Quick update from foggy San Diego airport… My son Andrew and I are heading to the 4th Annual Tax Rep Summit at Disney Springs, where I’ll be one of the teachers teaching at attorney Eric’s Green event, 100+ tax pros on how we make IRS problems disappear. (Yes, this is after spending the entire weekend…
A few years ago, I made a big decision in my life to hire Larry Winget as my business coach. You may know Larry Winget as the no-nonsense “take responsibility for your life, business and money” guy. It was the best thing I ever did for my business. He wrote a ton of books but…
Just last night, I took my daughter Bella to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. It was a well-deserved reward for her after completing her 7th and final SAT exam over the past year and a half. But let’s be real, it was also a treat for myself – I’ve been dying to go…
It’s Friday afternoon, and we’re wrapping up another busy week of tackling IRS and State Tax issues for our clients. I’m looking forward to unwinding with either a spooky spider cider margarita or a couple of glasses of witches’ brew wine before heading out to our First Friday Night Frights at Yucaipa Football. But before…
Well, it’s official… we’re homeless again. As I mentioned yesterday, we stayed in our Mountain Home Village house as long as we could. But the “Line Fire” has exploded—over 26,000 acres now, and it’s just a quarter-mile from our doorstep. For perspective, the last fire took three months to hit 20,000 acres. This one did…
This morning, I woke up at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Yeah, that Beverly Hills Hotel is where movie stars sip martinis and make million-dollar deals. I’ve been here since Wednesday evening, working in the mornings and gearing up for tonight’s big Golden Gala Awards. I’ll be getting an award for my TaxDebtConsultant podcast. But enough…
Four years ago, on a scorching Labor Day weekend much like this one, my family and I were knee-deep in the frenzy of a 27-mile garage sale in Mountain Home Village. The promise of treasure-hunting in 110-degree heat was intense—until it wasn’t. As the day was heating up, Bella and I spotted a wisp of…
This past Sunday, I found myself in San Diego for an unexpected but deeply meaningful family reunion. Three generations of tax professionals came together—my son, Andrew, my dad, Juan Orona, and me—to welcome the newest member of our family, my dad’s first great-grandchild. Seeing my dad hold his great-grandson for the first time was a…
I want to start today’s email with a big congratulations to my daughter, Bella Samaniego, for an incredible Saturday in Palm Springs. Talk about a dedicated student-athlete! We kicked off the day bright and early, 5:30 am to be exact, with her taking the SAT for the third time at Palm Springs High School. She’s…
Quick heads-up. Today, four people reached out to me in a panic after getting slapped with an IRS Letter 11. It’s a nasty little letter that can turn your world upside down if you don’t handle it right. Let me tell you about one of them—a lady in her 70s living in the Midwest. She’s…