The Unexpected Benefits of Doodling
Ever catch yourself mid-call with the doctor or your internet provider, only to hang up and find your notepad full of squiggles, stars, and mystery objects? No, you weren’t just zoning out…you were doodling!
Ever catch yourself mid-call with the doctor or your internet provider, only to hang up and find your notepad full of squiggles, stars, and mystery objects? No, you weren’t just zoning out…you were doodling!You may have dismissed these spontaneous little sketches your hand makes while your brain is deep in thought, but your doodles often have a surprising secret life. Here are three unexpected perks of letting your writing tool of choice wander around.
- Boosting your memory. Doodling isn’t just a mindless habit – it’s a memory booster in disguise. Think back to your days as a student, frantically jotting down notes during class. Sure, those scribbles helped you study late into the night, but part of the magic was in the act itself – writing things down can help wire them into your brain. Doodling works the same way. It transforms what you’re hearing into visual cues, helping your mind remember the important stuff. It’s like your pen is quietly highlighting things your brain wants to remember.
- Sharpening your focus. Doodling might be your secret weapon for staying on task. In a Harvard Medical School study led by psychologist Jackie Andrade, 40 people listened to a dull 2.5-minute voicemail (riveting stuff!), and guess what? The ones who doodled remembered nearly 30% more than those who didn’t. Why? One theory: doodling keeps just enough of your brain busy to stop it from drifting off into daydream land, so the rest of your mind can stay tuned in. It’s like mental noise-canceling – with a pen.
- Relieving your stress. Doodling is like a mental exhale. Unlike drawing something specific, there’s no plan, no pressure with doodling — just your pen or pencil doing its thing. That’s the beauty of it. When your brain’s juggling a dozen to-dos and overthinking every little detail, doodling gives it a moment to wander. No rules, no goals, just shapes and squiggles that let your mind breathe. It’s a quiet reset. And in the middle of a hectic day, that tiny act of letting go can feel like a full-blown stress detox.
With so many things grasping for our attention, it can be difficult to focus and retain information in the middle of a busy day. If you find yourself drifting during a meeting, or your kids struggle to pay attention to subjects they find less interesting, give doodling a try to see if it works for you!
As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding your tax situation please feel free to call.
Estate Planning: Tips for Every Family
If juggling priorities were an Olympic sport, young parents would win the gold medal. Raising kids, advancing careers, paying off student loans, and saving for a home is a lot. All this makes estate planning feel like a tomorrow problem.
If juggling priorities were an Olympic sport, young parents would win the gold medal. Raising kids, advancing careers, paying off student loans, and saving for a home is a lot. All this makes estate planning feel like a tomorrow problem.But estate planning puts you in charge of your family’s financial future if the unexpected happens.
Here are three ways you can protect your family’s future by starting your estate planning today.
Protect your current income
Your current income is the fuel that keeps your household going. Here are several ideas to protect your earnings:
- Minimize tax liabilities using tools such as trusts or family limited partnerships can shield assets from estate or capital gains taxes.
- Protect against lawsuits and creditors by structuring ownership through legal entities or trusts. These separate legal entities can make it harder for lawsuits or creditors to reach your personal income or business revenue.
- Ensure income continuity if incapacitated. With powers of attorney and living trusts in place, you can tap someone you trust to manage your income and financial affairs if you’re unable to do so.
Protect your future income
Estate planning isn’t just about distributing assets—it’s a proactive way to secure financial stability down the road. Here are several ideas to protect your future income.
- Preserve wealth using tax planning strategies. Trusts, retirement accounts, and gift giving can minimize your future estate and income taxes, helping you retain more of your earnings over time.
- Safeguard business and investment income. Planning for succession or setting up buy-sell agreements ensures that income from businesses or investments can continue in the future, even after death or incapacity.
- Provide long-term control over assets. Set specific terms in wills or trusts to dictate how and when income-generating assets are used. This can protect them from mismanagement or being wasted in short order.
Protect your children
Estate planning isn’t just about money – it’s also about protecting your kids if something happens to you. Here are several ways to protect your children.
- Ensure guardianship. If you pass away or become incapacitated, a will lets you name who should raise your children. Without this, the decision goes to the courts, and a judge will choose a guardian. Naming someone in your estate plan ensures your children are raised by someone you trust, in a stable and familiar environment.
