it's Tax time!

It is the most wonderful time of the year….. 

Once the new year comes around companies will send out tax receipts and then once they are all collected we can then run into the tax office and walk out with our taxes, BUT if you go to a place like H&R block they charge ya a high amount to file your taxes. 

There are more options for filing your taxes now then there were when I was a kid that’s for sure, now you can file online thru different avenues, one of those being efile.com.  It is simple and can be done from the comfort of your own home in your comfy pjs if you prefer. 

There are several different packages that you can take advantage of:

Free: recommended for simple returns

Includes: 

• Free federal tax prep and e-file
• Automatically import W-2 
• Import data from prior returns
• IRS email Confirmation
• Free email support 

Basic: Recommended for basic returns with deductions  $19.99 

Includes: 

• Everything in free pkg plus
• Earned Income Credit with no dependents 
• Student Loan interest deduction
• IRA deduction for qualified contributions
• Credit for elderly or disabled 
• Interest income below $1,500

Deluxe: Recommended for homeowners and parents  $34.99 

Includes:

• Everything in basic plus
• Itemized Reductions
• Earned income credit
• Mortgage interest credit
• Health coverage exemptions
• Education Tax credits

Premium: Recommended for business owners and investors  $49.99

• Business expenses and deductions
• Self employment income
• Home office deduction
• Rental Property income
• Investment credits

Guaranteed a maximum tax refund and much less then other companies charge to give you the same thing. 

What do you spend your tax refund on? 

For the past few years we spend ours on some debt that we are trying to get paid down, to me it is important to spend it wisely, it isn’t for everyone and some people are happy with just going out and blowing it all away, then a week later they have nothing to show for it, that is completely your choice but I chose to spend mine wisely. 

How do you file your taxes?

Weekend Recap

Another week has gone, which means another weekend is over as well.

Friday: 

Had a crazy busy day at work, hubby picked me up, we came home to get Brooke and to drop her of for the weekend because it was a youth Convention weekend, she has been looking forward to it. 

After we dropped her off we went on a date night, we haven't got to have one since Valentine's and we usually have a weekly date night. We went for Chinese food. 

Saturday: 

Hubby went to work for a couple hours, so I slept in and then we went shopping, we needed food, I needed a present for a friend and I got some planning presents as well, then Brooke called and she wasn't feeling well so she needed to be picked up, so we did that, she came home and laid around all day, I made dinner and she barely ate, she just wasn't feeling to great... 

Sunday: 

Brooke still wasn't feeling well so she was going to sleep the morning away, I was teaching the nursery class so I had to go, she was still sleeping when I got home, poor baby. 

When she woke she was fine though, so not sure what was going on with her. 

after PM service we went to Mcd's and had a friend come with us, it was fun. 

My weekends have been so boring lately, I apologize. 

The subtle Beauty- Review

This is the first I have read by Ann Hunter, it will not be the last! I was drawn into the life of this story,   Hunter's world building capabilities are amazing. I felt like I could really picture the setting without getting bogged down by too many physical descriptions of the terrain. The description is woven artfully throughout the action so that neither drags. I read the book in two days, hardly putting it down to do those things called chores. I only had one major critique. I appreciate that the story moves quickly. There are parts, however, that move a bit too quickly for my taste. For example, at the end when Eoghan returns, Glory has spent an entire year in a state of depression. Her beloved shows up as a human, and I think we only get about two or three pages of explanation. I wanted to see them spend just a bit more time together. I also would have liked him to tie up a few loose ends, such as how his father died, and how he went from being a beastly child to a wise, discerning monster. #CrownsoftheTwelve- look up the hashtag and you can see more reviews.

Beautiful Uncertainty {Review}

I have never experiences singleness, I met my hubby when I was 13 and he was 14, he was my first and only boyfriend, off course there were some crushes but when I met my hubby I knew he was the one that I would marry. 

Mandy (the author) is a single young woman who stepped out in faith to minister to other single ladies by sharing her life story with the world. In a beautifully compelling, tear-jerking way, she shares her heart on falling in love with Jesus.

This book is one that every single woman should read, when you start it, you will want to finish, I read it because I learned things about helping single ladies, just remember Fall in Love with Jesus and you have all you need. 

40 days of Decrease- {Review}

Alicia opens 40 Days Of Decrease with a Prologue entitled The Grand Reduction that is simply profound. She speaks of a Savior whose fast on earth began not in the Judean desert where he was tempted by Satan, but thirty years earlier when he came to earth and fasted omnipresence – angel worship – and the Voice that birthed planets. 

She reminds us that Jesus’ Grand Reduction began when He clothed Himself with flesh – accepted the disregard of man – and submitted to the silence of thirty hidden years.

Alicia reminds us to fast increase, because decrease will purify our souls. 
A phenomenal book! In a world that touts never depriving ourselves of anything, the idea of fasting for spiritual reasons can seem out of place and extreme. Our decreasing that Christ might increase is a biblical principles. 

What if Lent wasn't meant to be just a period of duty-bound deprivation? What if it could be a season of preparation, where a time of renunciation helps set our soul right and readies it for Resurrection fullness
It is Alicia's conviction that we need to recover this second view of Lent, and that if we did, it would become a meaningful part of the cycle of faith
Lent: waiting, watching, wondering, making space inside to holding the hard things and the sacred sadness. And then, we awaken to Easter-day fullness, where death gives way to life everlasting and everything is rewritten in light of an empty tomb.

What if Lent wasn't meant to be just a period of duty-bound deprivation? What if it could be a season of preparation, where a time of renunciation helps set our soul right and readies it for Resurrection fullness?

It is Alicia's conviction that we need to recover this second view of Lent, and that if we did, it would become a meaningful part of the cycle of faith

What if Lent wasn't meant to be just a period of duty-bound deprivation? What if it could be a season of preparation, where a time of renunciation helps set our soul right and readies it for Resurrection fullness
It is Alicia's conviction that we need to recover this second view of Lent, and that if we did, it would become a meaningful part of the cycle of faith

What if Lent wasn't meant to be just a period of duty-bound deprivation? What if it could be a season of preparation, where a time of renunciation helps set our soul right and readies it for Resurrection fullness?

It is Alicia's conviction that we need to recover this second view of Lent, and that if we did, it would become a meaningful part of the cycle of faith

Weekend Recap

Another week has gone rather quickly, I cannot believe how fast this month has gone.

Friday: 

worked til 5 and I met a friend from lunch who works across the road from me, her mom owns a restaurant so we went there to eat, then we went for  piece of chocolate eruption, was so nice to hang out with her. 

It was a happy mail day as well.. pkg from my mom, stickers for planning, and a book. 

Hubby had a work dinner so Brooke and I hung out at hone, we crafted, we watched TV and ate lots of junk food. 

Saturday: 

Hubby worked the morning so when he got home we went to town and ran some errands. Brooke needed some new leggings so we went to Urban planet for those, they had such a great sale on so I was delighted with that. 

After shopping we went to visit a lady from church who fell and broke her foot a few weeks ago, she is still in a cast and will be for a few months, was a nice visit. Then we went to Jungle Jims for dinner, I really wanted Fish and chips so I got some there, it was so good.

Sunday: 

We had service both morning and night. Kim came for lunch, we normally go out to eat but I feel a cold coming on and wanted to go to bed so I am headed there now. 

Have a great week