Between work, camp drop-offs, pool-filled weekends, backyard barbecues, visiting the in-laws, and taking the kiddos to the beach, summer has a way of slipping through your fingers. Even though motherhood may make it seem like those lazy warm-weather days of sipping margaritas with your BFFs under the quiet glow of tiki torches have all but gone, you can still squeeze out some self-care moments during the summer months. When you feel yourself getting stuck in a summertime rut, take a little bit of “me” time with these easy-to-squeeze-in mommy-break ideas.
1. Check out a gallery or a museum. Toting the tots along to the art museum provides you with the chance to expose them to a new world, teach them new lessons, and open emotional doors for them. But it’s also filled with you quietly whisper-yelling “Don’t touch that!” as you wrestle with the diaper bag and try to keep the stroller from puncturing a Monet. Get a sitter this time, and take an afternoon to slowly stroll through a gallery or museum. You’ll have the chance to actually look at the art, relax, and maybe even get a little bit introspective.
2. Play in the dirt. This one is otherwise known as “pretend to garden.” Everyone else in the house passes on helping you tend to the plants outside because… Well, because it’s not fun. An afternoon of actual weeding is far from a relaxing indulgence, so instead of sweating away in the garden, bring a book, find some shade, and kick back in your backyard queendom for an hour or two.
3. See a movie solo. If you have to sit through yet another cutesy cartoon masquerading as a movie that’s also ironically humorous to adults (it’s so totally not), you might end up as the one throwing a tantrum. Have your S.O. take their turn watching the little, hire a sitter, or drop your kiddo off with a grandparent while you head to the movies. This is an almost unheard-of opportunity to sit in a dark, completely quiet, air-conditioned space (with all the popcorn and candy you want) and watch an R-rated flick without anyone disturbing you.
4. Visit a salon. Your feet are covered all week at work, and on the weekends when you finally expose them they look less than pool-ready. You take care of everyone else all week long — don’t you deserve the chance to let someone else take care of you? Get some pampering of your own with a mini mani-pedi break.
5. Paint en plein air. In other words, get your art on outside! And no, you don’t need to be an “actual” artist to try this one out. Painting is a creative outlet that lets you relax and take your mind off of all those everyday stresses. Grab your kiddo’s tempera paints and a brush (or just use your fingers) and paint what you see in the fresh air.
6. Have an ice cream night. Oh, and this one is by yourself. Even though it’s super-fun to have a family ice cream sundae Sunday, sometimes mama needs to eat her Halo Top before it melts into a puddle of mushy mess. Wait until the kids are asleep, grab a spoon, and give yourself a little treat.
7. Take a cold shower. You’ve spent the day sweating in places that you just don’t want to think about. Instead of adding to the sweat factor by pouring yourself into a steaming hot bubble bath, spend some time in a cool shower. It’s kind of like jumping into an early-morning pool — minus the chlorine and plastic toys.
8. Read a book. Yeah, yeah, you read plenty of books… about cartoon cats, superheroes, and babies who can talk in full sentences by six months. But you rarely, if ever, read an actual “grown-up” book anymore. Start your very own summer reading club of one by picking a new book each month to cuddle up and relax with.
9. Mix a mocktail. Maybe you’re breastfeeding, or maybe your tired self just can’t handle a full-strength margarita these days. Whatever the reason, refresh and recharge with a mommy mocktail. Play mock mixologist and combine cold, cold seltzer with juice, fruit, and anything else that strikes your fancy!
10. Watch the stars. Your little one is asleep, and your S.O. is in the house with them. Take a breather at the end of your busy summer day and catch a star show from the comfort of your patio, deck, or fire escape. Bring along an atlas of constellations or a handy phone app and look for the dippers, big bears, and a cast of mythological characters.
What’s your favorite summer activity? Share your pick and tweet us @BritandCo!
(Photos 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