Accounting 101

#1. Accounting 101

Accounting 101

Ah accounting. The art of balancing your checkbook and budgets. For most of us, we learned basic math skills beginning in kindergarten and learned what a checkbook was somewhere around 5th or 6th grade. Just think about that for a moment. By the time you reach the age of 30, you've known the basic point of how to balance your finances for roughly 25 years. If you're not so good at this, it kind of makes you wonder why, doesn't it? Well some of us just don't have brains that wrap easily around the ins and outs of basic accounting. Never fear! There are tons of ways to get around your aversion to those pesky charts of accounts.

Accounting 101

Luckily, in this uber convenient age of technology, we have tons of options for keeping everything straight. From web based programs to desktop programs, to certified accounting professionals, there is almost no excuse for not knowing what is going on with your money. Unfortunately, few of the solutions are free, so you'll first need to make sure you have enough money to pay for a software program or service. I know, seems like a catch 22, but dedicate just a few moments of your time to figuring your operating balance, and you'll be glad you did.

Once you know how much money you have to work with, get online and do some research. You'll be shocked at how many programs, services, and professionals out there are available for your accounting needs. One of the best programs is Quickbooks. The name says it well. It is designed for those of us who can't keep it straight. Either the desktop version or the online version will work well for most businesses. The benefit to the online version is that you can have someone else do it for you from a location other than your office. How great is that?! You can pay for a service to keep your money straight, and then pay someone else to do it for you! In that example, all you really need to know is how much money you have to start with, how much the service costs, and how much the service provider costs. Surely that is easy enough to figure out.

The benefit to a software program for your accounting needs is that you don't have to deal with paper and pens anymore. And most services even will allow you to auto download your transactions from your bank, so you won't even have to enter those. Just match up the transactions with the proper account, and voila! You've effectively balanced your books. Don't panic if you aren't sure what account to post something to. The programs usually come with a list of pre-populated categories, like Food & Entertainment, Utilities, Rent, etc. Simple enough to figure out what category your charges go into, right? Then at the end of the year, you'll make a few clicks, change a few dates and you can get a snapshot of your income and expenses for the whole year. Just remember to breathe when you see how much you've spent!

Accounting doesn't have to be scary, or nerve racking, or dreaded at all. While it may hurt to see all the things you've been spending money on, it can also assist you in determining what not you spend your money on anymore. All those magazine subscriptions for your waiting room? Probably not totally necessary. We all seem to have a smart device of some sort these days. If your customers are desperate enough to see the news while waiting, they'll jump on their device and get informed; nothing like self help!

Take an afternoon, and just figure out the best method for your business to keep all the balances in check. Then when you've finished and you're effectively crushed over the amount you've spent on those magazine subscriptions, call the companies to cancel them! Take that cash and use it to pay for the accounting software.

Carmella Martinez

LowkeyMedia Marketing Team

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Adversity at Elementary School

#1. Adversity at Elementary School

Adversity at Elementary School

Everyone experiences adversity regardless of who they are because no one is immune from it. It's how you deal with it that determines the final outcome.

Adversity at Elementary School

This is a story of a deaf boy who struggled in elementary school who's life was eventually changed by a caring teacher in fifth grade. This is actually the first series of four articles about my experiences in elementary school. Yes, that deaf boy was me.

From the very beginning, it was a struggle academically. Since it never occurred to anybody at the elementary school to retain the services of an interpreter, I had to sit in the front row so that I could read the teacher's lips. Classroom discussions were virtually impossible to follow because I couldn't hear what was being said around the room. In a vain effort to keep up with the flow of conversation swirling around me, I was always asking whoever happened to be sitting next to me what was being said. Eventually, I got tired of watching everyone shrug their shoulders indifferently and rolling their eyes. I began to pretend that I knew what was going on. Fitting in was so important to me that every time the kids laughed, I laughed along even though I was clueless most of the time.

I spent every spare moment trying to keep up with my peers. While most of them finished their homework well before dinner, I was often holed up in my room right up until dinnertime, only to go back and work well into the night.

One evening, I was working on a math word problem. For the life of me, I couldn't solve it so I asked my father to help me out. We had been going over it for more than a half-hour and making no progress at all. The smell of pizza drifted in from the kitchen. It was almost suppertime.

My father decided to try one last time.

"Stephen, read through the word problem again," he said.

After I read it aloud, he added, "Now, do you add or subtract?"
Hesitantly, I replied, "Add?"

"NO, STEPHEN YOU HAVE TO SUBTRACT, SUBTRACT, SUBTRACT!" His eyes were bulging, ready to pop out, while slamming his fist on my tiny desk, almost knocking over the little green lamp. I shivered in fear. I wanted to dash beneath my bed and stay there forever.

Going to school wasn't much better either. Kids taunted me and called me names mainly because of my hearing aid and the way I talked. I remembered thinking, "What have I done wrong?"

