February 2023 Message

February 6, 2023  • Newsletter

This Month’s Money Message: Gather

If you are a minimalist, things are about to get very challenging. In fact, the challenge may have already started with tax form envelopes arriving at your doorstep and tax form emails accumulating in your inbox. The overwhelming accumulation of physical and digital paper has begun, and it will only end with the filing of your 2022 tax return.

Such is the life of a creative entrepreneur. In addition to the 1099s and W-2s, you may also have charitable gift acknowledgments, healthcare forms, bank statements, and student loan forms noting interest payments. And even though the reporting rule for 1099-Ks was delayed a year, you may even still get a wayward 1099-K from Venmo, Cash App, or another payment processor, just for fun.

This month, we gather the forms. There is still plenty of time to sort through them, organize them, and use them. But for now, we gather.

While the forms are being gathered, might I suggest you start gathering your own data as well? In my dream scenario for you, you have your own tracking system of income, and you simply match the data in that system with the stack of 1099s. You can go back through your bank statements, calendars, and payment apps to organize this information, or if you have a system already (like QuickBooks or something similar), the data has probably already been (a little bit) gathered for you.

The gathering process is not easy, nor is it fast (unless you’ve been doing it for a while). It may feel overwhelming, frustrating, and annoying. It may increase your stress, clutter your workspace, and overwhelm your senses. 

It can be awful. And it can feel abundant. Sometimes at the same time. 

Steven Covey talks about the abundance mindset, and while I’m pretty sure he never had tax forms in mind, I can’t help but think of the abundance that this moment of gathering can provide. I hope your stack of tax forms makes you feel abundant and accomplished. And I hope your tracking system starts working for you so that next year’s gathering process starts to feel a bit easier – and even more abundant. 

So with that in mind, here are some things to know, do, and believe as you gather your tax forms: 

Know: The income you earned in 2022. The forms you receive can help but go through your calendar and your bank account to estimate your overall income.

Remember, you’ll only get a form if the client paid you $600 or more, but all of your income is still taxable. You won’t get forms for smaller jobs or sales of work to clients. But you should still plan to gather that information to paint a complete picture.

Do: Sort the data. Match the forms you receive with your own records, and if there is a discrepancy (for example, a 1099-K for personal transactions), reach out to the vendor to correct the form.

Sort the income into W-2 and 1099 income within your system so you can track where the income goes on your tax form, and sort it into categories that make sense for your business as well. 

Believe: In abundance.

Steven Coven defines abundance as a mindset of enough: Enough resources, enough success, enough satisfaction. Gathering tax information can feel overwhelming. But it also can remind us of our abundant lives and careers.

What We’re Doing

This month is all about tax workshops, including one on-demand you can take whenever you want! We have four scheduled workshops planned with the School of Visual Arts, Juilliard’s Kovner Fellows, the Kansas City Art Institute, and the Greater Columbus Arts Council. But it’s not only about taxes… We have financial health conversations scheduled with Creative Capital, Juilliard’s Artist Diploma students, and Juilliard’s alumni as well. 

Because after all, tax health is financial health… And vice versa. 

(Psst… You may also notice our website has a new look. Like it? We’d love to hear what you think!)

What We’re Talking About

The theme (if there is a theme) from the coaching sessions we’ve had lately is all about recordkeeping. There is some reflection, some accountability, and even some gathering happening right now. And there is likely more to come.

CREATIVE COACHING (1 HOUR, $125)

If you’d like to chat with me to answer your own questions, feel free to find a time that works with your schedule.

Gather

To gather is to bring together or collect, and this month is full of digital and physical gathering of tax information – And the accomplishments that information represents.

Happy Gathering,

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