
The ’90s were a gift we can’t return to. This is especially hard when you think of the movies we loved and the amazing style essentials we flaunted, our beloved Bath and Body Works scents and how calling somebody at home on a landline was an actual pastime and not a reason to end a friendship forever. (JK! Or are we?)
And we can start with the following:
1. Jumanji (1995)
A movie about a board game that wreaks havoc on everybody that plays it? Dark! But let’s focus on the character of Allan (Robin Williams) and his trajectory: After emerging from the game over 20 years after being sent in, he returns to find out the world is terrible and his parents are dead. Which, for a 10-year-old seeing this, is heartbreaking.
But as an adult, it’s even more heartbreaking when you realize how often we’ve missed out on saying the things we’ve wanted to people we can’t anymore. It’s “Call Your Parents” 101, a beginner’s class in “just say sorry for being a jerk.” Even though at 10 years old, I personally thought it was all about Kirsten Dunst’s braids.
2. Now & Then (1995)
Behold: a legitimate tragedy. While we watched this movie as kids, tweens, or actual teenagers, we focused on the adventures of Teeny, Roberta, Samantha and Chrissy while comparing ourselves to our favorite character. (Case in point: I was Teeny because I was blonde and also often inappropriate with my sense of humor.)
But as an adult, it’s much bleaker. Not only is Now & Then a movie about a young woman who’s yet to come to terms with her mother’s tragic death, it unites the characters as grown-ups to prove that while friendship can help sustain you through a tough life, it by no means prevents it from happening.
3. Richie Rich (1994)
You’re laughing, and I know this, but hear me out. Yes, Richie Rich is a movie based on a comic book about a little boy and his family who have more money than any of us here can even dream of. And yes, he has an amusement park in his garage. But while the action scenes and kidnapping plot grabbed our attention as children, most of us rolled our eyes at the lesson that money couldn’t buy happiness, and that only the most sentimental objects populated the Riches’ vault.
But as grown-ups? That’s too real. Especially when you think of how most of us have come to see money (as a major point of stress). The Rich family opts out of stress by completely abandoning the idea of equating material goods to happiness. Mr. and Mrs. Rich reminisce about their relationship while stranded at sea. Richie just wants to have normal friends to play baseball with. And even the family’s staff is treated like, well, family. So while it’s still a kids’ movie made for children, it still drives home that point that money isn’t everything.
4. Toy Story (1995)
The first full-length Pixar film, Toy Story explores themes of jealousy, replacement and unconditional love in a way that’s easy to follow — thanks especially to leads Woody and Buzz (who are toys voiced by celebrities, yes).
But as kids, jealousy for most of us was limited to the addition of a new family member or somebody at school. We could relate to Woody and Buzz’s rivalry because we’d all felt left out before… but I don’t know many kids who related to Woody’s willingness to manipulate as a way of cementing Andy’s love. He seemed excessive. Paranoid. Petty. And then we all grew up.
Enter adulthood and the constant fear forever of being replaced. I mean, hi — most of us are afraid of being replaced at work. Some of us worry about our place in certain social circles. Which makes another term for adulthood, “The era in which we’re always afraid.” So, to watch Toy Story now, we see the tale of an employee who’s about to be ousted at work. We see him worry about the cooler, newer model who has a better understanding of certain programs or can work as a team better and get better results. And then we watch him spiral as he’s unable to articulate what’s wrong or why he’s afraid because vulnerability is terrifying. Woody is basically just the ultimate grown-up. And he doesn’t get that he works for a place that values all types of personalities and that there only needs to be one robot. (The actual robot.)
5. The Addams Family (1991)
Back in ’91 (the memories!) we knew The Addams Family was different, both the film and of course the family it was named for. We thought it was funny and great and wonderful that they didn’t care about standing out and still came out on top. Some of us knew it was based on a TV show, and some of us could only watch it at our neighbors’ because our parents thought it was “too old” for us for some reason. All of us wanted to be Wednesday Addams because Christina Ricci rules the ’90s, clearly.
But what we missed as kids is super valuable now: While we all knew the Addams were different, we skipped what those differences meant. Morticia and Gomez fell in love because each were individuals (seriously, their love is so REAL), and they raised their kids to be the same. Morticia doesn’t police Wednesday or Pugsley, and she celebrates their eccentricities without pressuring them to change. Basically, The Addams Family is a guide to life. And if someone has a problem with the way you’re living yours, you can make them feel weird by wearing all black and impersonating Anjelica Huston.
Which of these films have you re-watched as a grown-up? Spill @BritandCo!
(Featured photo via New Line Cinema)
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