Issue 31.09

Last month, my son and his wife decided to buy their first car.  They asked if I could come along and help out.  After looking around a few used car dealerships, they found a nice little car that suited their purposes perfectly.  After being told that the car was in great shape and haggling over a price, we took the car for a test drive over to an auto shop, where we got a second opinion about its true value.  The mechanic agreed that the car was in good condition.

After returning the car to the dealership, my son and his wife decided that they wanted to take some time to think about it.  They looked at other cars elsewhere and ultimately decided that that first dealership car fit their needs best.

The reason I tell you this story is this.  The economy is changing drastically.  The market is dropping and the taxes are rising.  Your financial plan, which may have been working perfectly up until now, may not be enough protection against the economy’s future changes.  Have you taken the opportunity to have an advisor look over your financial situation and possibly adjust your plan?  Are you going to outlive your income?

Going back to cars, when your oil is low a warning light comes on.  If you want your car to last longer, you get your oil changed.  You don’t keep driving around, thinking that the change in your car is just a phase and it will pass.  The news about our economy is your oil light.  It’s time to have someone look over your financial situation again.

Sometimes, you’ll need an overhaul of your current financial plan.  Other times, you’ll find out that a simple adjustment might put you in a safer place.  I have visited with many people with plans that, in the past, were working perfectly for them, but the changing economy had started to negatively affect their financial situation.  With our help, they were able to make changes and adjustments to protect their money in these rough economic times.

We feel that regular reviews with our clients are important to their financial standing.  Many of our clients find that their financial situation hasn’t been affected by the changing economy.  Other clients have, with our help, been able to change their plans before it was too late.  That’s why I meet with them often so we can make those changes.

If you are interested in a free consultation (second opinion), feel free to give us a call at (435)773-9444 and schedule your financial oil change.  Let me get to know you and learn what your financial hopes and dreams are.

Issue 31.09

Now President Obama says he never envisioned that his stimulus package would afford quick relief to the American economy, but would do so only after it had run its two-year course.  Earlier Obama sang a different tune, demanding its enactment to speed relief to a sagging economy and to “create or save” 600,000 jobs.  Now, even as the economy loses 450,000 jobs monthly, he pretends that the stimulus will soon kick in.

He justifies the stimulus package by saying it was adopted to prevent the “collapse” of the economy and the banking systems.  But it was really the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), first passed under President Bush, that kept the banks afloat.  At the time of the enactment of the stimulus package, Obama never mentioned it was supposed to save the banks.

But Obama will pay for betting on his stimulus package.  Because of it, the Bush recession is becoming the Obama recession much faster than it would have had he adopted a more gradual approach to solving economic problems.  By jumping in immediately, in order to increase government spending and pass eight years of Democratic dreams in one day, he made the public expect a solution.

Now that the deficit has soared to 12 percent of the gross domestic product, everyone realizes that taxes must go up to pass healthcare “reform,” making its adoption even less likely.  House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) has passed $550 billion of tax increases, but everyone knows that at least $1 trillion is required.  And, in the current environment, Congress will not vote to add the balance to the deficit, even if Charlie wants to “charge it.”

He has laid a trap for himself.  Just as the economy is coming out of its recession — in 2010 and 2011 — he will face massive inflation.  The money supply has more than tripled since October of as the Fed buys Treasury bills and other securities to “monetize the debt.”  With each new infusion of cash, the problem of avoiding inflation becomes particularly severe.  Obama could well lose the elections of 2012 because of the inflation his deficit has created.

If the recession doesn’t doom Obama to a single term, the inflation will.  And if the inflation doesn’t get him, the subsequent recession will.

He was doomed to lose the game right after he received the first kickoff.

Issue 31.09

Picture in your mind the cleaning of a really messy closet or a garage.  First of all you pull everything out and make an even bigger mess than you had to start with.  Then you go through and put things back in, organizing as you go, putting similar items together, and getting rid of things that didn’t belong in there in the first place.  You know that the time you spend sorting and organizing will save you more time in the future as you will be able to quickly find what you need when you need it. 

This same principle applies to the new FamilySearch.  Church headquarters has dubbed us “the clean up generation” because we have the tools to do the job.  New FamilySearch was created using the International Genealogical Index (IGI), the Ancestral File, Pedigree Resource File entries, LDS Church Membership records and other extracted and submitted data.  Now that everything is in its place, it needs to be organized.  We only need one record for each person who has ever lived, so if a person is included more than once, he needs to be combined into one folder.

