Nicole

Buying a gift for someone you love should be exciting. It shouldn’t feel like a chore. However, when money is tight, it can often feel that way. There is no need to fret, though, as we have put together this guide to give you a helping hand. Read on to discover more about some of the different things you can do to reduce your spending on gifts without reducing the quality of the presents you give to others. There are plenty of different ways you can make savings, it is purely about taking advantage of them.

Make the most of discount codes and coupons

There is only one place to begin when it comes to making savings on gifts, and this is by taking advantage of the different discount codes and coupons that are available today. Whenever you purchase something online, do a quick search to see if there are any savings available. Most of the time, you will be able to come across some sort of coupon. There are even browser add-ons that will automatically apply coupons for you so that you do not have to go through the hassle of manually searching for them yourself. 

Send flowers to people you love

Another way to save money is by sending flowers. If you send flowers to someone, you do not have to worry about wrapping the gift yourself and then posting it to the destination. Instead, the local florist will take care of everything for you. Plus, you can sometimes add a card and even some chocolates to the order as well. It is a convenient and cost-effective way to surprise someone you love.

Plan all of your purchases

Another way to make sure you do not run out of money when it comes to gift buying is by planning your purchases. Get yourself a trusted calendar and mark out all of the people you are going to be buying for throughout the year. You can then assign every gift a budget. This will enable you to figure out how much you are going to spend on gifts throughout the year so that you can budget effectively. One thing you can do is assign a portion of your monthly budget to gifts. For example, you could put $20 or $30 from your wage packet away every month into a pot for gift buying. 

Don’t feel like you have to buy gifts

Finally, if you do not have any money and you cannot afford to buy someone a gift, don’t feel obliged. We’re sure your loved one wouldn’t want you to get yourself in financial trouble for the sake of a birthday present!

So there you have it: some of the different approaches that you can use in order to reduce the amount of money you spend on gifts. From using discount codes to planning your purchases, there are plenty of different options these days. It is all about having a little bit of forethought; this will go a very long way.

If you want to spend more on a birthday present for a loved one, thinking about retirement, or planning a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, you are probably wondering how you can find the money to make such a dream a reality. If you already have a well-paying job, it might not just be a question of working harder but thinking smarter and saving on everyday purchases. Here are five common bills that you can make savings on. 

Electricity 

Check your electricity bill regularly to ensure that you are not wasting more electricity than you need to. Install a smart meter that can keep abreast of how much energy you use and even automatically turn off parts of the house when they are not being used. You can also upgrade your appliances at places like powerpointelectrics.co.uk, so you will use less energy, saving more money in the long run. 

Cable 

Many Americans spend a ridiculous amount of money on cable services, averaging $1,200 a year. With today’s streaming services dominance, significant savings can be made by switching to these modern options, which can cost under $200 for a similar suite of great programming options. If you want to save even more money, and you don’t mind living with the main channels, you can ditch the at-cost extras altogether.

Health Insurance

According to CNBC, the average cost of healthcare is around $321 a month. After taxes, rent, or mortgage payments, that can represent a rather large chunk of your income. We would recommend trying to renegotiate your healthcare plan, something that may seem rather daunting at first but can often change after a quick call or email. You also may find that federal or state plans can cover part of your healthcare costs; do your research and see if you can get some help. 

General Spending

To track what you are spending when you are going to the shops, we would recommend downloading a banking app that links to your card and lets you know your monthly outgoings. By tracking your spending, you will get a better hold of what you are using your money for, cutting down on non-essential purchases and saving more money each month. This same spending can then be automatically put in a savings account with interest payments, meaning your money grows with almost minimal effort. 

Transportation 

It is likely that transportation costs, especially if you are commuting daily to your workplace, are eating up a fair amount of your income. Is it possible to get a cheaper car or a better transportation deal? Do your research and find out if you can save more money each month this way. Additionally, if it is possible, perhaps you can swap your car or monthly railcard in for a bicycle. Not only does cycling keep you fit, both physically and mentally, it is several times cheaper compared to almost any other transport option, with virtually no ongoing costs bar the first initial purchase.

We all know what a timesheet is – it’s a way for employees to track their hours. However, the way we do business has changed enormously, and as you might expect, timesheets have adapted a great deal to meet new demands. If your business’s time-tracking software hasn’t evolved in recent years, then it might be holding you back and making life more difficult for everyone. So, what should you be looking for from a timesheet, and how should people be filling them in?

