Americans’ average credit score hit a record high of 700 in April. The share of consumers with subprime scores below 600 hit a new low of roughly 40 million, or 20 percent of U.S. adults who have FICO scores – down from a peak of 25.5 percent in 2010.

“The U.S. restaurant industry is in a funk. Blame it on lunch,” said Julie Jargon in the Wall Street Journal. Americans increasingly aren’t eating out during the workday, resulting in 433 million fewer lunchtime restaurant trips last year and $3.2 billion in lost business for eateries. That’s a significant blow for an industry that “has had little or no growth for a decade.” Cost is one factor. The average restaurant lunch now costs $7.59, up almost 20 percent since the recession, while falling grocery prices have made bringing a brown bag more economical.

It’s about the middle of June and you know what that means.  For those of you that make estimated tax payments the June 15^th due date is coming up. 

Just a reminder, if your income is down considerably or if you have purchased a lot of equipment you might be able to trim your payment down.  If you are reducing your estimate you do not need to notify the IRS or the state and you do not have to fill anything out, you simply change the number on the estimate form and send in the check. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATIGIC PLANNING

Last week was one of the most important weeks for Kopsa Otte.  Last week we had our Partner Strategic Planning Meeting.  The success of Kopsa Otte is in part due our annual retreats.  These meetings give us a chance to step back from the day to day activities and determine our future.  This year we brought in a fascinator to help to challenge us and to set a schedule to follow up on the decisions that we made. 

TheIndependent.com reports on the shrinking number of Nebraskans who are directly involved in agricultural production.  Officials with the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska say they’re dedicated to research to allow farmers to “raise more crop per drop.”

First Some Basics

· The business portion of the cost of your heavy vehicle is first reduced by the Section 179 deduction. If the vehicle is classified as an SUV under the tax rules, the Sec. 179 deduction is limited to $25,000.