TOP DRAWER INK NEWSLETTER

 

Here's the latest issue of Top Drawer Ink, the newsletter written by author HL Carpenter that's chock full of humor and common sense information.

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January 19, 2008
Volume 6, Number 2
ISSN 1554-6330

In this issue:

1. Carpenter Country Essay

2. Top Drawer Article

3. Top Drawer Tips

4. Top Drawer Satire

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CARPENTER COUNTRY

What's Happening in Our Neck of the Human Experience

The other day while reading a slick magazine, Carpenter Country’s short one wondered out loud if life would be more fun if she had a different job. You know, the kind that offers adventure, travel and the heart-racing excitement enjoyed by entertainers, famous authors and millionaires.

The guy that shares her space laughed, and told her it was time for a reality check. Or better yet, a review of all the good, bad and ugly occupations she’d worked at - like saleslady at a department store in charge of the toy counter. Good until her young customers began rearranging the tanks and dolls faster than she could align them. Ugly after that.

In the same ugly category was the unpleasant job at a tool and dye sweatshop, the noisy knitting mill stint and a turn at a ho-hum card factory. Wrapping meat in a supermarket promised bigger bucks with shorter hours and was a slight improvement.

Later, she tried bookkeeping, clerking in an insurance office, a few years as a field interviewer. Burnout led to college, personal money management, and finally, a job she’d spent a lifetime looking for – freelance writing – the very best kind of work.

Funny how the bad and the ugly can lead to the good. Odder still how long it takes to realize variety does not always add spice to life. Grass that looks greener on the other side of the fence is usually just an illusion ...

... and a trip down memory lane is unnecessary. If you bloom where you’re planted, each day will be fun.

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TOP DRAWER ARTICLE

Choosing a Tax Preparer

by
HL Carpenter

The more things change, the more you … may be thinking of hiring a tax professional to prepare your personal or business return this year.

Read the entire article here

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TOP DRAWER TIPS
Topics and Tidbits

Tip: You can file a complaint (also known as a referral) against a tax preparer by sending a letter to the Internal Revenue Service, Office of Professional Responsibility, Washington DC. Complaints about preparers who are not enrolled to practice before the IRS are filed on Form 3949-A. You’ll find step by step instructions on the IRS web site.

Glossary Term: Circular 230. An IRS publication containing standards of conduct for paid tax preparers. Preparers who practice before the IRS, including Certified Public Accountants, attorneys and enrolled agents, must follow regulations spelled out in Circular 230, and can be subject to penalties and sanctions for failing to do so.

Financial Horoscope: Handing financial tasks to others is a seductive impulse, and one that may save you time, effort and money. But there’s a difference between asking for help and abandoning your responsibilities. Your financial well-being depends on personal, active involvement, even when you turn to someone else for advice and assistance.

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TOP DRAWER SATIRE

Subsidized Shivering

by
HL Carpenter

Forget about reaching for that extra sweater this winter. Start shivering instead.

Read the rest here