The times are a changin', and so are the tax laws my friends. So today I thought I'd post up a few interesting changes that caught my eye from a newsletter (pdf) forwarded over to me. This tax love comes straight from CPA Lisa Scarazzo, and goes out to all her clients each year.

I wanted to post it all up, but 5+ pages might have bored ya so we stick with a few ;) But mad thanks to Lisa for allowing us to post this up! You can find her & all her awesome accountant skills over at LAScpa.com. Here's what we got:

Ponzi Scheme Losses
A new law is allowing taxpayers to take a theft loss in 2009 for investment fraud. If the taxpayer invested their own cash and the loss is generated from a criminal fraud or embezzlement similar to the Madoff scheme, the loss will be deducted from ordinary income. The loss is deductible in the year it is discovered and not limited to the $3,000 capital loss per year rules.

Converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA
In 2010 anyone can convert money they've already invested in a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. There will be no adjusted gross income limit for the 2010 year. That is a change from current law where the IRA conversion is not allowed if your adjusted gross income is $100,000 or greater when you convert to a Roth. You will owe tax on whatever amount you have converted from the traditional IRA to the Roth IRA. After paying the tax on the conversion today, you will never pay any tax in retirement or when it is withdrawn. The good news is that if you convert in 2010, the tax bill can be spread over two years. (J - we'll be converting about $900 of the Mrs. traditional over to a Roth this year - woohoo!)

New and Enhanced Home Buyer's Credit
This credit has changed for 2009 into two different credits: 1) Existing Home Owners that have lived in and owned their home for at least 5 out of the last 8 years, and 2) First Time Home Buyers. Both of these credits have income limitations so please check with our office for further details to see if you qualify.

• Existing Home Owners now have the opportunity to purchase a new home if they have owned their current home for at least 5 out of the last 8 years and receive a credit up to $6,500 or 10% of the purchase price of the home. The total purchase price of the home can not exceed $800,000. The new principal residence must be purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010 (or purchased by June 30, 2010 with a binding sales contract signed by April 30, 2010).
• The First Time Home Buyer Credit is available on the purchase of a principal residence for individuals who have not had an ownership interest in a home during the 3-year period ending on the date of the purchase of the new home. This does not apply to home equity loans not used to buy, build or improve the primary residence. The credit is increased to a maximum of $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price for homes purchased between January 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010 and the credit does not have to be paid back to the IRS in the future (this differs from the 2008 $7,500 credit).

Foreclosures & Bankruptcy
In general, if a taxpayer is forgiven or absolved of their debt (credit cards or mortgages), the debt becomes taxable income. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act will exclude debt forgiveness from taxable income if the taxpayer's debt was a mortgage from their principal residence and the debt was used to buy, build, or improve their residence (home equity debt does not qualify). This is for years 2007, 2008, and 2009.

*ALERT* IRS Email Scam
An email is circulating that makes a statement similar to this: "A refund will be issued to you from the IRS if you follow these instructions." This is a scam - the IRS does not send emails to individuals. The IRS only sends correspondence via the U.S. Postal Service. Never open an email that claims to come from the IRS.

Financial Steps to Solvency
Many individuals are looking for ways to financial recovery. Here are my recommendations: (J - links go to my posts, not Lisa's....although would be interesting to see her go into more detail ;) )

1. Cut Spending.
2. Track Expenses & Budget.
3. Increase income (if possible) by taking a second job.
4. Pay off high interest loans & negotiate lower interest rates on loans & credit cards.
5. Pay bills timely and make contact with creditors to set up a payment plan for overdue bills.

I know this isn't the most exciting stuff, but it's all good things to keep in mind! And thought I'd shoot over before everyone's already filed away ;) Thanks again Lisa! For more info and tax tips, check out her full newsletter here: Annual Individual Tax Newsletter 2009 (pdf). *Please always remember to do your OWN research and consult a professional before taking action*

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Get ready for a handful of TurboTax giveaways tomorrow!!

Labels: bankruptcy, foreclosure, roth ira, taxes

TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS for a roof over our head - and that was only for our mortgage interest & taxes! Haha...talk about a wake up call.

