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February 2010 Guest Guide Workshop

Emotional & Practical Tax Prep
with Jessica Reagan Salzman

We’re getting it over with together in this special Bite the Candy event. Get a jump on your tax prep and make this the year you don’t have to panic in April. And maybe heal your relationship with money a bit in the process.

• • • • •

In planning this series and thinking through what would be best to offer when, I knew I wanted to do something with tax prep in February – purely for the selfish reason that I hate the stress of doing it at the last minute in April.

And the anxieties that make me delay doing it sooner?

Knowing it will take a significant chunk of time.
Time that has other demands on it – much more attractive demands. And a greater chunk of time than I have concentrated energy for. Just how draining is this going to be?

Knowing I will have to gather information.
Information that may or may not be where it is supposed to be. How many things am I going to find wrong with my bookkeeping systems?

Knowing I will have to follow instructions that barely make sense.
I can do the linear thing pretty well, but tax rules and forms test my limits of comprehension. And patience. Who wants to feel that confused? or just plain stupid?

Knowing I will see my financial picture for what it is.
Even though I balance my books nearly every week, there’s nothing quite like seeing the whole year laid out before me. What if it’s an unpleasant surprise? And what if I’d rather not revisit certain parts of the year?

Knowing I will probably have to write checks.
What if I’ve totally miscalculated my withholdings? What if I have to write big checks? Gah!

I know I’m not alone in these anxieties. I’m sure you could add more of your own to this list.

And two more things I know for sure:

Everything is better together.

-and-

Things are generally never as bad as the worried stories we tell ourselves would suggest.

So this tax prep thing?
It’s the perfect occasion for an extra-special Bite the Candy.

We will bring all the elements that make Bite the Candy great – camaraderie and humor, some structure and gentle accountability, energizing ourselves and our space – to this worrisome and often-dreaded task.

And added to that – we will have the support of an expert: heart-based bookkeeper Jessica Reagan Salzman. Jessica is the ideal guide for this workshop.

Because it’s not time or systems or knowledge or numbers that are really in the way of us doing this thing. It’s our emotions. It’s all our stuff about money.

And Jessica understands that. (She doesn’t call herself a heart-based bookkeeper for nothing.)

There isn’t much she hasn’t seen in serving her clients – or experienced herself in her own life – when it comes to the difficulties of interacting with money. She knows how hard this stuff is. She’s hugely empathetic to the feelings of panic, dread and shame that can accompany what would otherwise be a relatively mundane chore.

The good news is, she offers all sorts of compassionate and doable ways of approaching this stuff. Methods that don’t force you to face your fears in ways you’re not ready for. Methods that don’t require your lovely right-brain to do things differently than it wants to. (You can get a taste of them here.)

Jessica is a money person who gets people like you and me. She doesn’t speak some foreign financial language you won’t understand. She’s completely human and delightful and knowledgeable – and she’s going to be such a huge help to us in crossing this off our to-do lists.

Here’s how it will work:

Preparation Workshop
This workshop took place February 4 – see below for info on how to get the recording.
This is an opportunity to get ready for the following week’s work session (or your own work session). Jessica will be share her insights into common emotional and practical barriers to handling your taxes, but mainly she will be answering your questions. Whatever is getting in your way of doing this thing, we’ll do our best to provide you with ways to remove it prior to the work session.

So Jessica can be ready with the information that will be most useful to participants, we invite and encourage you to share your questions and concerns prior to the workshop when you register.

Some examples of questions and concerns that might be on your mind:

• What should I do if I have no idea how much money I made or lost last year?
• I’m surrounded by piles of statements and shoeboxes full of receipts… where do I even start?
• I spent money on X and I think it’s a business expense, but I’m not positive. How do I know for certain?
• What if I won’t be ready by tax day?
• How do I prevent owing so much in April next year?
• Do I have to use software like QuickBooks? (Because I hate QuickBooks!)

The Work Session
This workshop took place February 11.
Just as in a regular Bite the Candy session, we will gather to share what we intend to accomplish for the session, ask any last minute questions, and cheer each other on. We will then separate to work for an hour on our chosen tax-related tasks, come back together to check-in and recharge, then return to another hour of work before gathering for a final time to celebrate our successes.

Additionally, participants will be able to call on Jessica and myself during the work periods for personal support and guidance as needed.

Note: Information and advice offered in the course of the workshop will be general and should not be substituted for any necessary consultation with a tax professional.

At the end of the workshop you will come away with:

• all your necessary tax-related information gathered in one place – either for your own use or to provide to your tax-preparer
• a healthy start on preparing your returns (you may even be able to finish depending on where you are at in the process when you join the session)
• the relief of knowing that you won’t be scrambling on April 14
• if it turns out you do need assistance from a tax professional or owe more than you anticipated, you’ll have the space of two months to figure out how to handle it
• ideas about how to improve your financial systems so this is even easier next year
• some new, healthier ways of interacting with money and healing your relationship with it

Register

$30
Recording of February 4 Preparation Workshop

Missed the workshop? You can still get in on Jessica’s money smarts.

Your tuition includes:

• recording of the workshop with:
  • guided meditation – allowing both for what is true now and visualizing a different future
  • recommendations for how to approach depleting work, convert tedious tasks into something of value, and clarify emotions so you can clarify related administrative activities
  • conversations about practical stuff like deducting expenses
  • the importance of distinguishing your needs from those of your business
  • the best thing you can do to prepare for the coming year
  • and unexpected baby steps
• excerpted recording of just the guided meditation/visualization so you can use it whenever you need to revisit your emotions about money
• workshop notes with reference points so you can review those portions of the recording that are of the most interest or use to you
• a free consultation with Jessica! Have questions about your specific situation? You can get them answered by an expert at no additional cost.

You really are more capable than your worried tax stories. You can do this. Let’s get it over with together. Because it really is better together.