R˜˚˛r˝ G˙oˆmˇ˘, CPA, MBA The 10% Solution: Painless ...

Robert Goodman, CPA, MBA

December 2017

The newsletter designed to keep you on course to build a successful small business

Welcome to the December 2017 edition of the Straight Talk Newsletter! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

Can you believe that we'll soon be saying goodbye to 2017? As the year ends, it is prevalent to stay focused on your goals, don't stress the little things and read this newsletter full of inspiration and information.

This month's newsletter begins with an article that elaborates on the most powerful force in the universe; compound interest. Compound interest makes your money work for you, if you don't touch it.

Then we continue with an article that sums up everything you need to know about the changes made to the IRA Retirement Plan for 2018, in a simple and explicit, bulleted list.

Speaking of lists, Deborah Rosado Shaw, an entrepreneurial warrior, shares a list of advice to break through the glass ceiling of your business! The newsletter continues with articles that share specific steps to take when you are hesitant about an important decision, how to ask the right questions in various situations, and ways to overcome writer's block.

How can this upcoming year be better? Start with introducing some of the advice given in this month's newsletter to move towards a more organized and successful year.

We are wishing you and yours a very Happy Holidays and we look forward to seeing you in 2018!

Onwards! R r G o m , CPA, MBA

The 10% Solution: Painless Retirement Savings for All

Many people insist they simply can't save for retirement. They say that by the time they receive their paycheck, the money has already been spent ? on housing, utilities, car payments, groceries, clothing, entertainment and recreation. They argue, "How can I sock away money for tomorrow when I need every penny I earn today?"

However, saving for your golden years is absolutely critical ? and even people with small incomes do it. It takes some discipline, but not as much as you might think. The "10% Solution" has helped many people living paycheck-topaycheck amass respectable savings easily.

How?

By Paying Yourself First. It starts by taking 10% off the top of all money that comes your way ? whether it's a paycheck or a birthday check from Aunt Martha. Skim off 10% immediately and put it away. Some employers make it even easier by offering to automatically deduct 10% and sock it away for you ? you don't even have to think about it. Initially you'll notice the lower amount on your paycheck, but most people quickly get used to having a new number to play with and they adjust their budgets and lifestyles accordingly.

Through the Magic of Compound Interest. Albert Einstein is alleged to have said, "The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest."

He was only half-joking. Compound interest is what makes money

grow. It lets you build interest on the interest you've already earned.

Here's an example of what compound interest can look like.

Joe and Moe are twin brothers. Joe goes to work as a young man and immediately begins investing in an IRA, contributing $2,000 a year for six years. Then, he stops. The IRA compounds at 12% interest per year.

Moe goes to work too, but he waits seven years to start an IRA. Like his brother, he contributes $2,000 a year, but for 37 long years compared to his brother's six. Moe, too, earns 12% per year.

Who came out ahead?

Turns out, Joe and Moe each wound up with the same amount in retirement savings: $1,200,000.

Joe contributed $12,000 total during his working life. Moe contributed $74,000 ? almost six times as much as Joe.

How did Joe do as well as Moe? That's the magic of compound interest.

The lesson here for you? Start contributing to your retirement as soon as possible and leave the money alone. Don't touch the principal and don't touch the interest. Let it flourish.

The longer you wait, the more compound interest you're forfeiting. Make your money work for you. Put the 10% Solution into action today!

Robert Goodman's STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSTM Newsletter ? December 2017 ? Page 1

Changing an organization's direction is difficult, but sometimes it's necessary. Whether your company has two employees or 20, pay attention to these change management fundamentals:

v Start at the top. You can't expect people to change

their habits if you're not willing to make some adjustments yourself. Set a positive example to show your commitment to the new approach. Persuade other managers and influential members of your workforce to personify the changes in behavior and performance you need to emphasize.

v Address the human factor up front. Don't wait

for resistance to rise. Take a proactive approach before it solidifies. Talk to employees about how they feel, survey their attitudes, and develop a strategy for convincing them that the change is in their best interest as well as the organization's.

v Get every level involved. Don't do all the planning

yourself, or leave out any departments even if the impact on them will be minimal. Take a cascade approach: Start with the top layer of employees, tell them what changes you need, discuss your approach, and then empower them to take the news to the next level, repeating the process until everyone has the chance to offer input. You'll get better buy-in and commitment.

