Taxes

Any time that you become employed your employer will require you to complete a W-2 Form.

This form is for the Internal Revenue Service and authorizes your employer to deduct income taxes from your pay. The deduction will be based on the number of dependents you may have.

If you do not have dependents you can either indicate 0 (zero) deductions or 1 (one).If you are your sole support you are allowed to count yourself as a deduction.

If you have any questions regarding federal income taxes contact the Internal Revenue. If you live in a state and city where income taxes are also deducted and you have questions, contact the appropriate offices in your area.



It is proper to send Thank You Notes when you have received a gift for any occasion.  You will be well thought of when you do.

Send Thank You Notes for:

        When you have had a job interview

        Birthday Gifts

        Shower Gifts … Wedding, Baby

        Hanukkah Gifts

        Kwanzaa Gifts

        Christmas Gifts

        Wedding Gifts

        When you have been a guest

        When someone has done something nice or special for you


When sending a thank you note for the interview, this should be done on quality stationary and typed and mailed in an envelope that matches the stationary.

You can also send a hand written thank you on a quality plain white note card or paper with a matching envelope. Use black ink.

Always use the quality plain white note card or note paper and matching envelop when sending a formal thank you note. There will be an occasion when someone has done a favor for you and you don’t even know them but they did it because a mutual friend asked them as a favor. You should most definitely send them a formal thank you note. These are also appropriate when you are send thank you notes for gifts.

Remember one of the worst things you can do is wait months to send thank you notes for shower gifts and wedding gifts just because you are “so busy”.  After all those who sent gifts are busy too. The very worst is not to send any thank you at all. People will not forget.









Learn to think for yourself. That is a difficult thing to do.

Your family has a view point, your friends do, your teachers and professors do… just about everyone you meet … but think for yourself and try to be responsible about it. As we grow older, as you have probably been told, we will realize we don’t know as much as we think we do. Most people find this out and that with each passing year and day they find they can learn something new.

Do not accept everything that someone else says as gospel or the only way to think… sometimes… what others advise or say may be the only logical viewpoint, but not always. An old adage basically asks: If everyone else is jumping off the cliff are you going to follow?

Common sense says you could break your leg, your neck or entire body and die…so are you going to do that because everyone else is? Parents usually use this adage when kids have started their argument to buy or do something with. “But everybody else is…”

Or if someone says don’t put your hand in the fire because you will be burned…are you going to do it anyway?

You have your own thoughts and not every one has to agree with neither you, nor you with them…but remember to use common sense. When parents or others are dishing out advice, be respectful, consider what they say. They probably are worried and just want the best for you. If you are living on your own and supporting yourself you still have the option of doing things your way.  Evaluate the situations and gather as much information on all view points and then decide for yourself what you think about the situations or issues. Make your own decision regarding what is best for you. If you make a mistake, it is Okay. Learn from it.

Being On Your Own means you are responsible for yourself, your actions and your income. Don’t give up that control to someone else. Don’t let others make decisions that will impact your life when you aren’t comfortable and you don’t feel the decision is in your best interest especially when you are the one who is financially responsible.

Don’t get caught up into buying things because everybody else is or going over your budget to buy things so others will be impressed or to keep up with everyone else. In other words don’t spend money you don’t have on things or entertainment because of someone else. If they really care about you they won’t care what you have or don’t have.





Don’t go out to eat with friends and end up paying the entire tab out of a sudden sense of generosity or responsibility if that’s the last meal you’ll have for a week because you blew the budget. Before going out to eat or to a movie or other event with friends make sure the “rules” are set and its Dutch. (Dutch is slang meaning each participant in the outing pays their own way.)

Don’t expect to have all the answers or that everything will be perfect … you won’t and it won’t be. We can all learn something every day.

If you are thinking being on your own is the ultimate in freedom and you can stay out all night and do what you want … It’s true you can, except that to be on your own you still have responsibilities. You have a job to pay for your way and if you stay out all night and don’t go to work because you are too tired  then you lose a day’s pay for having a good time that cost a bunch anyway … and you could lose your job and then that’s really the pits.







The toothbrush should be replaced every three months. After that the bristles are worn and are not cleaning your teeth properly. If you haven’t cleaned it by that time it is probably pretty raunchy.

How to clean? …Pour hydrogen peroxide over if and then rinse or put in boiling water.

When it is time to replace the toothbrush instead of tossing it in the trash put it with your cleaning supplies. Toothbrushes are great for cleaning tile, around the edges of sinks, bases of water faucets, corners, jewelry, and many other things that you are sure to think of.

Use an old, dry toothbrush to clean the mesh covering on the fan and motor of your hair dryer. It collects dust and if you gently use the brush you can clean it quickly and with out damaging it.






One should never put flammable liquids, insecticides, weed killers, motor oil, tires, computers, paint, cell phones and other hazardous items in the trash that goes to the community dump. These items are hazardous and leach poisons and chemicals into the soil and could eventually reach the water table where our drinking water comes from. They should be disposed of properly.

Call the City Clerk in your town or the local fire department and ask how you can dispose of these items and where they can be dropped off.

Many townships and cities have a community program for disposal of these items. Sometimes the programs include a plan for drop-offs twice a year at designated locations, usually a shopping mall parking lot. There will be an area roped off and there will be designated stations for specific items such as paint, computers and so on. There may be several lanes to accommodate the traffic.  All you need to do is to load your vehicle with the items you want to get rid of and drive to the disposal point. You don’t even need to get out in most cases. You will be directed to where you need to stop and then to continue to drive on through, stopping at different points for someone to open your trunk and take out the items for their station.

Depending on where you live, this procedure may not be how your town or city handles the disposal of hazardous waste and trash. Do find out. All it takes is a phone call or maybe several to track down the right person to talk to. If you call the fire department or city clerk they will more than likely be able to give you the proper information or direct you to the right people.