NC Planning Blog

A special thanks to everyone who supported our NC Planning/Adams Howell & Sizemore team for the Krispy Kreme Challenge this past weekend. With your help and the other tremendous support of participants and donors the race organizers were able to donate $100,000 to the NC Children's Hospital. We are glad we could be a small part of that and look forward to making an even bigger impact next year.

As far as the race day:

Raining and cold to start. Our clothes and shoes were officially soaking went even before the race started.

The crowds were tremendous given the weather and it really only added to the KKC "experience".

I learned from a friend that bags over your feet really does work to keep them nice and dry.

It amazed me again as the second time I have participated and the fourth time I have attended to the event at how the participants and crowd continues to grow. This year they raced the registrant limit to 7,500 and still filled up a few weeks before the event date. 

Ate Dozen Doughnuts? Not for me as the 4 plus mile run was challenging enough, but there is always next year...

A friend of mine recently took advantage of one of the social media coupon offerings for a free intro lesson and two week membership to an indoor rock climbing place. The price was right (free) and I had never tried it before so upon the invite I comitted and went a couple of weeks ago for the safety class and to start climbing. It was a great experience and besides not being able to move my hands or arms for a few days it was fun as well. 

One of the big things I realized about climbing is the importance of communicating with your climbing partner and planning your climbing route ahead of time as much as possible.

The communicating part is key not only because your climbing partner is holding the rope and harness that is this only thing that prevents you from hitting the ground when your arms give out (may have happened once or twice) or you jump for that hold a few feet up and miss. Communication also plays an important role in successfully climbing your "route" (climber's term I picked up) to the top.

Once you are climbing even if you tried to plan your route beforehand things have changed. That grab is not really what you thought it was or maybe that lateral leap you had planned just doesn't really make sense from this height. So, you communicate with the person below you to try and find alternatives, to change, update your route and make it through successfully. 

Climbing in that way is a lot like life. You may have your route or path planned, but things change. Things you didn't see coming actually happen and we are forced to stop, hold on for dear life and modify our planned path to accomplish our goal.

The communication aspect of dealing with these life changes comes in many forms, including talking with your family, friends, advisors, and others which will help you modify your route or plan to still achieve your goals. Otherwise, just like climbing, you may fall (also may have happened more than once) in achieving those goals.

Join us for the 2011 Krispy Kreme Challenge.

Coinciding with the inevitable New Year’s Resolution, we’ve decided to challenge ourselves, co-workers, friends, family and now all of you to run with us in the 2011 Krispy Kreme Challenge. It’s a fun and local event with all proceeds from the race benefiting the North Carolina’s Children’s Hospital, a local area hospital that treats children of all ages and ailments and never turns away a family because of their inability to pay. 

NC Planning along with Adams, Howell and Sizemore, PA is putting together a team of participantsand we’d like for you to join us. On race day we’ll have special pre and post race snacks and beverages. So for anyone who would like to join us, whether you’re a runner, walker or simply interested in coming out to support the group, please visit our website www.ncplanning.com and click on the link to the Krispy Kreme Challenge to register. Please be sure to notate Adams, Howell & Sizemore in the team section of the registration form and notify us by emailing to tlenfestey@ncplanning.com.

Maybe you’re not a runner but would like to show your support in another way. NC Planning and Adams, Howell & Sizemore, PA would like to do even more for North Carolina’s Children’s Hospital by making a larger donation directly to the hospital in addition to our participation in the Challenge. We’re supplying our own t-shirts for the event to anyone who would like to support the cause for a donation of $15.00 per shirt. We’ll donate the cost of the t-shirt allowing 100% of the proceeds from the t-shirt sales to go directly to North Carolina’s Children’s Hospital. So come on out and walk, jog, run or cheer the rest of the group while supporting the cause. 

Please let us know how many shirts we can secure for you or your group and in what sizes.  We will have all shirts available for pick up at our office located at 940 SE Cary Parkway, Ste. 102, Cary, NC 27518 beginning on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 and be sure to wear your shirt on race day.

We’re looking forward to a great race, spots are limited and filling up fast so please register as soon as possible by visiting www.ncplanning.com and/orwww.adamsandhowell.com. Once you’re registered please let us know by sending an email to tlenfestey@ncplanning.com.

Thank you all for your help in putting together a wonderful team and raising money for a good cause at the same time.

Interesting and smart words to kick off 2011. I, like so many others always am grasping for more time, but this quote says it all. You really can't create more of it, you can just look at ways to use it more efficiently and with purpose. 

Time for business
Time for family
Time for health
Time for improvement
Time for you

All of these time commitments, plus many more will always be on your mind. Our goal this year should not be how to "make" time for these, but just spend the time you have wisely to accomplish your goals and these commitments. 