If you are a home "owner" I'm sure you know what I'm talkin' about, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again - if you're looking to own a home one day be absolutely certain you're ready to pay for the associated costs.

There are a ton of benefits that go along with this "American Dream," (tax write-offs, stability, equity, etc) but you've got to be aware of the financial drains as well. And as most of you know, had I been more aware 2 1/2 years ago I would have done things a lot differently -- Like either bought a smaller place or continued renting for a couple more years.

But it is what it is, and today I thought it would be interesting to see the breakdown of how our living situation has changed financially since renting. The numbers may be off a bit as I can't recall exactly what we paid while renting (I didn't start tracking this stuff until after we bought - when I realized I need to pay more attention!) but it's pretty close:

CATEGORY Mortgage(s)/Rent Extra Principal Taxes Condo Fees Utilities (non cable) Insurance Maintenance ------------------ TOTAL:

Owning $1,800 $200 $278 $130 $150 $75 $100? --------- $2,733

Renting $1,300 $0 $0 $0 $200 $50 $0 --------- $1,550

As you can see, we pay about $1,200 MORE a month right now . That's pretty substantial, even with the tax write-offs (we may see about $600 of it back if I had to guess). But even crazier here, 100% of all that interest & taxes are NOT going towards the principal loans we took out on the house! Meaning we still would have owed the original $360k had we not been chipping away at it by our own accord (we have 100% financing, which surprisingly we actually like!)

So if you do own, or you're thinking about owning, take all these things into consideration :) Just applying $100 or $200 extra a month towards your mortgages will drastically cut the amount of interest you'll eventually pay in the end & won't drive you *as* crazy. But I must warn you, it's not that easy. I've been praising it for over a year now and I still struggle every time I sit down to do it! Haha...next time we'll be buying a place closer to the lower end of our budget, not our highest.

How much did you all end up dishing out in interest & taxes last year?

Labels: home ownership, mortgages, taxes

Nothing I'm about to say will come as a shocker, but it needs to be said ;) And that's because I'm getting dangerously close to a few of these! I know human nature will always play its part, but without reminders every now and then we tend to keep going until caught. So today, we tackle the law. And how staying on the right side of it will keep more money in our pockets.

Don't park illegally. You'll be faced with fines from $25 to $250 an occurrence! Or even worse, you'll get towed. And that's definitely no fun to work out - for both you and your wallet (especially if you live in a city like NYC or DC, bleh.) The Mrs. learned this the hard way the other month and she didn't even have to go far. She parked in an emergency lane IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD and was promptly handed a $250 ticket. She was pissed off to no end (she had parked there late at night because she didn't want to walk far alone), but it sure did teach us a lesson!

Don't Speed. Not only will you get slapped with fees, but it's a one way ticket to higher insurance rates! That one speeding trip costs you years of extra premiums for nothing. I know we never *try* to get caught, but some of you test the limits a lot more than others and you know exactly who you are ;) The last speeding ticket I got (knock on wood) was 10 years ago and the only reason I remember it was because I never told my dad and yet he "somehow" found out! haha...Cops, insurance companies, parents - none of them like it.

Don't Cheat The Government: Guess what? If you don't pay our taxes you'll be slammed with even more once you're caught! And possibly jail time. You still locked up Mr. Snipes? Stay on top of it the best you can or hire someone to do it for you. It may cost a little more, but it'll save you a lot more down the road.

Don't Go To Jail: Not only does it suck, but you can't earn any money in there. Or at least anything decent (I've been told you can earn a dollar or two a day doing chores?). That means all your debt & bills out in the real world will keep piling up awaiting your beautiful return.

And Lastly, Pay Your Bills on Time! It's not illegal if you don't, but it's a surefire way to keep burning money for no good reason at all. Banks and credit cards LOVE people who pay late so they can legally jack up the fees & interest rates! And unfortunately the only person at fault here is you :( So please, don't let them bend you over like that - stick with the game and pay attention.

