by Leif Jensen | Nov 18, 2020 | Running a Business |
As the year winds down, I suggest that you take some time to work on your business, rather than in your business. Never mind that you should have already started your planning for 2021, since you are working to complete your tax and business goals for 2020. First...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 17, 2020 | Estate Planning |
A trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows a third party, or trustee, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries. Trusts can be arranged in many ways and can specify exactly how and when the assets pass to the beneficiaries. Now from a practical...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 16, 2020 | Estate Planning |
I have been dealing with estate issues of late and it got me thinking about the different types of wills and where they fit into estate planning. They fall into four broad categories. Simple Will – you decide who will receive your assets, possibly name a guardian for...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 11, 2020 | Running a Business |
Has your business grown stale? Have sales leveled off or decreased and morale and systems are on autopilot? Have you developed no new ideas or concepts to test or implement? You may need the skills of an outsider. Either on your BOA, BOD or an employee. It helps to...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 10, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Banks are not your friend. They never were and were never meant to be. They are businesses that are run by very conservative greedy people. They will take a small risk, but only at great value to them. If you were a bank you would run the same way. So, when you are...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 9, 2020 | Running a Business |
It is time to expand the business to take it to the next level. You have reviewed your business, from top to bottom. Your ratios and measurables point towards the future, the market conditions are favorable, you discussed and debated the issue with your advisors and...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 4, 2020 | Running a Business |
Now, may be a good time to rework your “Financial Dashboard”. With all the changes going on, your ratio parameters may have changed. You may be working with your suppliers to get them paid which has your payables higher than your norm. Or clients may need been...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 3, 2020 | Money Management, Running a Business |
I was watching the American Express Summit where Shaq was describing a time when he asked a wealthy restaurant owner how he was able to maintain his wealth. Apparently, the answer was blissfully simple, if you have the where withal to be able to accomplish it. I am...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 2, 2020 | Running a Business |
In these troubled times your business may be heading in the wrong direction and you need a turnaround plan. Your bills may be piling up, but you still need their services. Call them up, talk to them explain the situation to a point. No need to give them every grisly...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 28, 2020 | Rant |
Did you know that the $2 bill is still in circulation? Did you know that they are not scarce? Did you know that printing $2 bills is twice as cost-effective for the government as printing $1 bills since they both cost the same amount (5.5 cents) to manufacture? But...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 27, 2020 | Running a Business |
Now is not the time to be a landlord. Federal regulators are halting evictions of residential tenants for missed rent through the end of the year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the order after a ban on evictions from federally owned housing...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 26, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Despite the warnings from Steven Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Gates; everyone is rushing to get and implement “Artificial Intelligence” into every aspect of our computers. The one I hadn’t really considered was the military aspects of “AI”. Now I find that the U.S....
by Leif Jensen | Oct 21, 2020 | Taxes |
Have you been working from home since your employer’s office closed? If so, you do not get to claim the home office deduction, you are an employee. Prior to 2018, certain employees could deduct the cost of home office expenses as unreimbursed employee costs included...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 20, 2020 | Rant |
IRS must soon start sending out economic impact payments to prisoners, according to a district court orders after two prisoners filed suit, claiming that the agency was wrongly withholding stimulus checks from them. Nothing in the CARES Act specifically prohibits the...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 19, 2020 | Estate Planning |
Here is the way to assist your kids or grandkids with their college education: Pay tuition directly to the school. The payment is nontaxable to the student, it does not count against the $15,000 annual gift tax exclusion, and it reduces your estate. The same can be...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 14, 2020 | Rant |
Daylight Saving Time ends in 2020 at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, marking the time when clocks “fall back” and we gain an extra hour of sleep. Daylight Saving Time, often incorrectly referred to in the plural as Daylight Savings Time, started in 2020 on Sunday, March 8....
by Leif Jensen | Oct 13, 2020 | Rant |
I watched the 1st Presidential debate for about 5 minutes, during that time I was embarrassed by both candidates behavior. Neither looked presidential, they looked and acted like preschoolers. While we essentially have only two political parties according to the...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 12, 2020 | Running a Business |
While Congress is still be debating the color of an orange, the SBA did something for small PPP loan holders. Both parties have stated that they believe that a complete streamlined forgiveness PPP plan should be made for loans of $150,000 or less. But there has yet...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 7, 2020 | Running a Business |
Illinois Department of Human Rights Beginning July 1, 2020, Illinois employers who have had an adverse judgment or administrative ruling related to sexual harassment and/or unlawful discrimination in the preceding calendar year shall disclose annually to the Illinois...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 6, 2020 | Economy, General |
The carbon footprint of our food as been in the news for awhile. Not screaming headlines, but lurking in the shadows. Livestock farming produces from 20% to 50% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Shrink That Footprint’s has a chart that shows that a meat...
