If you have a business and work out of your home, the IRS allows you to deduct certain expenses on your return. Here are a few key things to keep in mind:

• The IRS requires you to use your office (or a part of your home) for "regular and exclusive use." The part of the house should be your principal place of business, a place where you meet customers, or a separate structure dedicated to the business, like a garage or studio.
   
• To calculate your deduction, you can use two methods:
   
• The simplified option allows you to multiply the allowable square footage of your office by $5 up to a maximum of 300 square feet.
   
• The regular method allows you to specifically calculate the actual expenses like rent, mortgage interest, taxes, repairs, depreciation, and utilities you pay for the portion of your home used for the business. If you use only part of a space for your business, you'll need to figure out the percentage devoted to business activities.

* This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax professional.

Vardon. Interlocking. Baseball. These are the three common ways to grip a golf club, and of course, the Vardon has long been the leading choice. Your choice, however, may or may not correspond to that of the golfing mainstream.

The Vardon (overlap) grip allows the pinky finger of the hand that is lower on the club to overlap a bit of the upper hand. It works well for those who have long fingers and large or strong hands; less well, for others. The interlocking grip (used by Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus) locks the pinky finger of one hand into the other, where it would merely rest in a Vardon grip; golfers with smaller hands and fingers tend to favor it. The baseball grip is an unanchored 10-finger grip used by a handful of pros, and some seniors with flexibility or pain issues. You can hit a great shot with any of these grips; in choosing one over another, your comfort and control of the club matter most.

Getting used to the clocks shifting back and forth during the onset and conclusion of daylight saving time can throw many of us for a loop, not to mention that "springing forward" tends to be more difficult than "falling back." It can take longer than we expect to adjust not only a one-hour time change, but also disruptions to our meal, fitness, work, social, and sleep routines. So, how can you combat this? Here are a few tips that may help.

• Gradually prepare for the time change the week before. Try to shift as much as your routine "forward" by 10 minutes each day.
   
• Manage your environmental lighting as much as possible. Try to get more light in the morning (to suppress your body's natural sleep hormones) and as little in the evening as possible, especially approaching bedtime and during the night.
   
• Try to avoid napping, if possible. While it can be really tempting to "catch up" with your lost hour, until you're adjusted, napping could slow your period of adapting to the new schedule.

Don't let losing an hour slow you down. Taking some proactive measures may just help you ease into the transition better than you think.

Choosing Sustainable Seafood

Eating fish is a great choice to stay healthy, but the type of fish you eat can also have a significant impact on the environment.

One of the most sustainable fish you can choose is catfish. Catfish is all produced on eco-friendly farms and provides some of the biggest health benefits. Because catfish are all farmed, there's no damage to the environment and their health is closely monitored.

Salmon can be a bit trickier, but there are still delicious and eco-friendly options out there. You should avoid farmed salmon because their living conditions aren't strictly regulated. When you're at the grocery store, wild-caught Alaskan salmon is the healthiest and most environmentally friendly option. Keep an eye out for these salmon species: Chinook, chum, coho, pink, and sockeye.

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Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.

Diversification does not guarantee profit nor is it guaranteed to protect assets.

International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 significant stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. The DJIA was invented by Charles Dow back in 1896.

The Nasdaq Composite is an index of the common stocks and similar securities listed on the NASDAQ stock market and is considered a broad indicator of the performance of stocks of technology companies and growth companies.

The MSCI EAFE Index was created by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) that serves as a benchmark of the performance in major international equity markets as represented by 21 major MSCI indices from Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.

Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

You cannot invest directly in an index.

Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.

Fixed income investments are subject to various risks including changes in interest rates, credit quality, inflation risk, market valuations, prepayments, corporate events, tax ramifications and other factors.

These are the views of Platinum Advisor Strategies, LLC, and not necessarily those of the named representative,

Broker dealer or Investment Advisor and should not be construed as investment advice. Neither the named representative nor the named Broker dealer or Investment Advisor gives tax or legal advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Please consult your financial advisor for further information.

Summit Financial Group
Summit Financial Group of Indiana
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