More Than Just Tracking Time

In the past, employees would just fill in a piece of paper, and the HR team would check it against their records. However, today, we have a much more mobile workforce, and tracking hours isn’t quite so simple. 

Naturally, timesheets have had to move online and offer added capabilities. Today, timesheets can offer added capabilities such as work cycles, and detailed insights into performance, making them an important tool. 

By making this software an important part of every-day business operations, it makes tracking a much more automatic process. 

Remote Workers 

Businesses have become much more flexible, and many employees are now based out of the office. This would make it much more difficult to track people’s hours, but software from places such as peoplexcd.com make this much easier for businesses. By setting up automated alerts and allowing employees to keep track of things like paid leave, you make it much simpler for people to track and view their hours. 

The other thing to remember is security. It’s something we’re accustomed to hearing about in the modern world, but cyber-security is a big issue, and you need to be able to provide your employees with a safe way to log their hours, no matter where they are. 

They’ve Got to be Simple

You want your employees and contractors to spend their time doing the things they’re good at, not filling in a timesheet. Of course, keeping track of hours is important, but if people are spending their hours filling out the sheet, then it’s not productive. Modern timesheets aim to make keeping track of hours as simple as possible, and this is vitally important. 

If you make it difficult to fill out timesheets, then compliance will drop. You’ve got to make sure accuracy is maintained, but it’s got to be a simple process. 

Software Matters

Technology in business is always improving, and in many cases, it’s making our lives much easier. A big part of this is the improvement in software, and a prime example of this is in HR. 

Good software brings many aspects of HR together, making life easier for everyone. Timesheet software is no different, and it’s something that can benefit your business, your HR team, and your employees. The right software gives people a central place where they can log in and quickly get important information, and this is exactly what you need in the modern-day. 

The right software will make your process more efficient and ensure greater accuracy.

If you live in the United States, you know that the arrival of winter signifies that not only is winter all but over, but that we are all officially knee-deep into tax season.

The only time of year when reality TV consumption is replaced by the incessant clicking of calculator keys. Where the guilt-ridden chore of writing out Santa’s naughty list pales in comparison to the receipt-retiring foolishness of reliving the previous year’s financial misdeeds one spreadsheet at a time. A time when your least favorite sentence is adjusted withholdings.

Now you may ask, why the horror and fury? In America, our bravado prevents us from legitimately fearing very little. With one exception. The angriest of housewives, the meanest of mistresses, the sorceress of the side-eye, the Internal Revenue Service.

Even for us influencers, bloggers, podcasters, and YouTubers, there’s no exception. As independent contractors, we’re always made an example of this tax season. This means: You’ve got to pay the Pieper!

But before I get ahead of myself, let me state this: While I am a former attorney, my specialization was not tax law. I’m also not an accountant, and so you should always consult an accounting professional if you are unsure about your tax filings. Especially if this is your first fiscal year working as an influencer or if you haven’t been paying taxes on your earned online income or sales tax filing.

Whether you are making a little or a lot, you should treat blogging, podcasting, influence work, agency placement, and YouTube creation like a small business that will be taken seriously by the IRS, if not by you. If you made at least $600 from your posts, media channels, or videos this past year, you should receive a 1099 form. A form is transmitted to both of you as an influencer and cc’ed to the IRS.

Be prepared to offer the IRS more than fairytales and glitter dust when filing your taxes.

With that said, I am pretty savvy when it comes to personal finance and have studied tax law independently for many years. With this knowledge in mind, I write this post.

Filing taxes may seem like a daunting task, but getting your tax records to properly file is a simple process.

First, all of the information you need to make informed decisions is available from the IRS website, and more importantly, do not forget to claim sole-proprietor status on your taxes. This will allow you to subtract things related to your business.

This is by far the simplest and most overlooked part of the whole process. Even if you have formed an LLC, you can still claim sole proprietorship and get the added benefit of protecting your assets. You may also benefit in the future by paying for your taxes quarterly to prevent issues that come with excessive bulk preparations during tax season.

Second, there’s also a silver lining. As an influencer, there are a wide variety of things you can deduct from your taxes. Which is awesome. Because let’s face it, we should all be taking advantage of every tax break we can get.

Remember, influencing is a business, and all business entities accrue business expenses. Many of which are tax write-offs. But not everything is a business expense. So what can you claim?

The blanket term from the IRS is that you can deduct: Any ordinary, necessary, and reasonable expense that helps you earn business income.

