Washington County Weekend Post

Big changes on the horizon for the 2021 tax season Differences include tax laws and how you interact with tax preparer 4A • WASHINGTON COUNTY POST • SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2021 GMTODAY.COM The BEST Instant Pot Chili (Dump and Go Recipe) Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1 onion (diced) 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce 1/3 cup ketchup (or chili sauce) 1/2 cup water 1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans (drained and rinsed) 1 (1.25 ounce) packet chili seasoning mix 3 stalks celery (chopped) 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon sugar 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (for topping) 1 (9.25 ounce) bag Frito's Corn Chips (topping) Instructions: Push the saute button on your Instant Pot. Put in your ground beef with chopped onion and cook until no longer pink. As it cooks, use a wooden spoon or Chop- n-Stir to break up your ground beef. Drain grease well and leave the meat in the Instant Pot. Put in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, ketchup, water, kidney beans, chili seasoning mix, chopped celery, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. Stir together. Put the lid on and make sure the knob is on sealing. Push the manual or pressure cook button on your Instant Pot. Set the timer for 10 minutes. When the timer is done, you can let it release on its own or do quick release. (To do a quick release, just turn the knob to venting.) Top with shredded cheese and Fritos corn chips. Serve while hot. Notes: The total time does not include the time it takes for the meal to come to pressure cook. Submitted photo Carrie Baumann, owner of Baumann tax and business ser- vices, is an enrolled agent with 15 years of tax experience. By Karen Stokes Special to Conley Media Each tax season is differ- ent but due to COVID-19, the 2021 tax season will be as complicated as the year 2020. To navigate the new tax laws, seeking a professional tax preparer may be the smart choice. Carrie Baumann, owner of Baumann Tax & Business Services, 215 N. Main St., West Bend discusses some of the changes for this tax season. "There are so many unknown items like unem- ployment benefits," Bau- mann said. "There's a lot of people collecting unemploy- ment that have never hap- pened in the past. The IRS has also paid some interest back to individuals through- out the year based on refunds because the filing date has been pushed back in 2020 and they also paid back individu- als for unemployment penal- ties. Those interest state- ments are probably some- thing people might miss." Baumann added that this year the IRS is allowing an above the line deduction of $300 for any cash or check donation to charity. "The big question is if the stimulus payments are going to be tax- able income," Baumann said. "It's not taxable income but we will need to know how much you received through the year and that's actually going to be reconciled on your tax return. If you didn't receive the full amount that you should have you may be eligible for more of a stimu- lus payment with your tax return." The changes in the 2022 tax season is not only in tax laws but also the way you meet with your tax preparer. Baumann prefers face to face meetings with clients. "The personal relation- ship is very important to me and that had to change with the coronavirus. So now we extended services with digi- tal options," Baumann said. "I opened up my options to file taxes digitally. It's as easy as taking a picture of your W2, uploading it to a secured website and then we correspond by email. I think this is the new way moving forward while we are in this pandemic." To contact Baumann Tax & Business Service go to Carrie@baumanntax.com or call 262-343-1800 This is a recipe Baumann relies on during the busy tax season. Finding time for hobbies can be difficult. Commit- ments to work and family take up the bulk of many people's free time, making it hard to squeeze in a favorite hobby. But hobbies can bene- fit people in some interesting ways. Understanding those hidden benefits may compel some people to make more time for their favorite down- time activities. • Hobbies can improve your efficiency. Penciling more activities into your day planner may not seem like something that will help you create more time for hobbies, but it just might. For exam- ple, if you know you have a softball game or choir prac- tice at night, then you might waste less time surfing the internet or talking around the water cooler during the workday. In a 2017 study conducted for the staffing firm OfficeTeam, research- ers found that the average office employee spends about five hours per week on his or her mobile phone doing things that have nothing to do with the job. That's five hours you could be working, opening up more time for hobbies before or after work. • Hobbies can foster social connections. In his 2000 book, "Bowling Alone," political scientist Robert Putnam described a reduc- tion in in-person social inter- course that once enriched Americans' social lives. By making more time for hobbies, particularly those that promote interaction with other adults, men and women can foster social connections that otherwise might never blossom. • Hobbies can provide health benefits. The Ameri- can Institute of Stress notes that some hobbies can help people reduce their stress. The AIS notes that some 56 million women in the United States now knit or crochet. That marks a 51 percent increase over the last decade. That revival is attributed to the stress-reducing proper- ties of knitting and crochet- ing. Men and women coping with stress need not learn how to wield a