{"id":2081,"date":"2018-08-17T03:00:53","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T08:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kerryaclark.com\/blog\/?p=2081"},"modified":"2018-09-05T18:24:36","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T23:24:36","slug":"caring-for-dependents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/caring-for-dependents\/","title":{"rendered":"Caring For Your Dependents Takes a Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Dependent Care That Matters &#8211; Part 1<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What can you and your family do better to manage your dependent care responsibilities?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The care you give for another is called \u201cdependent care\u201d. \u00a0Put your tax forms and employment forms out of mind for a moment. \u00a0Regardless of these forms, taking care of family members on a regular basis is dependent care whether you receive any tax breaks or employment benefits or not. \u00a0It\u2019s still something you do and because it\u2019s a part of what you do, it too is your business.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2083 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180817-TIF-SM-The-Dependent-Care-That-Matters-Part-1-400x400.png?resize=400%2C400\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180817-TIF-SM-The-Dependent-Care-That-Matters-Part-1.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180817-TIF-SM-The-Dependent-Care-That-Matters-Part-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180817-TIF-SM-The-Dependent-Care-That-Matters-Part-1.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180817-TIF-SM-The-Dependent-Care-That-Matters-Part-1.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180817-TIF-SM-The-Dependent-Care-That-Matters-Part-1.png?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180817-TIF-SM-The-Dependent-Care-That-Matters-Part-1.png?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180817-TIF-SM-The-Dependent-Care-That-Matters-Part-1.png?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/>Allow me to give an example. \u00a0As a parent of an African American daughter, there are grooming expenses that we will incur that other ethnic groups don\u2019t, at least not to this degree. \u00a0We have expensive braids, hair weave and hair appointments. These things, when not considered, could create a problem in our budget. After several years of such challenges, using tools like <a href=\"http:\/\/kerryaclark.com\/blog\/page\/3\/?s=mint\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mint<\/a>, we decided to make a category for our daughter\u2019s expenses, dependent care. \u00a0Once I had numbers for a year, I then knew how much money to put aside each month in order to be prepared for these expenses. That\u2019s what having a plan does, make you better prepared for what\u2019s coming at you whether you plan for it or not. Let\u2019s go a little deeper.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Tools overlooked.<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don\u2019t want you to miss out on tools that can help you better manage. \u00a0In fact, your employer may provide some very good benefits that could offer you some relief. \u00a0Here are two tools we\u2019ve used.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Wageworks.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0Let me tell you how big of a fan I am of Wageworks. \u00a0\u00a0With Wageworks, payroll deductions are taken and applied to your Wageworks account before your taxes are taken. \u00a0In many cases, you won\u2019t notice a big drop in your take-home pay when using it. With Wageworks you can pay for dependant care expenses such as daycare, summer camp, and after-school care programs. \u00a0Research what your company may offer in this regard. You don\u2019t have anything to lose, but the headache of trying to provide for your dependents the hard way\u2014without tools to help.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>HealthEquity.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0This benefit is similar to Wageworks with the added advantage of pre-tax deductions for healthcare expenses. \u00a0You can set a predetermined amount aside each month to handle qualifying recurring medical costs for you and your family. \u00a0This way the expenses are covered and don\u2019t impact your pocket in an unexpected way.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All of this might sound a little much, but remember your life is your business and someone has to handle the business. \u00a0I want you to have the tools that will equipment you to make the best of it.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today is Friday!<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s easy to overlook the benefits that are staring you in the face simply because very few take advantage of them. \u00a0You won\u2019t hear much about this stuff because doing your life, your business well is an uncommon accomplishment. Find out what\u2019s available and put in the work to not only take advantage of a benefit, but make your hard-earned dollars work better for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#c7ced4;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#E1E8EE;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#e5e5e5;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;border-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/familyplan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Family Plan Binder<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/familyplan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-1025\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Family-Plan-Cover-e1493399146525.png?resize=115%2C149\" alt=\"\" width=\"115\" height=\"149\" \/><\/a> is available now! <p><\/p>\nOur team has worked very hard putting it together. We designed it to help you and your family move the needle forward in making your life your business. \nFind out more about the Family plan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/familyplan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here.<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dependent Care That Matters &#8211; Part 1 What can you and your family do better to manage your dependent care responsibilities? The care you give for another is called \u201cdependent care\u201d. \u00a0Put your tax forms and employment forms out of mind for a moment. \u00a0Regardless of these forms, taking care of family members on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,62,51],"tags":[63],"class_list":{"0":"post-2081","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-accounting","8":"category-dependent-care","9":"category-mint","10":"tag-mint","11":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/20180817-TIF-Blog-The-Dependent-Care-That-Matters-Part-1.png?fit=760%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4jb7V-xz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2081"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2086,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081\/revisions\/2086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}