Weighty New Years Resolutions - Kind of

Mother Nature graced us with quite a bit of the white stuff yesterday morning . Temps havent been much over 20 so a quick run down to the creek with Manker this morning revealed more of our winter wonderland. The sun is strong and no wind, so even though it’s 6 degrees, it’s quite okay.

As I was whipping up a batch of muffins for this afternoon; I was thinking about New Years Resolutions. I was thinking about some new promotions and ideas for 2008 for our bed and breakfast. Of course, running a b&b isnt all Montana omelets and pastries, there’s all the other components that go into running a hopefully successful biz, just fortunately on a smaller scale.

Appropriately enough, with lots of folks making their “annual lose weight ” New Years resolution, here’s a few that will lift the weight financially going into the new year. These tips will actually help save you tax money, so give them at least a glance. But first… the recipe.

Cappuccino Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder (or instant coffee)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
* 1 egg, slightly beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin tins with papers or grease liberally.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso or instant coffee, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix milk, butter, egg, and vanilla until combined. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture only until combined. Do not overmix.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 15 to 20 minutes for standard muffins, 10 to 12 minutes for mini-muffins. Cappuccino muffins freeze well.

So make a batch, grab a latte, and set yourself down. Here’s a quick list (in no particular order):

1. Start a new check book register. Even if you are not finished with the old one, it’s much easier to reference and file check registers by the year than if they contain information from multiple years. Just write the year number with a thick sharpie on the front cover and start fresh! File the old register with the bank statements from that year.

2. Do a quick purge of your files. This doesn’t have to be daunting…just take about an hour to sit down and get all your ‘deep six’ stuff out of your file cabinet to make way for the new year. You can toss any utility bills, mortgage payment slips, paystubs, etc. once you get your tax information from the banks and your employer (if you have one!). Move out any files from 2006 that you plan to keep and put them in an accordion folder or a covered file bin for storage.

I typically do this by breaking my filing down in sections such as by bank accounts/investments, utilities, farm and ranch etc. That way I dont feel so overwhelmed.. I’ve already started doing this and feel lighter already!

3. Tis the season for giving. This is the number one time of the year for charitable giving not just because of the holidays, but it is the last few days to get that needed tax deduction in. It’ll be your act of “gemutlich hasidim act of kindness and it’ll also be kinder on your taxes.

Boost Your Tax Deductions

1. Make an extra mortgage payment. The extra interest you pay will be added to this year’s mortgage interest by your lender, boosting your itemized deductions.

2. Pay your property taxes. Real estate taxes are tax deductible. If your property tax bill is due in early 2007, you might want to pay it now and take the deduction.

Manage Your Investments (gleaned from our Merrill Lynch advisor, Clay… aka the “wizard of oz”!) As always, consult your CPA since they’re the ones that really know how many “nickels are in a dime”.

1 Sell losing investments to offset capital gains. Investors can lower their capital gains taxes by selling securities that have lost money. Losses offset gains dollar for dollar, and losses in excess of your gains can be deducted, up to $3,000 per year.

With that said, it’s time to check out the grouting project for our master bath. We’re doing some re-grouting and are waiting for grout to come from our plumber that matches the current color exactly. Scheduled for today, but alas, didnt yet arrive UPS , so it’ll be the first project after New Years

That and a jaunt to Butte for a tough ride on my Alle… (tough in the sense that she reminds me that I need to ride her strong and correctly!!), just another day in innkeeping paradise.