The Library is Your Friend
We’ve long called ChooseFI the “friends of the library” and I was reminded of this when I visited my local branch last week.
I reserved 2 books (Richard Thaler’s “The Winner’s Curse” and “Genius Foods” by Max Lugavere) and they were waiting for me to pick up within 48 hours
I also found two of my favorite books (“The Name of The Wind” and “The Wise Man’s Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss) in the 50-cent clearance pile.
The library is a remarkable resource and I urge you all to use your public library!
Some Inspiration:
I listened to 3 old episodes of ‘The Tim Ferriss Show’ podcast with guest Derek Sivers this past week and he talked about his “Books I’ve Read” list repeatedly.
This is simply one of the best lists of book recommendations I’ve ever come across and his detailed notes on each book provide a companion (or replacement!) to the book.
The amount of knowledge you can pick up in a short period of time just by clicking the “Read My Notes” link by each book is almost crazy.
Tax Notices: Penalty Removal Request
It’s the time of year where the IRS and state tax agencies send out tax notices for additional tax due, underpayment of estimated payments, etc.
There are usually 3 components of the amount due on a tax notice: Tax liability, interest, penalty.
A tip that I’ve passed along on the podcast that has been really effective for many members of the ChooseFI community is that you can request an “abatement” or removal of the penalty.
I’m always careful to say this is NOT tax advice to you personally – just what I’ve experienced anecdotally in my career.
The key to an abatement request is to write a short letter (or fill out IRS Form 843) in response to the taxing agency simply explaining that you made an honest mistake, you did not intend to underpay your tax liability and you have taken steps to make sure it won’t happen in the future.
If owed, you would also include a check for the tax liability and interest along with this abatement request letter.
For specific language to include in your abatement letter, I found many examples by Googling the topic.