A simple way to determine if you’re making a good claim is to give it the laugh test. If you can put it on your forms with a straight face, without thinking you’re going to jail or purgatory, it’s safe to assume you could claim it on your taxes.

But do be careful not to overlook any potential deductions. According to Forbes, the IRS believes that a full 20% of eligible Americans miss out on tax breaks worth up to $6,318.00 each year!

While you won’t be able to claim any of the products you have purchased for haul videos, toys for your children, you have reviewed, or your OOTD on Instagram, there are many expenses you can claim, including:

Equipment Depreciation: for cameras and editing computers. You can deduct 20% off of equipment each year for 5 years, and since 2012, there has been a law made that allows for claiming 50% depreciation on the first year of owning the equipment.

Advertising: Services like Promoted Videos on YouTube to advertise your content and gain viewers, and the cost of prizes from contests and giveaways, as they are very closely related to advertising, can be claimed.

Home Office Usage: If you have a space in your home, or shared external space, dedicated to YouTube, podcasting, or blogging, even if it’s a hobby, you may be eligible for a pretty sizable deduction. But these spaces must be used, for the sole purpose of business, 2 or more days per week, for the entire year, to qualify as a deduction for the IRS.

Cell Phone Usage: If you have a cell phone dedicated to your YouTube channel or blog that you regularly use your phone for networking or managing videos and comments, it could qualify for a deduction as well.

Professional Advice: Did you seek any help in getting your channel off the ground? Perhaps sought website critique or professional review? Any experts whom you pay to help guide you in making sound business decisions are taxable deductions.

Gas mileage: Driving to airports, driving to pick up supplies, or even driving to do a collab. It’s all about the business. Save every receipt and write off those miles!

Conference Fees: Conference attendance is tax-deductible. Not only the cost to attend the conference itself, but just about any expense related to it, from food, hotel room, cab rides, airfare,e and even the business cards you hand out.

Video Editing Software: Are you still using Windows Movie Maker? Consider upgrading to something better and write it off on your taxes. Software used for your business is tax-deductible.

Data Storage: Do you use external drives or a cloud-based storage service? All of these things could be tax-deductible.

Home Telephone Line: Like with cell service, if this line is primarily used for your business, claim it on your taxes. But if the line is used for general home use is not tax-deductible.

Clothes: If you primarily work from home, your pajamas and yoga pants are not tax-deductible. Uniform or specific clothing used for producing videos can be deducted from your taxes.

Photo Props: According to federal tax code Section 162, buying or leasing props, used to film or video record work, is a tax deduction.

Personal Expenses: If something is more of a personal responsibility than a business one, you’re going to get red flagged. If it’s used more than 80% for business, include it.

Trips: Was a trip taken for the sole purpose of conducting business? Include those recorded expenses on your return.

Work-related art: Using stock photography? That’s deductible!

Photo Lenses: Deducible!

Printers: Does your all-in-one printer need upgrading? You can deduct that expense if the printer is primarily used for business. Included pitched review items!

Lighting Equipment: Deducible!

Scanners: Scanners used for the sole purpose of conducting business, deductible!

Laminators: Laminators used solely for business, not the home or homeschooling ,is deductible. Unless you run a homeschooling YouTube channel!

Stencil Makers: Do you have an ETSY shop or show stencil making on your media outlets? That’s a deduction.

Trade show fees: Attending trade shows? Keep those receipts as they may be tax-deductible.

Days out of work for reviews: Keep your receipts, as those costs may be tax-deductible. And if blogging isn’t your main gig, they also serve as time-qualifying evidence.

Professional Web Design Costs: If you’re like me and use a web designer to create any aspect of your blog, that’s a tax deduction in your favor.

Work-Related Books: Maintain a collection of up-to-date work-related books on business or finance? They may be tax-deductible, but are subject to depreciation.

Research fees: If you accrue fees to research niche-specific topics on your site or use services such as TubeBuddy for YouTube creator research analysis, those fees are tax-deductible.

LLC Costs: If you have incorporated your business as a limited liability corporation, the legal and service fees associated with this process may be tax-deductible.

Postage: Postage costs, such as mailing giveaway prizes to recipients or snail mail pitch companies, can be deducted from your taxes.

Educational classes: Accredited coursework, such as obtaining a field-related degree ,will be a tax deduction for you. Both federally and state.

Subscriptions for research and data management sites: Research fees, for niche-specific work, can be deducted from your taxes.

Software licensing fees: Licensing Fees, for subscriptions such as Adobe Suite, can be deducted from your taxes.