sewing needle to alleviate their stress. Activities that promote slow- ing down and induce a relax- ation response similar to knitting and crocheting can be equally beneficial. • Hobbies can increase quality time with your children. Parents with hob- bies can double dip, using the time they would ordinar- ily spend with their children to teach them some of their favorite hobbies. Take kids along when you go fishing or teach them how to plant flowers and tend to a garden. This is a great way to increase quality time with your children while also affording you a chance to continue engaging in your favorite hobbies. Hobbies can benefit people in ways they never imagined, making them worthwhile pursuits no matter how much or how lit- tle time you may have. Hidden ways you can benefit from having hobbies If you would like to take part in this listing, call (262) 306-5075 for more details. 270124018 Jackson Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church N168 W20152 Main Street 262-677-3143 Sunday Worship: 9:00 AM Pastor Duane A Swenson Still Waters United Methodist Church 3617 Scenic Rd., www.stillwaterschurch.com; 262-677-1311; Contemporary Worship Sun Worship: 9 & 10:30am Sat. Worship: 5:00pm (Labor Day - Memorial Day) Staffed Nursery at all services for birth-3 yrs Sunday School - all services 3yrs-5 th gr Kewaskum Kewaskum House of Prayer 100 Clinton St. • 262-626-8337 • Pastor Joseph Brath • Worship Sun.10am and 6pm • Thurs. 7pm Monthly Creation-Evolution Meeting (2nd Mon.) 6:30pm Quest Youth Group, Warm Friendly Atmosphere Visitors Welcome! www.kehop.com Mequon Alliance Bible Church Sunday Worship Services are in-person & online: 9 & 10:45 AM; Kingdom Kidz (infant-5th gr) & Student Ministries (6th-12th) during both services. Brian Dainsberg, Lead Pastor, 13939 N. Cedarburg Rd, Mequon. 262-375-2400. Find us on FB, Instagram, Twitter, & YouTube. For more information: www.myabc.church Neosho Faith Bible Alliance Church W2477 Lehman Rd (on Highway 60) 920-625-3538, www.faithbiblealliance.com Sunday Worship at 10:00am Sunday School for all ages at 8:30am Ignition Youth: Sundays 4:00pm Journey 2 Jesus Wed. 6:30pm (Ages 3yrs-6th Grade) Slinger Faith United Church of Christ www.faithslinger.org • 262-644-7901 Sunday Worship 10:00am Sunday School 8:45am (Sept.-May) Wed. Worship 7-8:00pm (during Lent only) 2895 Slinger Road, Rev. Sharon Stier West Bend Calvary Church 1110 E Decorah Rd • 262.338.1171 Sunday Worship 10:00am Kids Church & Nursery Available www.calvarywb.org Community Church 2005 S. Main St., 262-338-0725 Sunday 8:30am, 9:45am & 11am; Nursery 9:45am & 11am Children's Ministry K-6th grade 9:45am Live-stream at 8:30am on our website: www.westbendchurch.org Eagle's Wings Nazarene Fellowship 609 Sandy Acre Drive, 262-334-7124; Pastor Glenn Butts; Sunday School 9:30am; Sunday Worship 10:45am; Ladies Bible Study Mondays 9:00am; Bible Study/Prayer Mtg Wednesdays 6:30pm www.wbnaz.com Fifth Avenue United Methodist 323 South 5th Ave, 262-334-2059, faumc.org Pastor Clarissa Martinelli A Welcoming Christian Community; Worship Service RSVP Sunday Worship 9:30am Good Shepherd Lutheran (WELS) 777 Indiana Ave., West Bend, 262-334-7881 Thursday 6:30pm; Sun. 8:00 & 10:00am Sunday School & Bible Study 9:15am Christian Elementary School, Pre-K thru 8th Grade Little Lambs Child Care Center www.goodshepherdwels.org St. Andrew Lutheran Church (LCMS) & Early Childhood Campus 7750 State Rd. 144 North, 262-335-4200 Worship Sun. 8am & 10:30am Sunday Bible Study 9:15am www.standrew-westbend.org St. Paul's & St. Peter's Lutheran (WELS) St. Paul's - Hwy. Z & German Village Rd. Thurs. 6:30pm; Sunday 9:30am St. Peter's - Beaver Dam & Town Line Rd Sunday 8am, Pastor John Cook, 231-290-3311 *Important!* Due to the COVID-19 Virus, please check with your church for changes or cancellations. Many people will say that no movie marathon is com- plete without a big bowl of popcorn. Movies and pop- corn have been linked for decades, but popcorn is more than just a must-have on movie night. Popcorn lovers may be surprised to learn just how healthy this beloved snack can be. • Popcorn can help lower cholesterol. Like many other foods, popcorn is full of fiber. Fiber attaches to cholesterol particles and helps prevent them from entering the bloodstream and traveling to other parts of the body, according to Verywell Health. • Popcorn promotes healthy digestion. The same fiber that helps reduce cholesterol also promotes healthy digestion. Popcorn is a whole grain and the high fiber content in popcorn can alleviate constipation by stimulating the peristaltic motion of the smooth intesti- nal muscles and the secre- tion of digestive enzymes. • Popcorn can help reg- ulate blood sugar. The fiber in popcorn can regulate the release and management of blood sugar and insulin levels, potentially helping people with diabetes. • Popcorn has disease- fighting properties. Organ- icFacts.net says popcorn has polyphenols that act as antioxidants in the body. Antioxidants reduce oxida- tive stress and can fight against the development chronic diseases. They also may prevent the development of age-related symptoms like age spots and wrinkles. • Popcorn is a low-calo- rie snack. A cup of air- popped popcorn comes in at just around 30 calories. That means you can overindulge a bit on popcorn and it won't lead to overconsump- tion of calories. One serving of popcorn has five times fewer calories than one serv- ing of potato chips. • Popcorn keeps you feeling full. Thanks to its high fiber content, popcorn can fill you up and stave off hunger pangs. Popcorn has plenty of hidden benefits that make it a healthy snack. Health benefits of popcorn

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