WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
If you haven’t filed your 2021 income taxes yet, you have just a week to do so. Once they are filed, you will still want to keep certain tax records for future reference and use. You might wonder about how long you should keep those piles of receipts, forms and worksheets. Naturally, the answer is “It depends”.
It’s a good idea to keep that “stuff” in a neat, complete and well-organized manner. Maintaining some form of order after you’ve filed your return will come in handy should the IRS have any questions concerning your return. For an individual tax return, you should save anything that supports the figures you entered on your return. Keep the W-2 and 1099 forms you get from employers, as well as any 1099-B or 1099-INT tax documents from banks, brokerages and other investment firms. If you lost your job last year and received unemployment benefits from the government, be sure to keep your 1099-G form. This form reports the amount you received.
If you’re itemizing your deductions, keep receipts for the following: credit card and other receipts, invoices, mileage logs and canceled checks. If you’ve bought or sold mutual fund shares, stocks or other securities, you’ll need confirmation slips that say how much you paid for the investments and how much you received when you sold them. Keep a copy of all your investments for at least three years after you have sold them. It’s a good idea to check with a tax professional before doing any destroying.
I’m sure you’ve heard this before. “If it tastes good, it’s probably not good for you.” As we age, we are cautioned more and more about great tasting food that we should stay away from for our own good. If you are over fifty, there are at least five foods we should stay away from. These foods aren’t going to kill us, but they could very likely shorten our life spans. Here are some tasty foods that aren’t that good for you:
Fried foods: French fries, onion rings and anything else that has been submerged in a vat of oil made up of saturated fat will have a negative impact on blood cholesterol. To remedy this you might want to invest in an air fryer. You might also save your fats for dinner and avoid them at breakfast and lunch. It’s also better to have your food grilled, not fried.
Sugary drinks, including some bottled teas: These would include the fancy coffee drinks and fresh lemonades. That 16-ounce chai latte at a fancy coffee shop has 42 grams of sugar. You should also avoid those drinks with misleading labels. “Pure” or “green tea” still has sugar.
Some packaged foods: Hidden sugars can be found in pasta sauces, yogurt, granola bars and some breakfast cereals. This is harmful for older adults because they can increase blood sugar and blood triglyceride levels. This raises the risk of fatty liver disease. We should remember to check labels for added sugars. Don’t be too concerned about natural sugars in fruits or milk.
High-Sodium Instant Meals: We should all try to lower our sodium intake. Taste your food before you use the salt shaker. Seventy-five percent of the salt in our diet comes from processed foods. Check the packages where the sodium is five percent or less of the daily value. Any food where the sodium is in the twenty percent range is high-sodium.
Ultra-processed snacks: An apple from straight off the tree or milk straight from the cow is not processed, otherwise most of the food you consume is processed. Minimally processed foods such as bagged greens,diced vegetables, nuts, canned tomatoes, frozen fruit and vegetables are great. Again, make label-reading a good habit.
“The cream preserves Pa’s razor blade. The jar preserves Ma’s Marmalade.” – BURMA SHAVE
See you Out and About!
Submitted by Norm Stutesman