We need to recognize our ancestors in spite of discrepancies in the information.  Using the new FamilySearch as our tool, we will search for and combine duplicate records.  Any conflicting or variant data will appear in one file folder, making it easier for others to find.  For example, if I go in and combine all of Archibald Sullivan’s duplicate records, no one else will have to combine them for him, unless they submit a GEDCOM file of duplicates, which is an article for another day! 

We need to make any corrections, especially if they are our own mistakes.  For example my great-grandmother liked the name Veronica so she had written her name as Hattie Veronica Parry.  Her maiden name was Rees and it was not spelled with an e at the end.  I didn’t know all of those details when I first submitted her in 1992.  There are 15 records for Hattie in the new FamilySearch.  I have combined them all into one folder and corrected her actual given name as Hattie Rees.  The file in the IGI with Hattie Veronica Rees is still there, so is the Hattie Reese record, but since they are all the same person, they have been combined into one folder.  I have corrected her birth date of about 1882 in Wales to 30 Apr 1892 in Butte, Silver Bow, Montana.

Shanna Sullivan Jones is a professional genealogist now accepting new clients.  For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.

Issue 31.09

My, how times have changed.  Formal dining rooms are almost unused nowadays except for special occasions.  They’ve been replaced by the more convenient speedier sandwich bars located in the kitchen where take out food and snacks are dispensed at all hours to family members who rarely sit down together for a home cooked meal like my grandma used to make daily for her family.

I have many fond memories of that dear old lady in her tidy housedress always covered with an apron slaving away over a coal or wood cooking stove to prepare at least two hot meals per day for her boarders and family of five dependent children.  When she moved into the Bell Rooming house in Eureka she inherited a boarder Stanley Zolan, an invalid veteran who stayed on.  She fixed him three meals/day despite the hot weather during summer or in the cold winter when the heat from the stove and oven was welcomed.

Years later when grandma bought a hot plate, it greatly simplified her cooking but I’m sure she still needed to use her wood stove’s oven for baking bread and pies.  There were no microwaves in her day or prepared foods, everything was made from scratch.  Grandma never saw a paper plate or a dishwasher, everything she served was on sturdy dishes.  When the meal was cleared, the scraps or leftovers were scraped into a bucket for the chickens or the dog, then the dishwashing was done by hand with water heated on the stove.

Her menu wasn’t fancy - just the basics-soup, stew, meat and potatoes.  On Sunday fried chicken was a special treat that took a lot of work.  Grandma never heard of pizza, tacos or spaghetti but her fried scones and fresh baked pies couldn’t be beat.  Kids and guests were asked to wash up before eating.  Children were expected to sit quietly at the table and not speak unless spoken to.  They cleaned up their plates and there were no picky eaters or complaints about not liking a certain kind of food.  They ate what was on their plate or didn’t eat.  Breakfast was normally mush or homemade bread and milk.  Eggs and other fancier items were saved for company or boarders.  At the end of a meal, the children would politely ask…Can I be excused?

That’s certainly a different scene from our day and age. 

Lin Floyd lin@sunrivertoday.com is the author of LOOKING BACK…at the “Good Old Days,” a collection of her weekly articles about growing up in the old West.

Issue 31.09

People who use social networking websites know that it can be exciting to reconnect with long lost friends and relatives over the Internet.  Such surprise connections can be fun and conjure up memories of times forgotten.  But what if you have a more serious situation and you need to locate a particular person?  Perhaps Social Security can help.

Social Security is in the business of paying benefits, not reconnecting people.  But, in some cases, we will do what we can to help.

We will attempt to forward a letter to a missing person under circumstances involving a matter of great importance, such as a death or serious illness in the missing person’s immediate family, or a sizeable amount of money that is due the missing person.  Also, the circumstances must concern a matter about which the missing person is unaware and would undoubtedly want to be informed.

In less dire cases, such as when a son, daughter, brother or sister want to establish contact, we will write to the missing person, rather than forwarding a letter.

Because this service is not related in any way to a Social Security program, its use must be limited so that it does not interfere with our regular program activities.

There is no charge for forwarding letters that have a humanitarian purpose.  However, we must charge a $25 fee to cover our costs when the letter is to inform the missing person of money or property due.  This fee is not refundable.  The fee should be paid by a check made payable to the Social Security Administration.

We must read each letter we forward to ensure that it contains nothing that could prove embarrassing to the missing person if read by a third party.  Letters should be in plain, unstamped, unsealed envelopes showing only the missing person’s name.  Nothing of value should be enclosed.

To try to locate an address in our records, we’ll need the missing person’s Social Security number or identifying information such as date and place of birth, father’s name, and the mother’s full birth name.