Labels: advice, bills, car stuff, saving, taxes

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Today's guest post is by Brandon Laughridge of Mortgage Loan Place. MLP specializes in providing high quality mortgage content and has recently embarked on creating the web's best mortgage calculator with a $10,000 programming contest.
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The government is trying to re-energize the stagnant housing market - and that's making FHA loans more attractive than ever.

Headlines have pulsed these last weeks with news that the federal stimulus package will include an $8,000 tax credit for people who haven't owned a home in at least three years, if ever. The Federal Housing Administration has sweetened the deal: Buyers can use that money to pay for closing costs or even offset the 3.5 percent minimum down payment requirements for FHA loans.

But it's only with an FHA loan that buyers can use the tax credit for closing costs. Some housing experts expect the stimulus provision to help boost home sales in coming months. The National Association of Home Builders estimates that 40,000 more homes will be purchased because of the FHA initiative, in addition to the 160,000 sales already expected as a result of the tax credit.

Home buyers also have some flexibility in claiming the credit on their tax returns. They can choose to claim the credit for 2009 or file an amended 2008 return to receive the credit this year.

The new FHA initiative stipulates that home buyers can use the tax credit to offset the down payment only if a state housing agency is handling the loan. In all other cases, the tax credit can be used for closing costs, boosting a down payment or to pare down the interest rate.

There are a couple of other points of note for potential buyers:

• Income limits are a part of the process. The threshold for individuals is $75,000 and $150,000 for those filing jointly.
• So far, close to a dozen states are providing buyers with bridge loans to spur purchases immediately, well in advance of the next tax filing. These loans come with little or no interest and are to be repaid when the tax credit is applied the following year. The list of states includes Colorado, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.
• The FHA is offering advances on the tax credit so home buyers don't have to wait.

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Editor's Note: As always, consult with a professional before jumping in and getting a loan ;) What works for one person won't always work for another...

Labels: guest post, home ownership, mortgages, taxes

Ooooooooh, scared Maryland?! Yeah, I thought not. But I tell you one thing, I'm damn happy I have an accountant on my side! It reiterates my theory that it's better to use a CPA than file your own taxes if you don't know what you're doing (like me).

As you can tell, I just got audited by the great state of Maryland. But the weirdest part is that they went all the way back to 2006! It makes me wonder if they're just backed up like crazy, or if they're straight gunning for me ;) All I know is that it's a good thing I hold onto all financial documents for 5+ years in case stuff like this ever pops up. $hit, I probably even have my tax paperwork for the past 10 years.

At any rate, according to Maryland's Comptroller I didn't pay the portions I was "supposed to" pay back in '06. I put quotes around that because they are wrong. And the only reason I know that they are wrong is because my accountant told me so (Gawd I love her). I have no problem paying my fair share of taxes, but I prefer to give away my money only when owed. And take a look at that INTEREST CHARGE! You get notified now, and then have to pay on all the years passed? I guess if it was legit it makes sense, but that's still pretty freaky.


They def. had me scared for a good 24 hours. Anytime the government tells you that you owe money, it tends to grab your attention. Plus, as naive as it sounds, I usually feel like they are right. The old me would have just paid it off and blocked it out of my memory, but the NEW me (circa 2007) now researches and gets to the bottom of things. Or in this case, knows how to utilize his accountant ;)

The morning after receiving this "Notice of Adjustment" letter via mail, I scanned and emailed it over to her. Within 2 hours I got an explanation back from my accountant that a) the gov't had it wrong, and b) after they receive some extra documentation to review (that she will be sending them), I shouldn't have to pay! Apparently, Maryland had my residence there all sorts of jacked up so it was an error on their part. We'll see what happens when I get an updated notice, but I'm hoping that will be the end of it.

So, the morals of the story? Always research your weird bills and always onto your financial documents. I'm a huge supporter of paying my due taxes, but not so much paying $250 for someone else's mistakes.

Labels: taxes

Someone just told me there are 3,000 tea parties going on right now. I'm not sure if I believe that all the way, but I've certainly been reading about a whole bunch this morning! According to an article from FoxNews this morning, they're sprouting up all over:

"Crowds of 5,000 to 10,000 are expected in various cities like New York, Atlanta and Sacramento, according to Mike Leahy, co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, one of the three conservative groups helping to coordinate the protests on a national scale."

