Lion EA

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

Happy New Year! :blink:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

Good luck with the surgery and a speedy recovery!

A very :bday:

I talked my husband into diamond earrings for my 50th birthday, small squares, but very good. Then I pushed for a diamond pendant for our tenth anniversary, again, small but very nice. I bought myself a diamond bracelet with what would've been my January mortgage payment after I paid off my house last Christmas Eve day 2008. The most important thing: does she prefer one larger diamond or multiple smaller diamonds? And, as has been mentioned, is quality more important or less than size? And, don't forget the white vs. yellow gold vs. platinum issue. Post a picture. I actually went for the rectangular diamonds on the bracelet instead of the more sparkly round, because I wanted to wear it everyday with the other diamonds and needed it a bit tailored and more the shape of my watch and our wedding ring (which was all our birthstones for our blended family and no diamonds).

A very Merry Christmas! Happy New Year and a prosperous Tax Season, too.

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

Congratulations! You deserve it for all you share with us. We're better for knowing you. :lol:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

A very :bday:

I've been seeing good discounts on both books (and Kleinrock, too) on their own sites, from organizations such as NAEA and NATP, and from commercial resellers such as Tenenz and maybe even M&C. If you're considering buying one or more as a quick reference, look around to find the best price. I ordered this year at a very big discount from NY/CT-ATP. The downside is that I won't get it until I attend their January meeting! (Non-attendees will get theirs in the mail after the meeting.) They all provide short answers for common questions and a good starting point for further research on the more complex issues. You just have to find the book (or even the format) that fits your style of research. You can get books with 1040 only, 1040 and small business together, a binder so you can replace pages when updated, a searchable CD, and lots of other topics in separate books.

I've used both books and have liked both. After Thomson's takeover, they seemed to branch out into books on bookkeeping and other topics as well as taking topics out of their core books to create new books such as on depreciation. Since that time, I've tried Kleinrock's Quick Answers and The Tax Book in a couple of formats. I like The Tax Book cites. Just opened to any page, it's Interest Paid -- Itemized Deductions. It starts with Cross References listing such things as the instructions for Schedule A, Form 1098, and Form 4952, and IRS Pubs 535, 550, and 936 giving their full titles too, and IRC section 163. Next are Related Topics giving things like Student loan interest deduction on Tab 12 as well as three others. If I need more than the quick answers, examples, court cases, planning tips, and author's comment, I now know where to look for IRS guidance from the Cross References list. One year I bought the CD; then I just clicked on a Cross Reference to go straight there. I was used to how to find things in Quickfinders, but I found fewer and fewer answers, examples, commentary, etc., on the issues I encounter as the years went by. I loved the chart they had comparing pension plans. It was designed by TTB authors while they were QF employees, so the copyright belongs to Thomson; and it'll never appear in TTB! Over time, TTB has become more useful to me for quick answers as well as a starting point for research.