v Talk one on one. Don't rely on emails to your

workforce and speeches to groups. Get out and communicate individually with as many people as possible. The personal connection will let employees know you value their opinions and insights. It'll also give you a chance to communicate your expectations in detail so people know what you need from them specifically.

v Prepare for obstacles. No matter how well you

plan, changes will be difficult. People will resist even if they initially accept the situation. Set up a system to track your progress, and be ready to respond quickly when you hit a snag. In the worst-case scenario you may need to let some of your employees go, but you can reduce your losses if you attend to problems promptly instead of letting them fester.

Vanquish it with these tips! Writers of all kinds sometimes fall prey to blocks. Whether you're writing a book, a blog, or a business article, these tips can help you get past those blocks and get back on track:

Start early. You have more willpower and energy in

the morning, so use it to your advantage. You'll also have fewer interruptions and distractions, and you'll be able to put off less-important tasks for when you have the time to devote to them.

Select a goal. Challenge yourself to write 5,000

words, work for two hours straight, finish a chapter, or write half your article before you move on. This gives you something concrete to strive for.

Warm up. Spend a few minutes describing

something around you, recreating a conversation from yesterday, writing down a dream, or just recording random thought as they come into your head. The practice of writing something--anything--will help get your mind in gear.

Leave it unfinished. Some writers make a habit of

stopping in the middle of a sentence so they have a natural starting point the next morning. If that doesn't work for you, try leaving what you're working on incomplete once you've reached your daily goal. You'll find it easier to continue when you have a natural jumping-off point.

Don't push yourself. Sometimes the only thing to

do is step away from the keyboard for a while. Let your mind wander without getting lost in another subject. After a few minutes (or hours) you'll be able to return with a fresh perspective.

"Why is lemon juice made from artificial flavor, while dishwashing liquid is made with real lemon juice?"

Are You In Need of a Qualified Tax Pro?

If you are not my client and would like to explore whether we might be a good fit, please contact me. As a qualified tax professional, I not only know all the rules, but can also help you deal with the IRS and help you decide how far to push a dispute.

Do You Have A Tough Accounting / Tax Question You Want Answered?

Ilove hearing from my small business clients and friends who enjoy reading my monthly newsletter. I'm always looking to answer pressing questions you might have relating to small business. If you have a question, tip or idea, please call me at (617) 964-4766 or email me at bob@rgcpa. Perhaps I'll feature you in a future issue!

Robert Goodman's STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSTM Newsletter ? December 2017 ? Page 2

IRA Retirement Plan Limitations for 2018

The Internal Revenue Service announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for IRA and recently retirement-related items for tax year 2018.

Here are the highlights:

The income ranges for determining eligibility to make deductible contributions to traditional Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), to contribute to Roth IRAs and to claim the saver's credit all increased for 2018.

Taxpayers can deduct contributions to a traditional IRA if they meet certain conditions. If during the year either the taxpayer or their spouse was covered by a retirement plan at work, the deduction may be reduced, or phased out, until it is eliminated, depending on filing status and income. (If neither the taxpayer nor their spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work, the phase-outs of the deduction do not apply.) Here are the phase-out ranges for 2018:

For single taxpayers covered by a workplace

retirement plan, the phase-out range is $63,000 to $73,000, up from $62,000 to $72,000.

For married couples filing jointly, where the spouse

making the IRA contribution is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is $101,000 to $121,000, up from $99,000 to $119,000.

For an IRA contributor who is not covered by a

workplace retirement plan and is married to someone who is covered, the deduction is phased out if the couple's income is between $189,000 and $199,000, up from $186,000 and $196,000.

For a married individual filing a separate return

who is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phaseout range is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $0 to $10,000.

The income phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is $120,000 to $135,000 for singles and heads of household,

up from $118,000 to $133,000. For married couples filing jointly, the income phase-out range is $189,000 to $199,000, up from $186,000 to $196,000. The phase-out range for a married individual filing a separate return who makes contributions to a Roth IRA is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $0 to $10,000.

The income limit for the Saver's Credit (also known as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit) for low- and moderate-income workers is $63,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $62,000; $47,250 for heads of household, up from $46,500; and $31,500 for singles and married individuals filing separately, up from $31,000.

