What’s the best way to show your fierce feminist colors this summer (besides crushing on Wonder Woman’s Gal Gadot all season)? By picking up a book (or seven) with a kick-ass female lead. Whether you’re spending your days poolside or indulging in a city staycation, these are the tales and heroines that will make the most empowering company.
1. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty ($11): Okay, okay, this isn’t a new summer read, but you can’t say the words “fierce” and “female” without bringing to mind bestselling author Liane Moriarty. The paperback release of her outstanding book Truly Madly Guilty hits bookshelves in July, and it’s absolutely mandatory to include in your summer reading plans. Plot reminder: drama-filled neighborhood barbecues, old BFFs, big personalities, parenthood woes, sex complications, mistakes, and regrets. Summer reading doesn’t get any hotter than this classic.
2. Saints and Misfits by SK Ali ($13): The best heroines are often found in the pages of the next “it” YA novel, and we’re betting this is the one. Saints and Misfits is a gorgeous coming-of-age tale centered around a teenage Muslim girl growing up in suburban America (and the dark monster at her mosque). Bold and, frankly, overdue, Saints and Misfits is an authentic story of Muslim teenagehood everyone should read.
3. Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker ($17): Two teenage sisters go missing. One returns, while the other’s whereabouts remain a mystery. When forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter dives into the case, she uncovers a dark and twisted riddle of secrets, narcissistic parents, and a dangerously dysfunctional family. Sure to make adrenaline flow from the first page to the last, Emma in the Night is 2017’s most profound psychological thriller.
4. Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki ($14): The drama of the Hollywood Hills, dark secrets, broken families, and irresistible lust… Woman No. 17 is a seductive cocktail of all that (and more). A shadowy tale that takes place in the heat of summer, this tense and unpredictable story about a writer, her children, and the magnetic female artist that comes into their lives will leave you spellbound.
5. Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson ($11): Craving the best historical fiction romance of summer? Lucky for you, we found it, and a new fictional female journalist to inspire your career goals. American journalist Ruby Sutton heads to London in the summer of 1940 to report on the war, only to discover her own life could be destroyed by it. It’s an enchanting historical escape that will leave you swooning all season long.
6.The Goddesses by Swan Huntley ($18): If you’re itching for a new fictional heroine, we have great news: You just found two. A woman moves her family to Kona, Hawaii to save her marriage but ends up discovering an incredible friendship in her female yoga instructor that could alter the course of her life. A dazzling story of manipulation, unexpected connections, and answering your heart’s true desires, The Goddesses is one of the boldest reading experiences of 2017 (oh, and you’ll finish the book with major Hawaii wanderlust).
7. The Guineveres by Sarah Domet ($10): Four extraordinary young women named Guinevere are delivered to the Sisters of the Supreme Adoration Convent by their families, each with a terribly complicated past. As they grow up under the strict rules and wisdom of nuns, the girls find themselves sharing a similar enlightenment: They were brought together for a brilliant reason that goes far beyond their sequestered lives and identical name. Daring, bold, and a celebration of the feminine spirit, The Guineveres is the girl-power reading experience to indulge in this year.
What’s on your reading list this summer? Let us know @BritandCo!
Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
(Feature photo via Getty)
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures