Taste Life Blog

Another new year and another new start! Love that about January. Many people have already dumped their New Year’s resolutions because they have probably found they don’t have the time or the energy. What if before you created something new in your life you looked at the “old” in your life or the things that are bugging you? How can you start a new project or enjoy a new activity when you have all these things hanging over your head? Tolerations is a coaching term for things that irritate us because they need to be done, or removed, or changed, but we have not done anything about. Tolerations are things we ‘put up with’ in our lives and they drain us of energy. They range from a garage door opener that does not work, to a cluttered office or a relationship where you feel stuck. Maybe you are tolerating long working hours with no enjoyment or satisfaction or you are being dragged down by crossed boundaries or people’s behavior. People tolerate a lot without even realizing it. I liken it to an elevated blood sugar. They are invisible energy drains that create potential chaos in your life.

Helen is a coaching client and here is her list of her tolerations.

Dirty blinds, poor lighting in my office, book and magazine mess next to my bed, new camera and do not know how to use it, bored at my job, bumpy thighs, sitting next to my supervisor = yuck, always being late, need to paint my house, need to make my doctor appt.

You can see from Helen’s list that tolerations don’t have to be a big deal, in fact it is the little things in life that take away our energy.

Tolerations: Waste your time. Waste your energy. Stop you in your tracks or make you feel stuck. Make you feel like you can’t start the “next thing.” Make you feel incomplete or bad about yourself. Help you feel out of integrity. Keep you worrying about the past or future so that you can’t enjoy the present.

Eliminate tolerations now. Set your timer for 30 minutes.

What are the top 10 ten things you are tolerating in these areas:

• Home
• Work/ Office
• Health
• Relationships
• Money

Identify one item on each list that you can begin working on right away.

Select the smallest one, or the one that is easiest to eliminate, first.

As you improve the situations and relationships in your life you will naturally tolerate less. I am totally confident you will find the energy to take care of tolerations so you have MORE energy, freedom and confidence this year that will maximize your happiness. You only have one life to live…imagine if it was one you loved!

Call to Action: Pick one toleration and take care of it in the next 7 days. Then pick another and another. See what happens.

What is the opposite of toleration? Exuberance! We are estatic that Brett graduated early in December from the Univeristy of Iowa with an accounting degree. His graduation was memorable with me falling down and breaking my camera and Brett’s car having to get towed. Memorable!

Individual Record Retention

Gary and I have been married 29 years and are “de-brassing and de-papering” our house. I have asked my accountant Jeanne Matter how long do I need to keep old checks and bank statements? She happily created a list of individual record retention for you my Taste Life subscribers.

Matter Reuter CPAs Ltd.
Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors
http://www.matterreuter.com/

Keep forever:

• income tax returns
• income tax payment checks
• investment trade confirmations
• important correspondence
• legal records
• retirement and pension records
• CPA audit reports

note: consult your accountant before getting rid of any financial paperwork
note: please consult your attorney before getting rid of any legal paperwork

Keep 6 years:

• supporting documents for tax returns
• accident reports and claims
• medical bills (if tax-related)
• property records / improvement receipts (if tax-related)
• sales receipts (if tax-related)
• utility records (if tax-related)
• other bills (if tax-related)

note: consult your accountant before getting rid of any financial paperwork
note: consult your attorney before getting rid of any legal paperwork

Keep 3 years:

• credit card statements
• medical bills (in case of insurance disputes)
• utility records (for internal use)
• expired insurance policies

note: consult your accountant before getting rid of any financial paperwork
note: consult your attorney before getting rid of any legal paperwork

Special:

• car records (keep until the car is sold)
• credit card receipts (keep until verified on your statement)
• insurance policies (keep for the life of the policy)
• mortgages / deeds / leases (keep 6 years beyond the agreement)
• pay stubs (keep until reconciled with your W-2)
• property records / improvement receipts (keep until property sold)
• sales receipts (keep for life of the warranty)
• stock and bond records (keep for 6 years beyond selling)
• warranties and instructions (keep for the life of the product)
• other bills (keep until payment is verified on the next bill)

note: consult your accountant before getting rid of any financial paperwork
note: consult your attorney before getting rid of any legal paperwork

Jeanne Matter
My Certified Public Accountant
Matter Reuter CPAs Ltd.
(763)972-2948