What hasn't changed from 2017?

The highlights:

The limit on annual contributions to an IRA remains

unchanged at $5,500. The additional catch-up contribution limit for individuals aged 50 and over is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $1,000.

The catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50

and over who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan remains unchanged at $6,000.

If you have any questions relating to this or on any tax matters, please contact our office. We are here to help you navigate through the tax maze.

"Building a business is knowing how to do something, being proud, is to create something that will make a real difference in other people's lives." -- Richard Branson

"Creativity is like a beard, you will only have it if you let it grow." -- Voltaire

"Try to be a man of value, not a man of success." -- Albert Einstein

"If you don't make mistakes, you aren't really trying." -- Coleman Hawkins

"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody." -- Herbert B. Swope

Reject Rejection And Aim High

Businesswoman and author Deborah Rosado Shaw rose from poverty to create a multimilliondollar umbrella-making business. A native of New York City, Shaw runs Umbrellas Plus out of New Jersey. The secret of her success? As she described it in an Atlanta JournalConstitution article some years ago, she has learned to play beyond the rules. Refused admission to law school 11 times, she went into sales, which led to the creation of her company. She offers the following advice on getting ahead:

? Be willing to sacrifice. ? Get used to fear. ? Know where you're going. ? Enlist the help of a business coach or

mentor.

? Be creative about what you want. ? Make noise. ? Trade what's predictable for what's

possible.

Robert Goodman's STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSTM Newsletter ? December 2017 ? Page 3

"Delivering Value" 1340 Centre Street, Suite 200 Newton Center, MA, 02459 Ph: (617) 964-4766 ? Fax: (617)904-1141 Website: rg- ? Email: bob@ Member: AICPA, Mass Society of CPAs, Panalitix, 20/20 Group

See What's Inside...

The 10% Solution: Painless Retirement Savings For All Changing Course? Follow These Guidelines Writer's Block? IRA Retirement Plan Limitations For 2018 Reject Rejection And Aim High Raising Strong Kids Ask The Right Questions

Raising Strong Kids

Help your children to become more resilient by focusing on these three areas:

1. Negative thoughts. If you were ever the last one picked for a team in P.E. or someone whose accomplishments were compared against those of an older sibling or a prodigy neighbor kid, then you'll know firsthand the doubt, dread and lack of confidence that can overtake a young mind. Don't allow your children to fall victim to a spirit of defeat. Encourage them to share their thoughts. Then help them improve their outlook by exploring strategies and solutions that will empower their thinking and inspire a willingness to strive for more.

2. Feelings. Sometimes as parents we're too quick to step in and say, "Don't worry. Everything will work out." Yet this approach doesn't allow your children to recognize and process how they are feeling, nor understand how their feelings can influence behavior. Give youngsters a judgment-free forum for exploring their emotions, and offer insight and constructive feedback for dealing with those emotions.

3. Fears. Confronting adversity helps to develop problemsolving skills and gives us the confidence to make better choices. Don't allow children to give up when times are tough. Encourage kids to face their fears with positive actions and perseverance. They may not always come out on top, but they will be able to hold their heads up knowing they did their best.

Ask The Right Questions

Asking questions is the key to creative thinking, but you've got to ask the right kinds of questions. Here are some ideas for generating questions that get results:

? Write variations of the

same question. Without overthinking it or secondguessing yourself, quickly write at least 10 variations of the question you're exploring. "How can we reduce expenses?" could become, "How can I persuade people to reduce expenses?" and "Where can we easily cut expenses?" and so forth. Each iteration will produce a new and different idea.

? Analyze everything. Don't go through life on

autopilot. Take a hard look at little annoyances, for example, and try to find ways to eliminate them-- "How can I stop getting interrupted for nonessential problems?" for example. Examine the tools that help you every day and look for ways to maximize them: "How can I get more out of all the applications on my computer?"

? Question your first solution. Maybe you've

got an answer to your question, but don't stop there. Reinterpret it. For example, look for ways your solution could be improved, misused, or used to solve other problems. This helps you look past your assumptions and consider new perspectives.

Robert Goodman's STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSTM Newsletter ? December 2017 ? Page 4

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