“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful … that’s what matters to me.”

– Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Enough has been written, by now, of Steve Jobs, that my two cents seems a bit stale. But I would like to say this: Steve Jobs made the business of being in business “cool” again. Those old enough to remember can hearken back to the early 80’s, when Lee Iacocca was the leading biz figure. And his contribution? An effectively-managed government bailout of Chrysler. (editor–sounds familiar.)

Then Jobs burst onto the scene with the Apple Macintosh, and Silicon Valley millionaires jumped to the forefront. Guys in their 20’s, with style, making great products which the masses loved. Suddenly, business was no longer the realm of backroom cigar-smoked pinstripes. Oh, and those products sure are great.

And it wouldn’t have happened without a Wall Street IPO in 1980 when Apple raised $101 million. I wonder how the wall street protesters would feel about that?

Some quick items of business before my Strategy Note:

1) Extensions due October 17th. Enough said. Get your stuff in if we’re waiting on you…

2) Same deadline for a “Roth Do-Over”. Which means that if you converted a standard IRA to a Roth last year, we can still shift it back for tax purposes until next Monday. Call us if you want to talk it over: 952-445-8753

3) There’s a new bogus IRS email making the rounds (Story: http://onforb.es/pz1zk1 [FORBES]). I could go into the details, but I’ll just say this: The IRS will NEVER email you. Don’t fall for it!

Now, I recently received a request to devote an article to self-made identity protection. There’s great information out there, so I won’t go too long … but a tax advisor should probably weigh in here…

Common Sense Identity Protection

Sure, commonly-advertised services for regular families can seem like an easy button. But the problem is that most of these products are unnecessary or ineffective, or they duplicate things you can do yourself–for free.

Here are some basic things you can set into place right now, which will cover you in the vast majority of circumstances:

1) Please don’t carry your SSN in your wallet. Ever.

2) Don’t post your full DOB on your social profiles. If you really like the messages on your wall for your birthday, just take out the year at least! (Besides, it makes you more mysterious!)

3) Don’t check your bank balances on public wi-fi. Even if you do it on a secure connection, hacker programs to “snift” your info are as commonly-accessible as pirated video on the internet. This includes your mobile phone.

4) Um, don’t let your wallet get stolen.

5) In case it does, keep a photocopy of every important item in there. (Except cash, of course. That’s, er, against the law.)

6) Check your credit annually. www.AnnualCreditReport.com is the one where you don’t have to pay for it.

7) Shred important stuff you don’t need — including credit card solicitation offers. In fact, stop those for good by going here: www.optoutprescreen.com or calling 888-567-8688. Opting out should stop most offers, and it’s free.

There. I said it would be short, sweet, and full of common sense. As usual, I hope!

Don’t forget — we’re only a phone call or email away, and our consistent question for you is this: “What more could we do for you, to help?”

To You and Your Family’s Peace of Mind!