Blogging from DC right now, I won't be surprised if i came across some of these knuckleheads. I'm all about fair taxes and all, but I also know how important it is to pay them. So unless we time warp back to 1773, you'll find me jammin' on the sidelines to the "I Pay My Taxes" Rap ;)

Labels: taxes

If you're slackin' on the tax filing and need an extension, FileLater.com may be just the place to check out. And I'm not getting paid to say that ;) Nope, I actually base this recommendation on my interview with Ryan Thompson, the CEO (and founder) of FileLater.com.

Not only did he take the time to answer a few questions I had brewing inside, but you can tell he really cares about GOOD customer service. And any company that prides themselves on a simple & easy to use product is alright in my books - esp. if the IRS gives them two thumbs up! That's always a good sign ;) So get your coffee, relax a little, and learn something new today:

1) How would you sum up FileLater.com in 1 sentence?
FileLater is the best place online to get an IRS approved tax extension and extend your tax deadline to October 15.

2) On a scale from 1-10, how insane was it to get approved by the IRS? (and do you still have nightmares about it?)
The actual process of becoming an Authorized IRS e-file provider was about a 1 on the scale (with 10 being fun). From fingerprints and background checks, to website reviews and security checks, The process is far from easy. We endured it though, because we wanted to make sure our customers felt safe when using our site.

3) Was working for Intuit your main inspiration behind this project?
Yes, I spent 3 years working for TurboTax at Intuit, including a year as the General manager of Intuit's acquired MyCorporation.com business, that helps new business form corporations and LLCs. I learned a lot at Intuit, and have great respect for the company and the people I worked with there. While I was there, I learned a lot about how to make filling out complicated government compliance forms, like taxes and incorporation forms, easy for regular people (i.e. not tax and legal experts) and applied those same learnings to FileLater.

4) Is FileLater.com really *that* easy to navigate? Don't worry, I wouldn't dare send my grandma online to test this ;)
We're really passionate about making our solution as easy as possible, and we think we've succeeded. Words like "easy" and "simple" are by far what we hear the most in our customer feedback. So yea, have your grandma check us out!

5) It seems to me that if ballers like Tim Geithner & folk can't get it right, that the current system needs retooling. Do you feel that simplifying the tax process is even a possibility?
I think it's possible, but not likely anytime soon. Our tax code has essentially turned into a mess of quick-fixes across years of government administration changes to try to keep the tax code "fair" to taxpayers. An overhaul is possible if it became a focus, but I don't see it happening anytime soon, especially while the government has bigger problems to solve with the current economy.

6) Lastly, how bad a$$ is living in La Jolla, CA?
In the spirit of talking taxes anywhere you're willing to live where sales taxes are about 10% means it must be pretty nice. I guess that's the sunshine tax everyone talks about. . .and, a great change from the winters I've spent in Michigan.

Thank ya much dawg. It's always good to get a little better insight behind some of these companies out there, esp when it comes to trusting them with your personal information! If you ever find yourself in the DC area, holler over and I'll buy ya a beer ;)

Labels: interview, taxes

Seriously the best rap on finance yet! Even better than mine if you could imagine that ;) I'm sure you're already getting pummeled by tax posts this week, but I honestly couldn't help myself here. These tax boyz really know their ish! Mad props goes out to Money TLD for finding this gem - I owe you one brotha. ps: If there are young ones around, you may want to have them close their ears:

Labels: awesomely awesome, taxes

Tax experts from H&R Block are offering 24 hours of FREE "taxpertise" today! All you have to do is call or email in your tough tax questions and get free, expert advice. They can be reached @1-877-HRBLOCK (1-877-472-5625) or e-mailed at taxtalk@hrblock.com. Good luck slackers ;)

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PS: Keep in mind H&R Block normally has a free tax preparation deal too (if you have a simple tax situation and need to file a basic return.)

