Troy Punneo, CPA

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People – If I could recommend only one book for everyone to read, it would be this one.  It is a practical handbook of what skills are needed to make the journey through life starting off as dependent on everyone for everything, becoming independent, then eventually making the choice to become ‘interdependent’.  The author defines ‘interdependent’ as two or more people joining together and the result is the whole is more than the individual parts.

This book gives tons of examples from the author’s personal life.  But, all the lessons are just as practical in a business setting.  My personal favorite parts of the book include when the author describes the concept of an ‘emotional bank account’ and what makes deposits and withdrawals from those accounts, the concept of ‘steward delegation’, and why it is paramount to spend the bulk of your time doing ‘important, non-urgent’ things.

This is simply a must read for anyone who wants to improve their lives.

The Goal – This book is written as a novel, with the main character being a plant manager who’s plant is about to be shut down by his Company for lack of performance.  In a desperate attempt to save his plant from extinction, he consults a former teacher for guidance.  The first lesson he learns (spoiler alert) is: the first and foremost goal of any business is to make money.  I think some of us in business lose sight of that fact.

Then, the plant manager learns there are three ways for a business to be more profitable: by increasing revenue, decreasing costs, and/or decreasing inventory.  That sounds simple, but how many times do we make business decisions with absolutely no idea of how that idea will impact these three metrics?

Since this book is written as a novel, it is a very easy and entertaining read.  But, it still gives a lot of great examples of how to make positive improvements to your business.

Successful Habits of Visionary Companies – This book is a case study into the commonalities of the MOST successful public companies over time.  The authors conclude the biggest difference between an ultra successful company vs. a run of the mill successful company is that the ultra successful company has a singular core belief that will not be compromised.  Everything else in negotiable; but the core belief is never compromised.

The authors also introduce the concept of BHAGs, or Big Hairy Audacious Goals.  I like dreaming big and setting audacious goals, so that part of the book was inspiring to me personally.

Spin Selling – This is a great book to read for anyone who has sales as at least part of their job description.  And, if you are a business owner and do not think sales is a part of your job description, you better pack up shop and start working for someone else again.

This book explains the fundamental differences in mentality needed to sell a small dollar item vs. a large dollar item.  It also gives examples of how techniques that work great in small dollar sales can be detrimental in trying to get large dollar sales.

The Four Hour Workweek – This is an interesting book.  To a large extent, it incorporates a lot of ideas from the books I’ve previously mentioned.  I don’t personally agree with everything the author says, but there are some valuable ideas to glean from the read.  If you want the secret to a 4 hour workweek, you must create or buy a successful business and then delegate as much as humanly possible.  Of course, in order to create a successful business or save up enough money to buy a successful business, it takes a lot more than 4 hours a week of work.

Never Get Sick Again – This book is more ‘personal’ in nature.  But, if we neglect our health, then that will eventually affect our business performance as well.  So, I think this book is an important addition to my list.

I originally bought this book because the title was so audacious I had to see what the author had to say for himself.  What I found out was he had some very good thoughts.

Think of it like this: the human body was made to not get sick.  If our ancient ancestors who were hunter/gatherers got the flu and had to stay ‘in bed’ for a few days, then that could easily mean death.  There is only ONE reason why we get sick, whether it is cancer or a common cold or anything in between.  And, that reason is because our cells malfunction.  And, there are only two reasons why our cells might malfunction: either we are putting things in our body that harm our cells (toxicity) or we are not giving our cells what they need to function properly (deficiency).  The remainder of the book is a handbook to stop toxicity and deficiency at a cellular level.

Most homeowners know about mortgage interest, property taxes, and cash donations to charities as deductions. But, here are some common deductions homeowners typically miss on their income tax returns:

1) Points on the purchase of a home – generally, fees (including loan origination fees) that are a percentage of the purchase price of your home are deductible as interest expense.

2) Points on the refinance of a home – generally, points paid for a refinancing are able to be deductible pro-rata over the life of the loan. And, if you sell your home or refinance again, you get to write off the remainder of the points.

3) Non cash donations – generally, you are allowed a deduction for the fair market value of items you give to Goodwill or other charities. If the items are ‘clothing or household items’, they must be in ‘good condition or better’. Make sure you get a receipt with a detailed description of the items donated from the organization you gave the items to!

4) Casualty losses – did you incur a loss from a fire, storm, theft, or other casualty that was not insured? If so, the loss that exceeds certain limits may be deductible.

5) Investment interest expense – generally, if you borrowed money to make an investment, the interest paid on that loan is deductible to the extent of investment income in any given year.

6) Gambling losses – generally, you are allowed to take gambling losses to the extent of your gambling winnings.

7) Mortgage insurance premiums – generally, certain mortgage insurance premiums paid from 2007 to 2010 are allowed as an interest deduction.

Unreimbursed business expenses – do you have expenses associated with your profession that are not reimbursed by your employer? If so, the amounts that exceed certain limits may be deductible.

9) Medical expenses – medical expenses you pay up to the first 7.5% of your income (called ‘adjusted gross income’ in tax lingo) are your responsibility. Generally, amounts you pay for medical expenses above and beyond that are a tax deduction.

If you believe you qualify for any of the deductions, please consult your tax advisor. There are many additional rules in the tax law that may limit your potential deduction which are not discussed above.

Or, if you do not have a tax advisor, give me a call. I am very familiar with these tax rules and am very good at finding tax deductions for people that they did not know about.