Healthy living

Burnout sets in post-tax season. Long hours working leads to exhaustion only to be repeated the next day eventually takes its toll. Recovery is less certain than in the past. Age is part of it, but the new tax code and demands from a wider audience also play a role. Due to these factors there will be significant changes to this blog going forward.

The most notable change will be the publishing schedule. Tax season became so overwhelming something had to give. I reduced the publishing schedule from three times a week with a “Stalking” edition on Saturday to twice per week.

What surprised me was the increase in traffic when I reduced the amount of material published! I was warned

As a society we think of certain people as more prone to ethical lapses. This might be the result of the professions involved. Police officers make repeated ethical decisions every day. Judges, prosecutors and even jury members must deal with their personal ethics and that of others. But law enforcement or military personnel aren’t the only ones thrust into serious choices. Attorneys and doctors are forced into making decisions that might not seem ethical at first, but they are often forced to make a choice and fast. No choice is an ethical choice all too often with serious consequences.

Frugal living is challenging at times. What seems like a meaningless small change can energize your budget and fire your investments on a steeper trajectory.

Countless blogs and websites provide lists on how to save money. Turn out lights, turn down the heat in winter and the library are good ideas. Mr. Money Mustache has a strong drive to bike. On several occasions he has published on the benefits of biking. Biking is good for your health and cuts energy use. Reducing or eliminating what he calls a “clown-like car habit”, you cut spending by serious coin.

In the United States healthcare has gone from crisis to tragedy. Double digit increases in insurance premiums for many years on one hand and a tax code that forces you to pay up on the other is a painful experience for many family budgets.

The current tax code contains a health insurance mandate; have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Congress has unsuccessfully tried to end the mandate, but the current tax bill might contain language ending required health insurance coverage.

Even if the health insurance mandate ends there is the problem of affordable insurance. If you are fortunate enough to have an employer paying most or all of your health insurance premiums you are lucky. Small employers are far and few between who can shoulder the cost of healthcare. And large corporations are scaling back the employer paid portion of healthcare benefits.

The Gallup World Poll publishes a report on their findings involving the happiest people on Earth every year. This year National Geographic magazine has an article in their November issue discussing the results, written by Dan Buettner, author of Blue Zones of Happiness.

Certain nations top the list every year. Costa Rica, Denmark and Singapore report more happiness than other nations. The United States, a nation fond of bragging about its freedoms, isn’t all that happy.

Money isn’t the overriding factor either. Costa Rica, for example, is relatively poor compared to the U.S or Canada. There has to be something other than money causing people to report unusually high levels of happiness.

Many accountants will not work with doctors. Doctors as a group can be difficult in the best of times, demanding an instant response to their every whim. I disagree completely.

My firm has serviced accounts for doctors nearly from day one. The value doctors provide society is vital and I have always felt they deserve extra latitude. The stress level doctors face daily supersedes anything I deal with. If I make a mistake, money is at risk; when a doctor makes a decision, lives are at risk.

My personality meshed well with the mindset doctors have. As a result, I have been a value added service to my doctor clients. Many hair-raising situations were resolved successfully because I understood the doctor’s situation and was able to integrate their issue into the problem solving formulas of my firm. It also allowed my doctor clients to get very rich.

Chicken Little is in true form this week as the election in the States surprised many. The headlines this morning on CNBC echo and increasing level of alarm: Anti-Trump Portland Protest Turns Into a Riot; Op-Ed: I’m not worried about a US recession, I’m worried about another Great Depression; Trump’s enemies are already paying the price; Donald Trump tweets about unfair protests — then has second thoughts; An ‘ugly period’ for the market is drawing near: Saxo Bank economist.

I haven’t seen such overreacting since, well, I don’t know when. There is certainly a lot not to like about Trump, but overreacting will not make it better. The stock market is rallying on higher interest rates. Financials are doing well while much of the market is down. Overall we saw a nice rally and it might, or might not, be overdone. Over at CNBC again we hear: Cramer warns the rally is ‘getting out of hand’ —better deals found in the trash. Really! Yeah, the market will pull back at some point and there is no reason for stocks to be higher due to a guy winning an election who hasn’t even started his first day on the job.

It had to happen sometime and now was that time. As soon as traffic reached a certain level someone would finally say what was on everyone’s mind: Why are you doing it, Mr. Accountant? If you are so damn rich, why do you bust your ass running a tax practice and writing more copy than Stephen King on meth? The answer seems so simple to me, but I have seen this sickness before.

My buddy, Pete, over at Mr. Money Mustache faced similar comments in the past. Now that the guy publishes around two times a month no one is talking, but they all wish he did write more. (Way to go guys!) Recent comments on The Wealthy Accountant have now touched on the subject. The comments are very polite and not derogatory by any means. That is not always the case. The comment in question casts doubt on all personal finance bloggers claiming to have made it. There was doubt the bloggers are really retired. Between the lines you can read “the blogger needs the blog to pay bills”. There were also a few comments protesting the need for a side hustle. I want to set the record straight.