Unless a missing person is receiving benefits under a program Social Security administers, we would not have a home address for them.  Usually, we forward a letter in care of the employer who most recently reported earnings for the person.

Requests for letter forwarding should be sent to:

Social Security Administration

Letter Forwarding

P.O. Box 33022

Baltimore, MD 21290-3022

Learn more about this service at www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/html/ltrfwding.htm.

Issue 31.09

I have noticed that a lot of things I used to do have changed dramatically since computers have arrived.  One of those is the way our family plans travel and vacations.  When I need to travel out of my immediate area, I usually will go to www.mapquest.com and input my location and the address I am going to.  It shows me a map of all the streets on which I will travel.  Even better, it shows me which roads to turn on and how far it is to the next turn.  Finally, it gives me an estimate of how long it will take to get there.

I bought a GPS system that does a lot of the same things, and I do like it, but I also like having the map so I can get the big picture before I leave and plan where to stop for bathroom breaks, meals, etc.  On a recent trip to Texas with my daughter’s family, we used both systems and it kept the kids pretty content for such a long trip.  We even used the computer to plan some activities in the towns where we stayed overnight.  We just used www.google.com to look up the town and checked for kid-friendly things to do.  I remember having to write to the chamber of commerce and then wait for them (sometimes in vain) to send brochures or flyers about their town and activities.  Thank goodness for computer technology!

Another thing that is fun is to use http://earth.google.com/ (google earth).  This great add-on to your internet browser makes it possible to see the places you are going to or traveling through from the air and, in most cases, even from street level.  My daughter’s children were able to see their new home and neighborhood even though they had never been there.

The computer also helped me find a great barbeque restaurant I had visited many years before on my only previous visit to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  It also helped save money on the flight back.  We’ll talk more about how to use the computer to plan and enjoy vacations next time.

Until then, stay safe and happy computing.

Shaun McCausland has been in the computer industry for 27 years (locally with Musicomp & Bits ‘N’ Bytes) and currently does in-home and on-site computer consultation, service, training and repair. If you have questions, you can reach him at 668-7118.

Issue 31.09

Ken Hinton, partner at HintonBurdick CPAs & Advisors suggests, “If you are planning on taking the standard deduction when you file your 2009 tax return, there are a couple of additional deductions you could be entitled to: a sales tax deduction on the purchase of a new vehicle and a property tax deduction”.

According to advertisements, it’s a great time to buy a new vehicle.  In addition to the deals being offered by car dealerships, the IRS is also offering a deal to those who buy a new motor vehicle: the opportunity to deduct the sales tax paid on the purchase.

“Although a deduction for sales tax paid on major purchases has been an option in previous years, the deduction allowed was only an itemized deduction.  If the standard deduction was greater than the itemized deduction total, no tax savings was realized.  This new deduction can be taken regardless if one chooses to itemize or to take the standard deduction,” stated Hinton.

This deal is not just limited to a car or truck, but also includes purchases of a motor home or motorcycle.  However, the vehicle purchased must be a new vehicle, meaning not just “new” to you.  It must be brand new.

According to Hinton, “As always, the IRS does place some limitations on this deduction.  The purchase must occur after February 16, 2009 and before January 1, 2010.”  The state and local sales tax that can be deducted is limited to the tax paid on a purchase up to $49,500.  

“Another relatively new deduction taxpayers are allowed to take in addition to the standard deduction is a deduction for real property taxes,” continued Hinton.  In years before 2008, the law has allowed a deduction for real property taxes if the taxpayer chooses to itemize.  If real property taxes are paid but the taxpayer’s itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction, no tax benefit is realized for paying the property tax.  The new law allows one to deduct the amount of real property tax paid up to $1,000 if filing a joint return (up to $500 if filing single) when one elects to take the standard deduction.  If one chooses to itemize, the taxpayer can still deduct the property tax paid.

Taxpayers taking the standard deduction in 2009 could end up with a couple of additional deductions, and therefore a reduced amount of tax.

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact our office at HintonBurdick CPAs & Advisors, (435) 628-3663.  Also, visit our Web site at www.hintonburdick.com for weekly tax tips.

Issue 31.09

I have always disliked needles.  Once I stepped on a nail and my mom decided I needed a tetanus shot.  As we drove to the doctor’s office I used my best childhood logic to convince my mom the whole trip was unnecessary.  She responded with something about lockjaw.  I told her it would be no big deal to take smaller bites when I ate.  I also assured her it would be easy for me to learn to talk like a ventriloquist, I even offered a demonstration, so a little tightness in the jaw would be a minor inconvenience.