Labels: taxes

Mark (commenter #5) and Celtic Buffy! If this is you, holler at me (j@budgetsaresexy.com) and I'll email back the codes to pick up your FREE TurboTax Premier Online software. If this is not you, me soweee...BUT the good news is that 3 other blogger friends of mine are also giving them away! Rush on over to FiveCentNickel.com by 9pm EST tonight, then hit up my girl Mrs. Micah and enter by midnight, and lastly check out Pecuniarities by Saturday, March 28th. Thanks for participating all :)

Labels: giveaways, taxes

Yup, all you have to do is tell me what you're up to these last few days of Winter and a copy could be yours! My girl Priya hooked me up with 2 codes to get TurboTax Premier Online FREE (est. @ $85) and each includes one free federal + state preparation + e-files.

If you're a slacker and still need to file away, then here's your chance. (Or if you know someone else who you could win it for!) Just be sure to drop a comment by Monday morning @ 7 a.m. and I'll randomly select the winner and update this page to get your info, etc. And don't worry, i'll use one of those random generator thingies to be legit - so while i love hearing how awesome and clever I am (thank you, thank you) it won't sway your chances ;)

So, what will you be doing this next week? I'll go first since I've already filed away and taken back my money a month ago...I, J. Money, shall blog a bit, relax a bit, and take my girl out on a date to go see tonight's premier of "I Love You, Man!". I heard it was supposed to be craaaaazy funny! I'll probably update my budget a bit too and make sure all my monies are behaving and not skipping out on me....Your turn.

*The winners have been selected: Click here.

Labels: giveaways, taxes

Getting $6k back from the G. to the O. to the V. Comma T.! That's one hefty sandwich if you ask me ;) And yeah i know - I gave an interest-free loan the entire time and it's not "free" money as I like to say. But i wouldn't give up this feeling for jack.

It seriously feels like the first time i ...uhh.... made nice w/ a young lady friend ;) haha...okay, maybe not *that* good, but still on the list of Top 5 methods to make me smile! And to think I could be so lucky to receive such amount every single year..man.....makes a brotha shed tears, ya know?

So now we have the happy problem of DOING something with it all. Shall we pay off some debt? Sock it all away? Split it up? I think the plan is to do some of each:

1. The Mrs. will get $2,000 to do as she pleases. This will probably go towards her future mortgage portions and/or college fees if I had to guess. I'm trying to get her to blow $100 or $200 on some new clothes and accessories (one of her favorite "wishes" to do), but I doubt she'd be up for it these days.
2. Mr. J. Money will also get $2,000 to do as he pleases! And you wanna know the first thing I'm gonna do w/ it? Pay off the rest of my auto loans @ $1400! Not even gonna give it another thought either - just gonna pay it off like a pull of a band-aid ;) I already know i'm gonna miss the hell out of it, so figured I'll suck it up first thing. And for the remaining $600? Throwing it in my personal savings account and forgetting about it. I'm all about hoarding cash these days (as you may have noticed from my non-bday $ spending)
3. The "house savings" will get about $1800. If you recall, this is the account where all leftover money goes after all bills and expenses are paid for every month. We use it as a budget-fixer on the months we go over, as well as a fund for anything extra we wanna do like upgrades to the house or vacations and what not.
4. And the rest ($170) will go to our CPA. Definitely costs more than filing them ourselves, but totally worth the stress avoided & other niceties that comes along with it ;) Not to mention the support we'd receive if we're ever audited - which I think we're actually safer from since we USE a CPA? Not 100% on that one, but I'm sure it has some truth to it.

That about sums it up for this year. We brought in a good $2k more than last year's taxes, so I guess getting married and owning your home DOES get you somewhere ;) So how about you all? Any plans if you're getting some back too?

Labels: free money, money management, taxes

I know, I'm calling myself out as a huge psycho here. I really can't help it though, this part of the year gets me all excited and giddy! There's something so satisfying about gathering all your paperwork for the year, and then closing it all out.

It's like the Super Bowl of your Money, if you will ;) Of course, it's probably a bit more fun considering I don't actually DO the taxes myself - I use an accountant. Haha...

