It used to be an office or a junk room. Now it’s the crowning jewel of your home. It’s your baby’s nursery, and you’re all about creating something that looks like it jumped off the pages of a home decor magazine (or, more likely, jumped out of a decorator’s blog). Instead of starting from scratch, shop your own house for baby’s new furniture and room accessories. That’s right; you probably have plenty of finds that you can transform into nursery-friendly showpieces. So, go ahead, scroll on for eight nursery-ready DIY projects to repurpose your old decor, and get inspired.
Repurposed Dresser Bench
Yeah, yeah. Your baby is way too young to sit on a bench, but she probably has mountains of toys (even if she isn’t even born yet). Transform an old dresser into a kids’ storage bench. And bonus, it’s small enough that by the time she’s a toddler, your little one will be able to actually use it. (via My (Re)Purposed Life)
Bookshelf Changing Table
If you spent your pre-baby years Allen-wrenching roomfuls of IKEA furniture with your S.O., you’re in luck. You can turn a basic bookshelf into a brand-new changing table easily. (via DIY Passion)
Baby Shower Cards Nursery Art
Turn those baby shower cards you’ve been stashing away into awesome art for baby’s nursery walls with this simple, easy-to-do project. (via Veronika’s Blushing)
Old Bookshelf Turned Mini Closet
Turn an old bookshelf into an open closet to store your baby’s runway-worthy wardrobe. You can create a space for hanging teeny-tiny duds and a separate area that holds baskets, diapers, toys, and more! (via Project Nursery)
DIY Display Boxes
Whether you use them as extra storage or show off your baby’s growing art and toy collection, these DIY display boxes are a rad repurposed project. Look closely. Yep. They’re made from wine cases. (via Adele Rotella)
Repurposed Chalkboard
Turn a silver platter into a more than basic chalkboard with the help of a little chalkboard paint. Write sweet messages on your new board, or use it for practical purposes (such as writing out feeding times). Not only is it super functional, but it’s also cute nursery decor. (via Project Nursery)
Upcycled Cardboard Boxes
There’s no need to fill your baby’s room with bulky, oversized bookshelves, even if you have plenty of stuff to store. Between the diapers, boxes of wipes, itty-bitty onesies, and everything else, you need extra storage space. Take some of those diaper boxes (or other cardboard boxes) and upcycle them into storage bins. (via The Budget Decorator)
DIY Dresser
No new mama wants to add an old dresser into the baby’s nursery — unless, of course, it’s an amazing antique. With a touch of paint, some new hardware, and a bit of creativity, you can turn what was an old has-been into something completely contemporary. (via Oh Joy!)
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