Gold Star Taxes Inc. - December 2021

Gold Star Taxes Inc. - December 2021

DECEMBER 2021

(517) 437-4646 GOLDSTARDIRECT.COM BEYOND THE NUMBERS

Facing My Fear on the Vegas Strip YES, I DID JUMP OFF A BUILDING!

Referral TVWinners This Past Tax Season

A few months ago, the whole Gold Star Taxes team watched me face one of my biggest fears: heights. I’m not totally sure how it happened, but somehow, I ended up standing on the top of The STRAT Hotel in Las Vegas with a bungee cord hooked to my back. It was my turn to do the SkyJump — an 829-foot freefall over the Las Vegas Strip. My wife, Robbie, did the SkyJump a few years ago and didn’t think it was a big deal, but she’s not as averse to heights as I am. It took a lot of guts for me to get up there and even more to jump off and let the bungee cord do its thing! Luckily, nothing crazy happened. I survived the leap into space and overcame my fear of heights. Then, I got the treat of watching another guy from our group — the husband of one of our tax preparers — go through the same thing. He had never been to Vegas, so I think he had even more adrenaline going than I did. I’m pretty proud of myself for getting through the SkyJump. It was one of the highlights of my 2021, along with a crazy but successful tax season, surviving COVID-19, and visiting my daughter in Alaska. You might remember that in my last newsletter I mentioned I was done traveling for the year. Well, the Vegas trip was a bonus. My employees worked really hard last tax season, and they deserved a few days out of town to unwind. Robbie and I took the whole crew, and we were never bored for a minute the whole time we were in Vegas. Now that we’re back, it’s time for us to get into tax mode. I’m hoping we’ll have a normal tax season this year after two years of pandemic extension, but that’s up to the government, not me! At this point I think the odds are good that April 15 will be a hard deadline. That means you should be getting ready for tax season now. I’d suggest starting with these three things. If you’ve taken advantage of the Advance Child Tax Credit payments for the last few months, keep an eye out for a letter from the IRS in January. That letter will tell you how

Kody Rubin Shane and Stephanie Lockwood Vonda Cekander Tyler Gonshorowski Richard and Patricia Hawkins Richard Lambright Randy and Lisa Lane Paul and Carie Shepherd Thomas and Sabine Young David Beck Jr. Kevin Betzer Tracey Carothers

much the government has paid you, and it’s important that you hang on to it and give it to your tax preparer.

The same is true for your stimulus checks. Save all of the mail you get/have gotten related to them so that your tax preparer can reconcile the amount accurately in your tax return. Start gathering all of your tax-related documents, including W-2 forms, 1099 forms, 1040 forms, etc. These should start showing up in January. If you’re not sure which forms you need to hang on to, give me and my team a call. Speaking of calling, it’s not too early to book an appointment with my team to work on filing your 2021 return. You can always walk into our office during regular business hours in January or February, but if you’d like help from a particular tax preparer, you need to make an appointment. Slots are already going fast, so get your call in sooner rather than later.

Johnni Collard Chris Friedrich Ray Pankhurst Ken Williams

Happy prepping!

–Saul Giminez

P.S. I faced my fear of heights this year, and if you owe back taxes or have some other kind of tax problem, I can help you face your fear of the IRS. Just give our office a call and ask for help.

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MERRY AND BRIGHT Cut the Stress From

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Decorating your Christmas tree should be fun, but the process often turns into anything but. Between finding decorations, untangling lights, and trying to get the tree picture-perfect, the happy event can quickly become stressful. Even if you love decorating the tree, you can likely make the experience (and the end product) even better. Here are the most common sources of frustration and how to fix them with minimal fuss.

the tree is festive and covers a lot of space. You can also buy fake twigs that have berries, look like real tree branches, or are covered in glitter. Stick them in the bare spots to fill out your tree, then save them for the next year.

Lights

If you use an artificial Christmas tree, we strongly recommend buying one that is pre-lit. If your holiday just doesn’t feel complete without a real tree in the house, hanging the lights can be one of the most frustrating parts of the tree-decorating process. Get on the right track by setting yourself up for success. Instead of shoving your lights in a box or bag at the end of the season, wrap them around the outside of the box or around a clothing hanger instead. Getting your lights hung properly around the tree can be a pain, too. This year, try hanging them vertically on your tree, from base to top and back again, until the tree is covered. It’s easier to do and helps camouflage the cord.

Bare Spots

Whether your tree is natural or artificial, you need to fluff the branches. However, as important as this step is, you don’t need to spend more than 10 minutes on it because let’s face it: There are some bare spots no amount of fluffing will fix.

Luckily, tinsel garland hides a wide variety of flaws and might be the easiest solution. If you don’t care for tinsel, tying large gift bows to

Beaded Garland

Beaded garland always looks so much better in the store than it does on your own tree. No matter how much you fiddle with it, it just doesn’t lay right or have the even, dramatic swoops you see in display windows. The true problem is probably that you’ve been hanging your beaded garland incorrectly. You may think there can’t be too many ways to drape beads over branches, but draping itself is the entirely wrong approach. Instead of simply wrapping the beads around the tree and hoping they fall into place, you should attach ornament hooks to the garland along the string. Use the hooks to gracefully hang your garland from the branches and marvel at the simplicity. When your Christmas tree goes up this year, these tips should make the experience faster, easier, and more joyful. You can now use all that time you would have spent wrapping garland to wrap presents instead.