It sucked at first paying the $150-$200, but I've come to appreciate the work she's done over the years...esp since my personal circumstances keep changing all the time (live in VA, work in DC - work in DC, live in MD, single then married to grad student, etc). I'm sure I could figure it out if i just took the time to learn, but I always feel like accountants can *find* all the good stuff i'd miss?

Do you all tackle your taxes? Or do you suck it up and pay someone to hook 'em up for you? Regardless, Tax Season is awesome and I'm in heaven right now. Here's a whole mess of reasons why i heart it so:

1. You feel all organized and $hit!
2. You get to see, and analyze, an entire year's worth of finances.
3. It brings back a lot of memories like "Oh yeah, i forgot i got paid for doing ___", or "it feels good donating $____ this year!"
4. You get to close out another year, and start a new one.
5. You feel accomplished putting it all together and handing it over!*
6. You don't have to do any of the dirty work.*
7. You feel like a PIMP cuz you "have people"!*
8. You get to anxiously wait and see how much you've won!
9. Your $ gets automatically deposited into your account.
10. You feel like a baller until it all disappears ;)

Needless to say, I cannot WAIT to see what i win! I brought in a cool $4k last year, and I was neither married NOR paying the mortgage for the entire year. So that's gotta bring in even more, right? I dunno, I'm just hypothesizing here...in all honesty really, I'd be happy as long as I just don't have to give anything back.

Labels: taxes

And a HAPPY Monday to boot! haha...it's an incredible way to start the week, that's for sure :)

You may not need all of these freebies, but I'm hoping at least one of them catches your eye. I'll personally be taking advantage of 2 of these bad boys! Here's what the good Lord has provided us with this month:

1. FREE Financial Advice!!! *The awesomest freebie today.
One of my favorite magazines (Kiplinger) does this every year and it's seriously brilliant - you can actually get REAL advice from professionals for FREE! This could be a $100-$250 value depending on what your situation is, and luckily the window to talk w/ someone is pretty big (9 am to 5pm). So mark your calendars as there are 2 days to get hooked up : Jan 13th (tomorrow), and Jan 30th (not tomorrow). Here's a blurb from Kiplinger's site:

"Normally, these fee-only planners, who are well versed in investments, taxes,insurance, estate planning, and saving for college and retirement, charge clients $100 to $250 an hour. But on Jump-Start Days, you don't pay a cent -- not even for the phone call. Just dial 888-919-2345 and a NAPFA adviser will respond to your question. Or, if you prefer, you can participate in an online discussion with a NAPFA adviser anytime from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time on January 13 or January 30 by visiting our Jump-Start Your Retirement Center."

2. Get a FREE Tax Answer over at FreeTaxQuestion.com!
If you submit a question from now until Jan 31st, TurboTax will hit you back up within 24 hours with your answer :) Saaaweeeeetness! You can only ask 1 question per person though, so make sure it's a good one. (thx Consumerist)

3. Free McAfee Security Software for Comcast Customers!
Comcast may not have the best customer service in the world, but they sure do have some good offers every now and then (think their Triple Play" tv/phone/enternet deals). And the timing is freakin' great at least for us - the Mrs. has needed to renew her security software on her laptop for months now ;) Here's a blurb from Comcast's website, where you can pick it up. (thx Mrs. Micah!):

"The all-new McAfee® Security Suite gives you a whole series of tools to help keep you, your family and your home computers safe, protected and virus-free. It's an all-in-one, comprehensive, easy-to-install solution-and a $120 value, included FREE with your Comcast High-Speed Internet subscription. No strings attached."

So that's it for now, but I'll still have my ears to the ground....I'm sure there'll be a lot more coming out as the economy tries to rebuild itself. In fact, I'm hoping companies will start giving away things like beer or bananas! I'd be allllllllll over that junk ;) haha...a boy can dream, right?

Labels: advice, bargains, taxes

Time to make some deposits at your local thrift store! So put on those energy pants and start rummaging through the house. The more you can donate, the more you can write off!