- Control their inheritance. A well-structured estate plan allows you to manage how and when your children receive their inheritance. For example, you can create a trust and decide when to distribute money and for what purposes, such as education, health care, or buying a home.
- Minimize conflict. When your wishes are clearly written in legal documents, it leaves less room for disagreements among family members. This can help prevent costly legal battles or emotional fights over who should care for the kids or how money should be used.
Many people believe estate planning is only for the very wealthy. But as you can see, managing an estate is important for everyone, regardless of income level. Consider reviewing your situation with a qualified expert and help create peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones.
How to Score the Best Travel Deals This Summer
With summer just around the corner, now is the perfect time to plan a warm weather getaway that won’t break the bank. Whether you’re jetting off to a tropical paradise or exploring a bustling city, getting the best tr
avel deals requires a bit of planning. Here’s how you can save big on your next adventure.
- Book airfare on Sundays. Data from the Expedia 2025 Air Hacks Report shows that Sunday is the cheapest day to book airfare, just as it has been the last four years in a row. According to the study, travelers who book domestic flights on Sundays can save as much as 6%, while those who book international airfare may save up to 17% compared to booking on Monday or Friday.
- Be flexible with travel dates. Being willing to fly on different days of the week can also help you score some savings. Data also shows that flying domestically on Saturday instead of Sunday can save 17%, while flying internationally on Thursday instead of Sunday can save 15%.
- Use fare comparison and deal websites. Several websites can help you compare flight costs across multiple airlines and destinations with ease, including Google Flights and Skyscanner. The Hopper app can even tell you when it’s the best time to book airfare and hotels to get the lowest price.
- Leverage loyalty programs and credit card rewards. Frequent flyer miles, hotel loyalty programs, and travel credit cards can help you save on flights, accommodations, and even dining. Many cards offer sign-up bonuses that can cover a free flight or hotel stay.
- Consider alternative lodging options. Hotels can be pricey in peak summer months, so consider alternatives like vacation rentals, hostels, and guesthouses if you want to pay less. If you can share a vacation villa or rental home with other family members or friends, you may be able to pay even less.
- Bundle and save. Booking flights, hotels, and rental cars together through sites like Expedia, Kayak, or Priceline can help you score a lower total package price on your summer vacation. You can even search for vacation packages at a discount through your favorite frequent flyer program using options like American Airlines Vacations and Delta Vacations.
- Don’t forget travel insurance. While it’s an added expense, travel insurance can save you thousands in case of cancellations, lost luggage, or medical emergencies. Some credit cards even offer free travel insurance when you use them to pay for your trip.
Scoring the best summer travel deals is all about planning, flexibility, and knowing where to look. By using these ideas, you can enjoy an amazing vacation without overspending. Start searching now, and you might just land your dream trip at a great price.
Time to Start Your Tax Planning
Lowering your tax bill next year works best as a planned event. So if you are interested in breathing a sigh of relief come next April, consider a review of these four areas as you create and implement your tax plan for 2025.
Lowering your tax bill next year works best as a planned event. So if you are interested in breathing a sigh of relief come next April, consider a review of these four areas as you create and implement your tax plan for 2025.#1 – Your Home
Your home can create unexpected tax liabilities. Property value appreciation, home improvements, and refinancing your mortgage influence how much tax you pay.
When your home’s value increases substantially, you might pay higher property taxes. Selling a home can also lead to capital gains taxes if you’ve lived in the property for less than two years or exceed the home sale exclusion amounts.
Tax Planning Tips for Your Home:
- Get a professional property assessment to ensure you’re not overpaying property taxes. If so, know your location’s time frame and process to amend your property’s value in their formula.
- Consider timing home improvements to manage potential tax consequences by being smart about when assessments are applied in your location’s property value.
- If selling, understand capital gains exclusion rules ($250,000 for single taxpayers, $500,000 for married couples)
#2 – Your Investments
Review your refinance closing disclosure to identify deductible mortgage points or fees
Investment income can impact your tax bill. Capital gains, dividend distributions, and frequent trading can all cause tax consequences.
Different investments also face different tax rates: Short-term capital gains get taxed at higher ordinary income rates and long-term gains typically receive more favorable treatment.