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RUDOLPH, YOU’LL GO DOWN IN HISTORY Behind the Evergreen Christmas Special

You know Dasher and Dancer, and you definitely know Rudolph. Everyone’s favorite red-nosed reindeer was first born as a 1939 short story, but he truly shot to fame when his tale was adapted into a song by Gene Autry in 1949. Rivaling even the song’s fame is the Rankin/Bass stop-motion special that airs like clockwork every year around Christmas. Generations have now grown up with Rudolph, so it may be surprising to learn that his journey to the small screen started as a General Electric promotion. The company had a running television special on NBC called the “GE Fantasy Hour,” which they used to market their products directly to viewers. The better the story they told, the more viewers they got — and the more toasters they could sell. The script introduced crucial new characters like Hermey the elf, Yukon Cornelius the prospector, and of course, Bumble the abominable snowman. GE hired innovative Japanese animators to create the film using stop-motion techniques that were highly advanced for the time. GE invested the modern equivalent of $4.5 million into the production of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and the special first aired in 1964. Those who are familiar with the film know that it ends with Rudolph enlisting Santa to save the Misfit Toys from earlier in the movie — but it didn’t originally. The version that aired in 1964 concludes with Rudolph

leading Santa’s sleigh but forgetting all about his homeless friends. The backlash was swift, and viewers wrote in to express displeasure at the heartless resolution. GE decided the special had to be corrected and played again with the proper ending in 1965. And so, a tradition of annual airings was born.

Today, “Rudolph” is the longest-running Christmas special in history, and our favorite misfit deer shows no signs of slowing down after 57 years. The movie has transformed

into a marketing bonanza, with new Christmas decorations, figurines, and toys being produced each year. Though it’s somewhat shocking to our modern sensibilities to see Santa bullying his reindeer employees and their children, fond childhood memories mean that parents continue to pass the special down to their kids. Even as we recognize its flaws, the dazzling animation and famous songs continue to bring joy and Christmas spirit to households around

the country. Just as sure as Santa comes every year, so does Rudolph.

TAKE A BREAK

• 6 egg yolks • 1/2 cup sugar • 1 cup heavy 1. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and creamy. Set aside. 2. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the cream, milk, nutmeg, and salt. Bring to a simmer. 3. Add a spoonful of the milk mixture to the egg mixture. Whisk vigorously and repeat, one spoonful at a time. 4. When most of the milk is whisked in, add the egg mixture to the saucepan. 5. Whisk until the liquid thickens slightly or reaches 160 F. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. 6. Pour the eggnog into a glass container and cover. Refrigerate. 7. When the eggnog has thickened, pour it into glasses, garnish, and enjoy! DIY HOLIDAY EGGNOG Inspired by TastesBetterFromScratch.com Ingredients Directions whipping cream • 2 cups milk • 1/2 tsp nutmeg • 1 pinch salt • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract • Cinnamon and whipped cream, for garnish

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

12 N. Howell, Hillsdale, MI 49242

INSIDE

1

Saul Went Bungee Jumping to Face His Biggest Fear

2

Make Decorating Your Christmas Tree Less Stressful

3

How Rudolph Became a TV Institution

DIY Holiday Eggnog

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Facial Massage for Beginners

THE BENEFITS OF FACIAL MASSAGES And How to Perform One at Home

into your skin. Next, choose a massaging agent, such as a gentle facial oil, serum, or moisturizer.

Our faces are filled with muscles that we use every day to talk, eat, express our emotions, and more. It makes sense that these facial muscles could benefit from some relaxation and loosening up. Getting a facial massage may seem silly the first time you try it, but this practice has some surprising benefits. Facial massage is common in many skin care routines throughout the world but not used by most Americans. In addition to reducing stress, facial massage can make your skin look better by improving elasticity, relaxing wrinkles, preventing acne, and stimulating collagen production. It can also help with sinus and jaw pain.

Know the rules. When giving yourself a facial massage, there are a few no- nos. First of all, you should never massage over a breakout because bacteria can spread on your skin quickly. When massaging, ensure you are moving your skin but not stretching it. Lastly, always work against gravity and rub your skin upward, never downward. Get down to business. There are countless ways to massage your face. You can try rubbing your middle and ring fingers in circular motions, dragging and pressing your knuckles into your face, gently pinching your skin between two fingers, or tapping your fingers in “piano key” type motions. You can also try a face roller or a flat gua sha tool. As long as you’re not leaving marks on your face, experiment and see what feels good.

So, how can you get these benefits without hiring a professional? We have some tips.

Prepare your skin. Before beginning your massage, make sure to wash your face and remove any makeup. You don’t want to rub dirt or debris

With these tips, you can be on your way to a more relaxed and healthy face. Give facial massage a try today — the only thing you have to lose is stress.

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