Not only did I have trouble fitting in, but I also had difficulty reading the clock, counting money and reading. Although I was gregarious and acted as a happy-go-lucky kid, I actually thought of myself as an ugly bucktooth kid with wires that ran from the hearing aid box to my ears. Other parents didn't want me to hang around their kids fearing that my deafness would rub off on them. How absurd was that!?!? Want to see a picture of me when I was a kid? Go here:

http://adversityuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/04/adversity-in-elementary-school.html

Because of my academic struggles, I was fast on my way to being held back in fourth grade. Teachers didn't know what to do with me.

But then fate intervened.

I was allowed to pass, making the way for my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Jordan, to make a grand entrance into my life.

She uttered a simple three-word phrase that was delivered at the right time in just the right way, forever changing my life.

You can see the rest of the story by going to "The Power of Three Words - THAT'S RIGHT STEPHEN!". This story is followed by another called "The Courage to Stand Up to Bullies". Finally, the last article is entitled "Remembering 5th Grade Teacher on a National Talk Show."

ENJOY! (Be prepared to grab a cup of coffee, glass of wine or whatever it is you like to drink and enjoy the stories).

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Economic Effect of Gambling in the US

#1. Economic Effect of Gambling in the US

Economic Effect of Gambling in the US

Gambling is one of the American people's favorite hobbies, and the topic has amazed me since I read the book Bringing Down the House in 5th grade. On a recent college visit to California, I was surprised to learn that one course available for completing the math requirement was called "The Probability of Gambling", and was a study of the probability behind various card games, including Texas Hold 'em and blackjack. Gambling is also a popular venue in the media, as can be seen in popular movies such as 21 and Casino Royal. When I was younger, the concept of earning money while playing a game that I enjoyed fascinated me, but as I grew older, I realized the naivety of those beliefs. Casinos wouldn't offer gambling if patrons were consistently putting the casinos in debt. Now, I am more interested in the effect gambling has had on society, specifically on its economic impacts. I believe that gambling has been beneficial for the US economy in the past and will continue to benefit the economy for years to come, but the stress gambling puts on society has greatly increased problems in communities with high profile gambling industries.

Economic Effect of Gambling in the US

Gambling in the Americas began when the first colonists came from England, and the Virginia Company needed a way to get some profit. They turned to a lottery, which was quite successful, except it was associated with settler's laziness as well as the economic troubles faced by the colony. The Crown eventually shut down the lottery due to its impact on a royal lottery operated throughout the British Empire. Lotteries were used again by American colonists in an attempt to raise funds for the Revolutionary War without raising taxes. This was extremely successful, and the practice was continued into the 19th century in order to transportation improvements, especially as the Western frontier continued to gain attention and popularity. When gold was discovered in California, gambling became one of the most popular forms of entertainment for miners in the West. However, the economy slid into a recession after the gold rush, leading many people to associate gambling with economic depression. Lotteries were also becoming increasingly corrupt, with organizers fixing the results for a portion of the pot. These circumstances led to nationwide ban on gambling, with the exception being Nevada, where professional gamblers would flock to from across the country to create the foundation for modern day Las Vegas.

The ban on gambling didn't last long, as the Great Depression forced government leaders to revoke the ban in an attempt to stimulate the faltering economy. Gambling once again grew in popularity, although it only increased the divide between the rich and the poor due to the uneven payoff associated with casino gambling. State lotteries became popular during the Cold War, especially when Reagan became president, because he cut national funding for key aspects of the country such as education and Medicare in order to fund the war against the USSR. Tribal gambling also began to grow in popularity during this time, due to state's inability to regulate prize money on reservations. Instead of going to state run lotteries or gambling locations, locals and tourists alike would flock to the reservations in the hopes of winning it all, although this rarely ever occurred. These various aspects of gambling have steadily become more popular, with casinos and lotteries providing support for various state economies.

Gambling provides two main benefits to states: casinos bring in tourists while also paying tax to the state for gambling revenues. An influx of tourists means money flows into the state economy without any significant loss of money due to the low odds of winning at casinos. The state gets even more money from gambling because casinos are forced to pay a tax on all revenue earned, with tax revenue almost reaching billion dollars in Nevada. The gambling industry has also created more than 500,000 jobs, lowering unemployment throughout the nation. However, gambling isn't perfect, and there are other statistics that paint a much more worrisome picture about the industry.

Crime seems to be strongly correlated to gambling, with cities introducing casinos seeing an increase of over 50% in crime rates. This forces states to spend more on the police force, diverting funding away from other projects in an attempt to combat a problem caused by gambling. Organized crime is also a very common issue due to the large amount of cash flowing in and out of casinos each day. Problem gambling also becomes a much larger issue when casinos are present, which in turn leads to a higher crime rate when people need to pay off gambling debt. There are some detrimental aspects of gambling in society, but for the most part, the gambling industry has helped keep the American economy from slumping.

After reviewing the various statistics from my research, I believe that gambling has been beneficial for America. Whenever the country has faced economic hardship, gambling has been promoted or legalized to bolster a weak economy. Not only does it have a positive influence on the economy, but I believe that gambling also benefits the American people. Card games such as poker and blackjack are universal and can help bring people together in social environments. In a few short months, I will be able to legally experience the large attraction gambling has to a large number of Americans. Although there are some harmful side effects of gambling, these are outweighed by the benefit that the industry has displayed throughout history.

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