Tax Planning Tips for Your Investments:
- Implement tax-loss harvesting to offset capital gains
- Hold investments for more than a year to qualify for long-term capital gains rates
- Consider tax-efficient investments like index funds or ETFs
- Maximize contributions to tax-advantaged accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs
#3 – Your Retirement
Retirement accounts offer financial opportunities. But they can also cause tax pitfalls. Required minimum distributions (RMDs), early withdrawal penalties, and the tax treatment of different retirement account types influence your tax bill.
Tax Planning Tips for Your Retirement Accounts:
- Understand RMD rules and plan withdrawals strategically. Sometimes the most cost-effective plan withdrawals occur long before the RMD rules come into play!
- Consider tax-efficient Roth conversions to manage future tax liability
- Maximize health savings account (HSA) contributions as an additional retirement account
- Explore catch-up contributions if you’re age 50 or older
#4 – Your Life Events
Major life changes can dramatically change your tax situation. Marriage, divorce, having children, changing jobs, or experiencing significant income shifts can all reshape your tax liability.
Tax Planning Tips for Life Changes:
- Reassess your filing status as life changes may affect your tax bracket and deductions
- Track new deductions and credits as life events like adoption or education expenses may qualify for specific tax breaks
- Understand the age triggers built into the tax code and plan accordingly. This is especially important to understand as your children get older.
Sometimes your tax plan will show you an unavoidable, upcoming tax event, but you can plan for it to avoid a surprise. But other times your plan can help lower your tax liability, so it is best to begin as soon as possible.
Why Do Socks Always Vanish? And Other Pressing Life Questions
It’s a universal truth: socks have a way of disappearing. The mystery of the vanishing sock is an unsolved puzzle that everyone experiences. But what’s really behind this bizarre phenomenon? And what about other everyday mysteries that leave us scratching our heads? It’s time to unravel some of life’s most pressing questions.
It’s a universal truth: socks have a way of disappearing. The mystery of the vanishing sock is an unsolved puzzle that everyone experiences. But what’s really behind this bizarre phenomenon? And what about other everyday mysteries that leave us scratching our heads? It’s time to unravel some of life’s most pressing questions.Why do my socks always disappear?
First on the docket is the mystery of the missing socks. There are several mundane explanations that may account for this phenomenon:
- Static cling. Socks, especially smaller ones, can cling to larger items like towels or sheets. They might then be folded into the item or fall off unnoticed as you fold your laundry.
- Laundry escapees. Socks can fall out of the laundry basket or get left behind in your washing machine. If your home has multiple people doing laundry, someone else may accidentally grab one of your socks.
- Pets and kids. If your sock finds its way on to the floor of a teenager’s bedroom, well, then it’s gone forever. And believe it or not, pets also love socks.
Mystery Solved: So while there’s no grand conspiracy, a sock’s small size and elusive nature make it a prime candidate for disappearance. And once you throw the unmatched culprit out, its partner is single forever! If it really bugs you, consider getting a mesh laundry bag or sock clips to keep your pairs together.
Where are my keys?
If you’re constantly misplacing your keys or phone, you’re not alone. This issue is linked to how our brains deal with memory:
- Lack of attention. If you’re distracted or in the middle of doing something else, your brain doesn’t process the act of putting down your keys. It’s like trying to save a document without clicking Save.
- Habit loops. Keys and other small items tend to get dropped in random spots rather than a consistent location, making it harder to recall where they are.
Mystery Solved: Create a designated spot, like a key bowl near a door. Also consider getting an electronic device to attach to your keys. You can then download an app to your phone to track them…you can even use these devices in reverse to find your phone. Plus, these suggestions can be used for many other items like a wallet, purse, or pass keys.
Why does time fly when you’re having fun?
Ever notice how an hour spent folding laundry may seem like an eternity, but a weekend vacation seems to pass in the blink of an eye? This phenomenon boils down to how our brains process experiences:
- Engagement and novelty. When you’re having fun, you’re fully engaged and your brain is processing new, exciting information. This heightened activity makes time feel faster in hindsight.
- Monotony slows your perception. Conversely, routine tasks like sitting through a dull meeting lack novelty, making time seem to drag on and on.
Mystery Solved: Turn boring activities into a game. While doing your laundry, for example, set a timer and race to finish folding a designated pile before time runs out. Or try to organize your laundry by color or type as fast as possible. To get kids involved, turn each piece of laundry into a story starter. “This sock went on an adventure…”
While these every day events can easily turn into an annoyance, spend a second, reset, and embrace the mystery.
As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding your tax situation please feel free to call.