Today’s topic (bad money habits) calls for a little bluntness… a bit risky, I know, but necessaryfor any Southern California person finding themselves in debt to the IRS.And I’ll give a caveat here and say that what I’m talking about today has nothing to do with...

There is a lot of fear and angst in our culture these days. Sparked by tragic current events, as well as a general sense of disjointedness in our culture. But for many who might be reading this, there is another one that might be lurking latent beneath these other...

Stress.Anxiety. Unease. Worry.And a pinch of aggravation just to round it all out.No, I'm not talking about the upcoming May 17th federal tax deadline.Or am I?For millions of Americans every year, the tax filing deadline points to a much bigger issue. An issue so...

November has officially begun.Decisions are upon us. All of the normal holiday decisions, like which Lego set to buy the little one or which relatives to invite (or not invite) for Thanksgiving dinner, are dancing through our heads as the seasons change.But not only...

Summer is nearing an end, but this has been no ordinary summer.Everywhere, parents are scrambling in the most unusual "back to school" season in memory. Fall sports are in limbo, and others (MLB, NHL, NBA) are operating in a weird Twilight Zone mode. Urban centers are...

One of my favorite pieces of reading every year is the IRS Criminal Investigations unit's annual report.Yes, I'm a nerd.Here's the link in case you are a similarly inclined Southern California taxpayer(although I seriously doubt that).Oh, and yes, the IRS has their...

What, you think I'm on vacation?Yes, the tax deadline has passed. But we're still available, and handling post-deadline matters for Southern California clients.But moving along to today's subject: figuring out how to pay for college tuition. Things are different from...

Congratulations to the Patriots -- I mean the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- for their Super Bowl victory.Here at Barnes Accountancy Corporation, we don't have a lot of time to pay much attention to such doings since tax season is here. Even though the actual submission of...

Before I jump into outlining good debt vs bad debt for all those in Southern California trying to tackle their personal debt, let’s touch on some news from everyone’s not-so-favorite government agency. Late last week (Friday news dump?), ye olde Internal Revenue...