pains and potential long term problems with a business, and it pays to have an accountant helping you figure things out.

However, there are times when your business might actually be making pretty good money and you might think your business isn’t running at a loss and yet it really is. Those are the times when it’s even more important to have an accountant helping you along the way because it could end up saving you lots of money when it comes to taxes, including not owing anything at all, and only your accountant will understand all the nuances.

For instance, if your business runs at a loss in one year the IRS allows a carryover into the next year. If you run your business at a loss multiple years in a row, you get to apply it to future years as long as your revenue and income doesn’t overly supersede your expenses.

You may also incur a lot of expenses in your business even if you’re making pretty good money. If you’re some kind of corporation and the expenses are high enough you might find yourself officially running at a loss, even if things are looking up. If you’re traveling and paying your own expenses you can pretty much write everything off, even if you might not get 100% credit for it, such as for meals.

It’s a very complicated business trying to figure it all out and there’s no reason to try to take it upon yourself. That’s what accountants live for, helping other businesses find ways of protecting their businesses and themselves. The little bit of money you’ll pay your accountants could save you thousands on the back end.