Melissa's Advisory Service, LLC

11/03/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳? 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁?

A) Keeping up with rising everyday expenses
B) Job security and steady income
C) Building up emergency savings
D) Paying down debt and catching up on bills
E) Saving enough for retirement

11/02/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗛𝗦𝗔?

If you're eligible to contribute to an HSA, adding money before the end of the year can reduce your taxable income. You have two options:
1. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹.
When contributions qualify for the payroll tax exclusion, you save on federal income taxes and the 7.65% Social Security and Medicare taxes. Make sure to adjust your contributions before your employer's final December payroll cutoff.
2. 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗦𝗔.
You have until the April 15 tax filing deadline to make a contribution for 2026. You can still claim an income tax deduction, even if you don't itemize, but you won't get the payroll tax savings.
(𝘍𝘰𝘳 2026, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘮 𝘏𝘚𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 $4,400.)

Make sure to account for anything your employer has already contributed before adding more money. Going over your limit can trigger a 6% excess contribution penalty.

Comment 𝗛𝗦𝗔 below if you want help determining your 2026 contributions.

10/30/2026

𝗗𝗼 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗛𝗦𝗔 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟯𝟭?

No, your Health Savings Account (HSA) funds don't expire at the end of the year. Whatever you don't spend automatically rolls over into the next year. And that money stays yours, even if you change jobs or retire.

The confusion often comes from Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), which have different rules. With an FSA, you can lose unspent funds at the end of the plan year unless your employer offers a grace period or limited rollover.

But with an HSA, you can:
• Keep your unused balance year after year.
• Leave the money invested so it can grow tax-free.
• Save those funds for qualified medical expenses years down the road.

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘏𝘚𝘈 𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘚𝘈? 𝘋𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸.

10/29/2026

What's scarier than Halloween? Finding out your business has been paying for subscriptions nobody uses…

Before October ends, pull up your last three months of bank statements and look for recurring charges. Check which services you're actually using and cancel the ones you no longer need to eliminate those extra charges!

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵?

10/28/2026

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲?

Whether you record an expense when you pay the bill or when the work is completed depends on whether your business uses cash-basis or accrual accounting. And that timing can change how your financial reports look.

With 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, you record income when money comes in and expenses when money goes out.

With 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, you record expenses when they're incurred, even if you pay the bill at a different time.

For example, if you pay a contractor in advance for work they'll complete next year, that payment may appear differently in your books depending on which method you use.

When those costs are being recorded matters. Otherwise, you might have trouble figuring out why one month looks more expensive than another.

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴?

10/28/2026

Melissa's Advisory Service, LLC's Guide: Can You Give Employees Tax Free Bonuses for the Holidays?

Can you give employees tax-free bonuses before year-end? Learn IRS rules on cash gifts and how to use de minimis perks and gross-ups legally.

10/27/2026

The founder of Ring still puts his personal email address on every product box so he can get real intel from customer emails that land in his inbox.

Talk about a customer care strategy!

https://www.inc.com/rachel-suleymanov/ring-founder-sold-company-1-billion-dollars-puts-email-on-every-box/91422792

10/26/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿?

To donate stock to charity, transfer the shares directly into the charity's brokerage account without selling them first.

Here's how:
1. Ask the charity for its stock transfer instructions, including its DTC number and brokerage account information.
2. Contact your brokerage firm to authorize the transfer, specifying which stock and how many shares you're donating.
3. Notify the charity beforehand. Electronic transfers don't always identify the donor, so the charity needs to know the shares are coming from you.
4. Request a written acknowledgment confirming the gift and whether you received anything in return.

And remember: 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦.

For year-end planning, you'll want the shares to reach the charity's account by December 31. I'd recommend starting by early December to leave time for processing and confirming receipt.

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘰?

10/23/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸?

It's probably on this list of spending decisions that haunt Americans long after Halloween.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/studies/2026-financial-regrets-study

10/22/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸?

Yes, the IRS can impose an Accumulated Earnings Tax on C corporations that retain profits beyond their reasonable business needs to avoid paying shareholder dividend taxes.

The tax rate is 20%. But having a large cash balance doesn't automatically mean you owe this tax. The IRS first looks at 𝘸𝘩𝘺 your corporation is holding onto that money.

Maybe you're building reserves to cover operating expenses during a slow period. Or you're planning a major equipment purchase.

Those are legitimate reasons for retaining cash, but you still need documentation showing why the money is necessary.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳?