
Winter may be dull and gray, but there is one bright ray of sunshine in all that cold snow and rain: It’s the season for citrus fruits! Our favorite bright and clean-smelling fruits — including lemons, grapefruit, orange and lime — bring a much-needed taste of sunshine into this dark and dreary time of year. Besides whipping up plenty of tasty snacks and drinks with these beauties, we’ve been scouring the Internet to find some sweet beauty DIYs you can make with citrusy treats. Using the natural astringent properties in citrus, these DIYs will have you looking and smelling so fresh and so clean. Check out some of our top picks for citrus beauty must-haves to make on your very own.
1. Grapefruit Lip Balm: Essential oil and a grapefruit scent add a wintry flair to this moisturizing balm. (via A Pumpkin and a Princess)
2. Grapefruit Avocado Oil Scrub: This easy DIY recipe uses light and gentle avocado oil, which won’t clog your pores. Get ready to feel and smell amazing after incorporating it into your weekly routine. (via Brit + Co)
3. Orange Coconut Whipped Body Butter: Smooth this on irritated or dry winter skin for fast relief. You’ll have baby-soft, summery-smelling skin all winter long with this easy recipe. (via Hello Natural)
4. Citrus Sunshine Perfume: Just because it’s gray outside doesn’t mean you can’t bring a little brightness to your day with this light and fresh perfume. Customize your batch with different ratios of oil to get that perfect, totally-you scent. (via Hello Natural)
5. DIY Body Scrub: This basic scrub is a great place to start if you’re not familiar with the process. Add your own special blend of essential oils and scents to make it citrusy and bright. We think a mix of lemon, mint and vanilla would be just divine. (via Hey Gorgeous)
6. Grapefruit Honey Scrub: Just like the recipe above, this uses a simple base of brown sugar to gently exfoliate your skin, while grapefruit and honey brighten and clarify it. (via Brit + Co)
7. Cuticle Cream: Sure, your lips need some protection against the cold wind, but don’t forget about your precious fingers! This soothing cream will have your cuticles smooth and soft in no time. (via Gimme Some Oven)
8. Grapefruit Detox Mask: Make this simple recipe with ingredients from your kitchen: grapefruit and yogurt. The grapefruit tones and fights signs of aging, while the yogurt fights acne and discoloration. (via Hello Natural)
9. Coconut Tangerine Body Scrub: Take a quick tropical vacation with this coconut oil scrub that exfoliates and moisturizes. (via A Pumpkin and a Princess)
10. Herb and Grapefruit Toner: We’ve already touched on grapefruit’s seemingly magic ability to soothe and heal all sorts of skin issues. This toner makes use of all that goodness. (via Free People)
11. Tropical Cuticle Cream: This moisturizing cream would work just as well on your hands or feet. The coconut and lemon scent is heavenly and makes us crave a piña colada STAT. (via Hello Natural)
12. Coconut Grapefruit Hair Treatment: Treat yo’ self (and your scalp) with this moisturizing and impurity-removing scalp treatment. It’s like a spa treatment from the comfort of your own home. (via The Mother Huddle)
13. Orange Moisturizing Face Mask: Oatmeal, orange, yogurt and honey make this a soothing mask that smells like the best sort of breakfast. We won’t judge if you lick a little bit off your cheeks when you’re done letting the mask work its magic. (via Food + Words)
14. Lemon and Grapefruit Scrub: A double dose of citrus will wake you up with its invigorating scent. We advise splashing this on with some cold water in the morning for a major energy boost. (via Frugal Living Mom)
15. Easy Grapefruit Scrub: This might be the easiest beauty DIY we’ve ever seen. Grapefruit + sugar = soft, luxurious skin? Yes, please! (via WEMA Body Care)
16. Super C Tonic: Start your beauty regimen by cleaning from the inside out. This healthy tonic gives you an immunity boost of vitamin C, plus some cayenne to get your blood running and metabolism up. (via Greatist)
17. DIY Hair Serum: A few drops of grapefruit essential oil give this serum a fresh, light scent. You’ll never go back to buying hair serum again. (via Brit + Co)
18. Citrus Sugar Scrub: Your favorite citrus zest gets to be the star of the show in this light scrub. (via Lovesome)
Which of these are you most excited to make? Any DIYs you like to make with your favorite citrus? Tell us 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