Think about it going forward in this New Year. Time will continue to pass, but it is always up to us to determine how we spend it. 

I don't think anyone missed it in 2010, but it is back anyways or at least it will be upon final signing of the President today. The Estate Tax is back in 2011, but we have the good fortune (if there is such a thing in taxation) of having Congress agree and pass legislation which will actually improve the taxation of most estates going into 2011 and 2012. 

Why just those two years? Well, the law only extends the income tax, capital gains tax and the estate tax limits until 2012. Coincidence? Not really. Time for another election in 2012 so they can battle out what taxes, including the estate should remain and which should be changed.

Here are the estate tax details:

Estate tax is back, but at a $5 million exclusion amount and 35% tax rate for each dollar over the exclusion. The exclusion amount can be doubled up so that if married each spouse will receive $5 million and it is portable. 

Although the change is short-term it allows the benefit of looking out 2 years and updating planning accordingly. 

At least most people can enjoy New Year's Eve now without worry about what a $1 million exclusion would do to their estates. 

Coffee and lunch meetings are great ways to make connections and build your network. However, the worst thing you can do is miss that meeting as a result of bad communication or calendaring, especially if it is the first meeting with that person. Think of it as standing someone up on a date or being stood up. Not a great feeling and not the right message to deliver in the business world. 

The goal of most of those meetings are to deliver the right image and professionalism. Missing it due to failure to add it to your calendar does not send that message at all. I get overly concerned with making sure the meetings are on my schedule and I can make them. If I am have an issue that is going to potentially raise a conflict I reschedule and apologize for doing so. However, I would much rather reschedule than leave your scheduled meeting sitting there sipping on water and waiting for you to arrive.

I am looking at ways to make sure these things don't happen to me or my scheduled meetings. One is with the new app I am using for my website, Tungle (www.tungle.me). Tungle is one of the companies out there trying to make virtual scheduling easier and less prone to human mistake. Save the emails back and forth, use Tungle to view when someone is available, schedule the meeting and confirm it on both person's schedules.

Here is an update on a recent passage of some legislation directed to help small businesses. Too little, too late? The big moves will come end of the year, if any. Stay tuned...

http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Web/20103340.htm

I have a lot of ideas...I mean, a lot. Some of them are even good ones or at least I think they are. I have learned that the hard part is taking those ideas (especially the good ones) to implementation. 

Why? Time and focus I think. When I have an idea I might jot it down or just put it in the ol' memory notebook (many good ones have been lost here) and it stays fresh for putting into implementation for awhile. The first few days it is of great importance, then after a week or so it becomes something I need to really get to and see if there is any value in it. Then it fades until I think of the idea again and start the process over.

Now some of my ideas have been implemented and more will, but I am always amazed by people who take an idea and let their passion for that idea lead the efforts and focus it takes to create a final product.

Being an author is one of these things that amaze me, especially for those people I know who have a demanding career and life outside of writing which take priority. How do they find the time in the day? 

A good friend of mine said it was about having the passion to push you to take that chance and then producing the efforts to give the idea a chance to succeed. Passion comes in all forms, but for those of us that can harness it, embrace it, and use it to our advantage in work and life we will at least see our ideas come to fruition. Whether they turn out to be good, that is a different story, but at least we will know. 

For my friend, the author, check out his idea now in print for all to read and enjoy: www.stormofdeception.com. 

People asking about what is going to happen in the tax world in 2011 may want to look to the history of Congress facing an election year. Many times, especially during the last few elections Congress has been noted as acting as a "lame duck" or basically doing nothing at all. This is due to campaigning time needed, not wanting to make controversial decisions and all sorts of other items which may impact their re-election chances. 

So, the result is we may get no action on spending and taxation laws until the new Congress comes in next year. What this means is that the tax laws set to expire December 31, 2010 may just do that. Two of the biggest of these are low capital gains rates and the estate tax. 

If January 1, 2011 occurs without Congress acting then we are looking at $1 million exemption. This means that every dollar over $1 million that your estate is worth will be taxed at 55%.

May be fine for those whose favorite charity is the IRS, but otherwise some estate tax planning may be necessary very soon.

Check out this article for more explanation: http://tinyurl.com/23oagav

Bonus Quote of the Day 

"Because he was smart enough to die in 2010, there is zero tax liability on the estate tax. If he had died in 2009, or 2011, there would have been a $500 million tax liability to his estate in 2009, and in 2011 -- under the proposal that we have -- there would have been a $600 million liability."

-- Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), quoted by The Hill, on the passing of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.