
Is there anything better on a cold winter night than a nice soak in the tub? We didn’t think so. Aside from warming you up in the cold, baths are the perfect way to treat yourself and your body to some much-needed TLC. While you might think such a relaxing time can only be achieved at a spa, it’s easy to bring the spa experience to your home with simple bath salts, soaks or bombs. So sit back, relax and soak in these 14 must-have bath essentials.
1. Level Naturals Chamomile Neroli Bath Bombs ($15): This bomb is like a cup of your favorite herbal tea. Throw one of these little balls of sunshine into your tub, close your eyes and immerse yourself in the floral scent of a simpler life.
2. True Nature Botanicals Dead Sea Salts in Bliss ($48): These aptly named bath salts will truly leave you in a state of bliss. Soak in the aroma of roses and sandalwood with this stress-reducing bath experience.
3. Herbivore Botanicals Detox Dead Sea Bath Salts ($18): Give your mind and body a total detox with this potent blend of refreshing soaking salts. Blue clay and eucalyptus are just two of the ingredients in this mixture, which will create a totally mind-clearing experience.
4. Lush Experimenter Bath Bomb ($9): Bring a little color to your bath with this psychedelic bath bomb from Lush. With swirling hues accompanying the scents of vanilla and tonka, this fizzing bomb truly brings a little bit of art to your tub.
5. Harlow Rustic Bath Soak ($22): Sit back and breathe in the aroma of Himalyan pink salt, oranges and chamomile in this fun, rustic bath soak.
6. Laura Mercier Crème Brûlée Honey Bath ($45): We’ll never say no to a delicious dessert, and you never have to when you’re using a bath product as sweet and scrumptious as this one. This honey bath from Laura Mercier comes with the scent of crème brûlée, for the ultimate French girl experience.
7. Osmia Organics Organic Tea Bath ($29): Tea lovers, rejoice — this bath is for you! You’ll feel like you’re climbing into a delightful cup of tea using this mixture of oats, roses, flowers and salt.
8. Philosophy Vanilla Bean Nutmeg Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath ($18): The weather outside might be frightful, but this bubble bath is super delightful. The holiday-appropriate fragrance of vanilla bean and nutmeg will envelop you in its warm embrace when you use this festive bath supplement.
9. Wild Rituals Bath Bomb ($8): Bombs away! Embrace your inner mermaid with this soothing blend of seaweed and mango butter, housed in a fun, fizzing bath bomb.
10. Fig + Yarrow Floral Milk Bath ($32): This milk bath will wrap you up in a romantic mixture of beautiful florals and skin-softening milks and therapeutic salts. All in all, this fragrant option is a great way to end a TLC session.
11. Elucx Relax Dead Sea Salt Bath Soak ($23): Immerse yourself in a stew of pink clay, bergamot and rose petals that will help refresh both your mind and body.
12. Skinnyskinny Lavender, Peppermint and Tea Tree Bath Soak ($38): This carefully curated blend of lavender, peppermint and tea tree fragrance is a natural mood elevator that’s guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face.
13. Aquarian Soul Coconut Rose Milk Bath ($32): Summer might be long gone, but we’ll never tire of the scent of coconuts. You’ll feel like a queen relaxing in this coconut milk and rose petal-infused bath that’ll leave your skin hydrated and happy.
14. Jo Malone Nutmeg and Ginger Bath Oil ($65): Get in the holiday spirit with a hydrating bath oil infused with notes of nutmeg and ginger. The scent is guaranteed to give you a boost of energy, making this a great choice for a midweek pick-me-up.
What are your favorite bath products? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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