Custom chargers: If you have had to purchase a specific charger for a business-related device, the costs accrued are tax-deductible.

Tax software: Business-edition only tax preparation software is a tax deduction!

Trademark and copyright fees: Fees associated with creating trademarks, copyrighting, watermarking, and branding your work are deductible

Newsletter Service Fees: Fees associated with premier subsection-based newsletter delivery services are a tax deduction each year.

Live App Fees: Fees to purchase a subscription to use apps that promote your brand being live online via Facebook or YouTube, such as Be Live TV, are deductible.

Video Conferencing Fees: Fees associated with video conferencing, such as Skype, are tax-deductible only for business meetings! Not to call Grandma in the old country or to catch up with friends in the motherland!

Virtual Assistant Courses: Courses taken in the act of preparing to become certified to be your virtual assistant, or to assist others, are tax-deductible.

Paralegal fees: Courses taken in the act of preparing to become certified to be your paralegal, or to assist others, are tax-deductible.

Business lunches and meetings: Meals that incur expenses during business meetings are tax deductions.

Self-storage fees for business equipment: Business-related equipment that requires storage or maintenance can be tax-deductible.

Bank Security Box Fees: Fees associated with the storage of legal paperwork in bank security boxes can be deducted from your taxes each year.

Notary Fees: Fees associated with notarizing legal business-pertaining documents can be deducted from your taxes.

Antivirus software: software used to protect the security of your site may be a deduction for you come tax time!

Long-distance bills: Long-distance bills accrued for business purposes only can be deducted from your taxes.

Work-related car repairs: Car repairs accrued for vehicles that are relegated to work-only vehicles can be deducted from your taxes.

Losses due to theft: Losses due to business-expense related costs may be deductible from your taxes.

Website hosting fees: Web hosting fees, for sites such as Bluehost, might be a tax deduction for you.

Domain costs: Costs associated with domain fees for your blog may be deducted from your taxes each year.

Redirect Fees: Fees associated with redirecting blogs from a WordPress.com to a WordPress.org account may be a tax deduction for you.

Freelance photography fees: The fees associated with the commission of freelance photography or its use may be a tax deduction for you this year.

Archival Fees: Fees associated with archiving your site’s original photography or written transcription services can be deducted from your site.

Business cards: The fees associated with creating cards can be deducted from your site. Keep this in mind before your next conference!

Letterhead: The fees associated with creating logos for business letterhead can be deducted from your business.

Stationery: Stationery products used in correspondence from your business or LLC can be deducted from your taxes.

Promotional Swag: Swag or merch costs for products used to promote your site or channel can be deducted from your taxes.

Computer upgrades: The costs of upgrading a business-only laptop, pc, or tablet can be deducted from your taxes.

Hotel expenses: Lodging costs associated with travel for blogging, including cruises and conferences, can be deducted from your taxes.

Hotel costs for review trips: Review trips that accrue hotel costs can be deducted from your taxes. Minus taxes on your stay, of course!

P.O. Box fees: Business-related Post Office box fees can be deducted from your taxes.

Prizes for hosted giveaways: Costs associated with the purchase of giveaways on your media channels can be deducted from your taxes.

Up to 20% of your internet bills: Up to 20% of your high-speed internet and Wi-Fi costs each year can be claimed on your taxes.

Microphones: The fees associated with the purchase of professional sound equipment, including microphones, for broadcasting and podcasting, can be deducted from your taxes.

Sound Mixers: Podcasting sound mixer and recorder costs can be deducted from your taxes.

Sound Filters: Filters and muffs used in podcasting and video voice-overs can be deducted from your taxes.

Podcast Editing and Uploading Service Fees: The service fees for using sites for editing, uploading, or storing your podcasts can be deducted from your taxes.

The Podcast and YouTube Hosting Fees: Fees associated with the website hosting costs for your podcast or YouTube thumbnail services can be deducted from your taxes

Podcast Advertising Fees: Fees accrued as a result of advertising your podcast can be deducted from your taxes.

Podcast and YouTube Intro/Outro Fees: Fees associated with creating intros and outros for your podcast and YouTube channel can be deducted from your taxes.

YouTube Endslate Fees: Fees resulting from the professional creation or purchased kit to commission a YouTube end slate product can be deducted from your taxes.

Vlogmas, Vlogtober, and Vloguary Fees: Fees associated with monthly vlogging celebrations on YouTube can be deducted from your taxes.

