I’m always amazed by the number of people who tell me they do all of their Christmas shopping online.

Handling employment taxes can be complicated, especially when you’re required to file important tax documents throughout the year. Here's a list of key forms and deadline dates to help keep you on track.

By Jerry Burnaman

As I’m getting older, death seems to be staring at me more frequently.

OK, there’s the usual stuff – food in our kitchens, family, good health, etc.

It costs nothing to say thank you. Yet cultivating gratitude in your life may be one of the most rewarding moves you can make.

As part of gaining more insights into Kaufman County, I accepted an invitation from Trinity Valley Electric Cooperative last week to tour the headquarters and meet some of the folks who bring electric power to our rural areas.

I’ve been there personally and I get it, but it seems like I encounter people all the time who feel stuck in life and overwhelmed by circumstances. If you probe a little and ask how you can help or what they need, often the reply is something along the lines of “I really need a better job,” …

Gifts for people with Alzheimer’s in the early stages

There’s still time to reduce your potential tax obligation and save money this year (and next). Here are some ideas to consider:

Having survived my first Texas tornado warnings, and now the first deep freeze of the year, I must say, Texas weather is quite the combination of meteorological events.

Is it possible that we’re working hard to communicate a message on the surface that we’re OK, when in actuality we’re not? The truth is, we’ve been born into a fallen and broken world and we are all broken in some way. We only make matters worse when we attempt to hide our pain and brokennes…

Thank you, veterans

One day I chatted with a friend over a cup of coffee.  This question surfaced in our conversation: “What is your greatest desire in life?’  The answer, “Have a peaceful mind.”

In 2018, the government attempted to “simplify” the tax-filing process by drastically shortening Form 1040. The result was six new schedules that created a lot of confusion. Now the IRS is attempting to ease some of that pain by revising the form and removing some schedules. Will it help? He…

The holiday season is upon us! Actually, if you’ve been out to any major big box store, the holiday season has pretty much been upon us since mid-July, and seems to creep back a bit more every year!

Now that I have attended and enjoyed my first big town-wide event in Kaufman, I’m starting to feel like more of a local. Having covered tons of Fourth of July parades, motorcycle rallies, heritage festivals and other events in Alaska, Nevada, Missouri and Colorado, it was fun to be a part of…

Jonathan Swift (November 1667-19 October 1745) was born in Dublin Ireland.  He spent some time in England but lived most of his life in Ireland, and is known as an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, poet and cleric.  One of his most famous writings is Gulliver’s Travels, …

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Kaufman County is the third-fastest growing county in America.

What’s a Scarecrow Festival without, well, scarecrows?

A business woman had some time between flights at an airport.  She bought a small package of cookies and sat down in the busy snack shop to check the messages on her iPhone before her next flight.

Not having time to go to the polls on Election Day really is no longer an excuse not to vote.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently reported in financial exploitation cases that older adults lost an average of $34,200. Unfortunately, these funds are often never recovered. You can ensure this doesn’t happen by learning more about scams and how to protect yourself. Here are…

Years ago, a wise old king called his wise men together and gave them a commission.  “I want you to compile for me the ‘wisdom of the ages’ and put it in book form so we might leave it to posterity.”

In a weekend of eating chili at the American Legion, snow cones and enchiladas at St. Ann’s Fall Festival, and learning about gardening at the Vintage Garden Market, it was also time for some fried food.

What is courage?

You see it more and more in the obituary columns.   “Died after a long bout with Alzheimer’s.”

Christopher stood on the pier watching the big ship leave port, slowly, then gaining speed as the sails caught the wind.  He watched until it became a speck on the horizon, then vanished out of sight.

Believe it or not, there is every reason to hope that we’ll be entering into more traditional fall weather in Texas soon.   Monday Sept. 23 is actually the “official” date, but of course, it’s Texas, so who knows?

A letter in the mailbox with the IRS as the return address is sure to raise your blood pressure. Here are some tips for handling the situation if this happens to you:

During the journey of life families make memories.  One of my memories is from my childhood when in late October the Sears Roebuck Christmas Catalogue came to our country home.  We called it the “Wish Book.”

First I want to start this week by thanking you for reading the Kaufman Herald. Without all of you readers, we wouldn’t be here.

It’s a known fact – as we age, our reflexes slow.   Suddenly, a fastball thrown by your 8-year old grandchild is really fast.

Five years ago, CVS Pharmacy quit selling tobacco in its retail locations.

According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. student loan debt is now $1.5 trillion with more than 44 million borrowers. Only mortgage debt currently has bigger numbers among types of consumer debt. Even worse, more than 10 percent of these loans are past due. Here are some tactics to help make st…

One day I talked with a man in the sunset years of life.  He reminisced about the past, how good life had been, and lamented how the present generation is hopeless.

The Royal Bank of Canada some time ago had an article in its monthly newsletter entitled, “Let’s Slow Down.”

A sad and oft-repeated truth is that half of all new businesses fail within the first five years. Although many factors contribute to business failure, a common culprit is poor cash management. Follow these practices to moderate the ebb and flow of cash in your business:

Last week’s headline of your local paper stated “Kaufman physician takes on the anti-vax movement.”

At some juncture in life every person should ask this question: “What do I really want out of life?”  It’s best to ask the question when you are young.  

The journey of life is challenging, hard work, fraught with obstacles, detours, and at times treacherous, but in the long run it can be fun.

Are you getting enough sleep?  The National Sleep Foundation recommends that if you’re a newborn, you should be getting 14 to 17 hours of sleep a day.  However, if you’re a newborn you’re probably not reading this column, and if you are, I want to talk with you!

Wages and self-employment earnings are taxable, but what about the random cash or financial benefits you receive through other means? If something of value changes hands, you can bet the IRS considers a way to tax it. Here are five taxable items that might surprise you:

Research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2019 in Los Angeles in July suggests adopting multiple healthy lifestyle habits provides high levels of benefit for brain health, and may offset genetic and environmental risks of Alzheimer’s disease and other …

When did this happen?

A friend said to me, “I guess I’m losing my grip on life.  I feel as if I’ve stepped off a cliff and managed to grab a nearby small tree, but I can’t hold on much longer.”

Whether you are hiring for the first time, filling an open position, or conducting annual performance reviews, finding a salary range that attracts and retains valued employees can be a difficult task. Here are some suggestions to help make the process a bit easier for you and your company:

I remember back in the early nineties when I first began to learn how useful the internet could be when it came to planning my hunting and fishing trips. Even in those early days of instant communication via a computer screen,  there was much information for those of us that taught ourselves…