Despite my excellent reasoning we soon found ourselves walking into the dreaded doctor’s office.  What happened next has become part of Wyson family lore, the kind of story that gets better at each family reunion.  I won’t go into the details except to say I still don’t know who had a more traumatic experience that day, me, or the doctor and his two nurses.  On the way home I felt some comfort in knowing I had not gone down without a fight.

Parents love to tell their kids that these things are for their own good, and much less painful than some future alternative.  They sometimes forget that to a child, the only reality is the present.  Something that is happening next week, tomorrow or even “in a little while” has little value to a child.

Investors often have similar struggles weighing present pain against future good.  One such matter is with taxes.  Many people hold positions they don’t really want or need to avoid paying Capital Gains taxes.  One man in particular refused to part with a very large position in a banking stock despite repeated recommendations from me to do so.  He held large gains and did not want to pay the taxes.  I pointed out that we currently have the lowest capital gains tax rate in our lifetimes.  Given the risk of being so concentrated in one stock, paying the 15% CG tax seemed reasonable.  Still he refused and in 2008 lost the entire position when the bank failed.

With currently low CG tax rates almost certain to rise, investors should consider whether it makes sense to suffer a little tax pain today to avoid greater suffering in the future.  After all, it’s just a little needle and will only hurt for a moment.

Dan Wyson, CFP®  is author of the book “21 Financial Myths” and owner of Wyson Financial. 1173 S. 250 W #305 St. George 435-986-9525 – Securities offered through LPL Financial member FINRA/SIPC.

Issue 30.09

Richens Eye Center corrects Astigmatism along with cataract surgery.  

Astigmatism is a common form of visual impairment in which an image is blurred, due to an irregularity in the curvature of the front surface of the eye, called the cornea.  With astigmatism the curve of the cornea is shaped more like a football rather than a spherical basketball.  When the light rays pass through a cornea with astigmatism, it scatters the light, causing blurred vision at distance and near.  

Astigmatism may be so slight that it causes no problems, but almost everyone has some degree of astigmatism.  If there is a significant amount of astigmatism it can be corrected by using an Intra-Ocular Lens Implant that is used during cataract surgery.  A cataract is a “clouding” of the eye’s natural lens that is removed during cataract surgery.  An Intra Ocular Lens implant is used to replace the patient’s natural lens that has been removed.  These lens implants have a prescription in them just like a pair of glasses, but until recently have not had the capability of correcting the astigmatism portion, only the nearsightedness and the farsightedness.  

“The vision results from using this lens have been undeniably impressive.  The AcroSof IQ TORIC lens is designed to help patients achieve the best possible vision, and it’s doing exactly that,” states Valerie Parkinson, surgical counselor and ophthalmic assistant and Richens Eye Center.  For more information about cataract surgery or the TORIC astigmatism correcting lens call Richens Eye Center at 435-652-4040.

Issue 30.09

In college my Dad advised me to study philosophy because it will teach you how to think, and history because it will teach you what to think about.  I have found my dad’s advice to be very useful and wish to apply it to our current debate on national healthcare.  One might think political topics like this have no place in a financial column, but when politics threaten finances, I feel an obligation to make my voice heard.

In philosophy you study the many fallacies of argumentation.  One fallacy is known as “starting on a false assumption.”  For example, the current debate on healthcare reform is based on the common phrase, “Our healthcare system is broken and needs to be fixed.”  From that assumption the debate moves forward.  But why does no one contest the assumption?  The healthcare system in the US provides better quality healthcare for more people in a more efficient manner than any other system in the world.  I have wealthy clients who have moved to the US because of our healthcare system.  I have never heard anyone say, “I am in need of really good healthcare.  I think I will drive up to Canada.”

If anything about our system is “broken” it is the cost.  But as a sign I saw recently said, “If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until it is free.”  Basic laws of economics teach that the free market provides the best service, in the most efficient manner and at the best price.  Does anyone really believe a government run system will provide better service, more efficiently and at less cost?  If so then here is where a good knowledge of history will help.  Dozens of other nations have gone down this path.  Have any been successful in producing better healthcare than we have right here?

We are told that we are the only developed nation that does not provide free healthcare to all its citizens.  Here is the truth.  There is not a nation on earth that provides free healthcare to anyone.  I feel obligated as a financial advisor to sound the warning that we are heading down a path that we cannot afford.  We all want good healthcare for everyone, but if our government keeps writing checks it cannot cover we are all going to feel the pain that no amount of healthcare can ease.

Dan Wyson, CFP®  is author of the book “21 Financial Myths” and owner of Wyson Financial. 1173 S. 250 W #305 St. George 435-986-9525 - Securities offered through LPL Financial member FINRA/SIPC.