
We’ve all been there: You’ve found the perfect Pinterest project, gathered all the supplies and then it all just falls apart. Even when you follow the directions exactly, the end product looks absolutely nothing like that gorgeous DIY project you pinned. During the summer, we are all over the beautiful ice cream recipes and patio makeovers, but inevitably, some of those Pinterest projects will end up in failure and disappointment. Before you beat yourself up too much, enjoy these 17 epic summer-inspired Pinterest fails and then sit back and enjoy your non-Pinterest-worthy dessert.
1. Pretty Watermelon Cake: This cake is obviously no piece of cake. We’re thinking it would take some mad cake-frosting skills to accomplish this sweet feat. (via @jenniferpoolebarringer)
2. The Perfect Summer Mani: Summer nail art is kinda our thing. So we can definitely sympathize with a few rainbow stripes gone wrong. Or maybe it has become a more abstract work of art? (via @carag503)
3. Backyard Shade: We are all about stylish patio makeovers, and adding some shade is a great way to get more use out of your outdoor space. Just make sure you use poles that are sturdy enough to handle the weight of the fabric you use. Otherwise you might end up with a saggy situation. (via Pinterest Fail)
4. Cherry Bombs: Believe it or not, it’s easy to bomb with cherry bombs. But on a brighter note, they still tasted delicious and got the boozey job done. (via @ldkr5808)
5. Chocolate Covered Bananas: Frozen bananas are a great healthy snack for the kids come summertime, but we’re not sure even the kids would eat this mess. Sadly, it’s not as easy as it looks to get the chocolate to stick the bananas. Anyone have any suggestions? (via Pinterest Fail)
6. Tropical Green Slush: Even if it’s not a bright + beautiful rainbow of colors (that takes some time-consuming bartending skills), this cocktail will surely get the post-work HH craving satisfied. (via @mstockst)
7. Real Watermelon Cake: The original recipe suggests making sure your watermelon is nice and cold when you are frosting it to make the whipped cream stick. We’ll let you be the judge of whether or not that works. (via Pinterest Fail)
8. Fabric-Wrapped Balloons: Almost like pretty pastel hot air balloons, the original project here looked ridiculously easy. However, it turns out those were magical Pinterest balloons and real-life balloons could barely handle the weight of a single sheet of tulle. (via Pinterest Fail)
9. Patriotic Cookie Sandwich: You might not think squishing ice cream between two cookies would be too difficult, but balancing melting ice cream while trying to roll them in sprinkles is definitely a challenge. Who are we kidding though… it doesn’t matter how these turn out, ’cause we’d still eat them. (via Fancykins)
10. Rainbow Roses: You would think this would be a simple DIY since the rose does all the work, right? The only suggestion here is to remove as many leaves as possible so the food coloring moves all the way to the petals instead of just making the leaves tie dyed. (via Pinterest Fail)
11. Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes: The trick to making these summery treats work is rigging up some sort of system so the cones don’t tip over in the oven. Otherwise the end result will be this drippy mess. (via Pinterest Fail)
12. Campfire Cones: Wrap in foil and toss on the campfire. Sounds simple, right? The lesson learned from this fail was to put the cones around the edge of the fire instead of right in the coals so they don’t get burnt to a crisp. (via Pinterest Fail)
13. Sparkler Lighting: The trick to getting really good sparkler words is to make sure it’s dark enough so that you can’t really tell there are people holding the sparklers. Oh, and maybe make sure everyone knows they are supposed to be spelling backwards ;) (via Traveling Light)
14. Mango Fruit Leather: To whip up some super healthy fruit leather, all you need to do is puree some mangoes, spread ’em on a sheet and dehydrate. Well, that is, according to Pinterest. In real life, you might end up with more of a mango puddle. (via Unexpected Knock)
15. Garden Fail: No one ever said building your own garden was easy. This Pinner had a great vision without the engineering skills necessary to keep that net upright. It’s okay though, because she went back later and got it DONE. (via @jayneclobber)
16. Shark Cake: Nothing says summer like a scary shark cake, right? Unless it’s a scary shark with a dental problem. If you can get the perfect shark-gray color, mold the nose out of cake and then figure out how to apply the teeth, then you deserve some sort of Pinterest reward. (via Pinterest Fail)
17. Illuminated Beach Dinner: Dinner on the beach lit by candles in the sand. Awww, how romantic… if you can get the candles to glow like giant lanterns. (via Pinterest Fail)
What are your Pinterest fails? We’d love to hear all about the projects that went wrong! Share your experiences 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