Furniture Leasing Fees: Fees accrued because of leasing office furniture can be deducted from your taxes.

Paint: Paint used in the commission of an office dwelling or projects used on business channels can be deducted from your taxes.

Recipe Plug-Ins: Professional cooking or recipe plug-in fees for your blog can be deducted from your taxes.

Antivirus Plug-Ins: Antivirus plug-in costs for your blog can be deducted from your taxes.

Framework Upgrades: Upgrading the framework of your site to a new hosting platform, including the Genesis platform, can be deducted from your taxes.

Makeup, Nail, and Haircare Products: Products used on you alone, in the creation of campaign photography for your online business, can be deducted from your taxes. Haul and subscription products are not tax-deductible.

Headshots: Costs associated with having professionally created headshots for your blog, channels, book tours, or social accounts may be deducted from your taxes.

Portfolio Creation: Costs associated with having professionally created portfolio kits, such as being a savings or foodie blogger, may be deducted from your taxes.

Media Kit Creation: Costs associated with having professionally created media kits or media kit template purchase fees may be deducted from your taxes.

Filter Apps: Apps that provide filters for your business-only social media accounts, Facebook Groups, sidebar images, or fan pages may be a tax deduction for you.

Music Licensing Fees: Fees associated with purchasing the licensing to use music in your YouTube videos may be a tax deduction for you.

App Editing Software: Apps used to edit YouTube thumbnails may be a potential tax deduction for you.

Union Fees: Fees associated with belonging to a union, such as the Communication Workers of America, are a tax deduction.

Healthcare Costs: You may be able to receive a sizeable rebate on fees associated with your privately purchased health care as an independent contractor.

Auditing services: Services purchased as audit-ready servicing in post-tax season times can be a potential tax deduction to you.

Paper shredding fees: Fees associated with the proper disposal of business-related paperwork, such as to a business supply store, can be deducted from your taxes.

Binding Fees: Fees associated with binding reports, books, or coursework related to your business can be deducted from your business or ETSY shop.

Teaching Expenses: Expenses related to teaching original coursework as part of your business marketing strategy can be deducted from your taxes.

Manuscript Fees: Fees associated with having an original manuscript professionally prepared and typed are a potential tax deduction.

Self-Publishing Fees: Fees associated with self-publishing a book are tax-deductible.

Stenography Fees: Fees associated with stenography for your business may be a tax deduction for you.

App Creation Fees: Thinking of creating an app for your blog? That may be a tax deduction for you the year it debuts!

Professional Organization Fees: Fees associated with having a professional organizer overhaul a work-related-only space can be deducted from your taxes.

Planners: The costs of a single, non-hobbyist planner, including shipping, used to plan business-related events only, can be deducted from your taxes.

Gift Guide Fees: Fees associated with producing gift guides are tax-deductible.

Printable Fees: Fees associated with creating free or for-profit printables for your site, including email subscription freebies, products, are tax-deductible.

Writing instruments: Writing pens, calligraphy pens, and stylus pens used only for business are tax-deductible.

After-Post Reports: Costs accrued from reports submitted to campaign leaders, including stats pertaining to sponsored campaigns, can be deducted from your taxes.

Scheduled Posting Costs: Fees associated with social media posting and tribe-building sites, such as Tailwind, may be tax-deductible for you.

Agent and Public Relations Fees: Fees associated with paid agent fees accrued during the promotion of your business may be tax-deductible for you.

As you may qualify for 101 potential tax deductions as a blogger, podcaster, live broadcaster, YouTuber, or digital entrepreneur. While many will qualify for numerous deductions on the aforementioned list, do keep this piece of information in mind: The most important piece of advice I could give you is to track everything you do related to your YouTube, blog, or Podcast business.

If in doubt as to how to file your taxes properly and on time? Hire a CPA at the end of the year and have them review all of those details you’ve kept track of to see what does and does not qualify as a business expense. It will not only help you reduce your risk of being audited.

As a former attorney, my specialization was not in tax law nor accounting, and so you should always consult an accounting professional or tax lawyer, Glen Frost, if you are unsure about your tax filings. This is especially true if this is your first fiscal year working as an influencer or if you haven’t been paying taxes on your earned online income or sales tax filing.

Should you get audited, being prepared will help you be able to calmly present all of the information needed to move forward accordingly.

Be sure to share, save, and pin this post for quick referencing during tax season! Now I want to ask, what is your favorite tax deduction as a blogger, YouTuber, or podcaster? I’d love to hear about it below!