Not sure what that means? Don't worry, i didn't either 2 years ago ;) It's basically another way to legally hold on to your hard earned money. According to thefreedictionary.com:

"tax write-off: a reduction in the gross amount on which a tax is calculated; reduces taxes by the percentage fixed for the taxpayer's income bracket"

So let's say you have to pay taxes on $10,000 this year. Well, if you donated $1,000 (say from a combo of cash and clothes, electronics, etc) to a charity or thriftstore this year, your "tax write-off" would be that $1,000 and NOW you only have to actually pay taxes on $9,000 instead of the original $10,000. So you basically just saved yourself $300-$400 depending on your tax bracket. Make sense?

There's a slue of rules and regulations with all this stuff (like being able to prove your donations w/ receipts and what not), but that's basically the gist of it all. Be sure to consult an actual accountant or IRS.gov for better information ;)

Hare are 5 Other Reasons Why you Should do it:

1. Your house feels cleaner and less cluttered! There's definitely something to that "less is more" saying here - especially if "less" pertains to less junk/unwanted items taking up dust.
2. You get some exercise - all that running around finding goodies in your home breaks a sweat! The key is to pick up a big box or trash bag, and then just start clearing things right off into it. When one fills up, just quickly get another and throw it all in your trunk 1-2-3! Just be sure to make a quick list of what you're donating so you can calculate the values later.
3. You easily help out your community! These thrift stores do A LOT for those less fortunate than we are, so you really are helping everyone out.
4. You don't have to sell anything. Unlike taking the time to list them on Craigslist, eBay, etc (although also highly recommended), all you have to do here is drop them off and voila - you save money! It all adds up too, esp. if you rarely ever do it. My first drop off back in August added up to a good $200 in items, and then my last one (3 weeks ago) included another $400.
5. You'll now be at bargain central! Stay an extra 15 mins and go shopping for yourself ;) He he...why not pick up a couple goodies for yourself? Just don't go overboard and cancel out the $ you just saved, that would suck.

Did i convince ya? If not, no worries...i give you permission to punch me in the face later. Interestingly enough, however, I just saw on the news that a store in Northern VA had over 1800 people stop by yesterday alone!!! Crazzzyyyy. They expect even more today too which makes total sense - everyone's trying to grab those tax benefits before '08 ends. So if you're one of them, go get 'em tiger! It's a Win-Win situation :)

Labels: charity, taxes

I got an email the other day from a Turbo Tax person (this is *not* a sponsored/paid article btw), and it had some pretty good tax tips up in thurrr. I figured i'd share them w/ you considering a) we only have a few weeks left in the year, and b) i'm too stuffed/tired to post anything original today ;) Plus i'm on Holiday, - woohoo!

So here are the 3 Tax Tips, interspersed w/ some personal commenting by yours truly:

1. Sell losing investments.
Taking a loss this year may help taxpayers offset tax from other gains or income, but that loss is limited to $3,000. Any amount in excess of that must be carried over to their 2009 tax return. I think this is a great idea, if this pertains to you of course - all my stocks/mutual funds/etc are either in my 401k, or Roth IRA so no luck for me in this department.

2. Donate to Charity.
Donating clothes, toys, household goods and other items to charity before Dec. 31 may help taxpayers who itemize claim bigger refunds while helping someone else. Using software like TurboTax helps taxpayers accurately value donations in accordance with IRS guidelines so there’s no need to guess at an item’s fair market value. Done, and done! Actually took my last batch over to The Salvation Army last Saturday :) Not only do you get the tax write off, but you clean up your place AND feel good at the same time! Not a bad deal my friends...

3. Prepay some bills.
Taxpayers can prepay a few of their 2009 bills in 2008, and get to write them off on this year’s tax return. This includes mortgage payments and predictable medical expenses, like braces for the kids. I never thought of this one! Unfort. my budget is pretty packed in, so unless i get a mad bonus this Xmas (ya never know), I'll have to skip on this one.

All GOOD things to know, eh?! Now, if you'll excuse me, i'm off to eat some more leftovers....and/or continue shopping on this black Friday...but only for Xmas gifts -can't be slurging these days ;)

Labels: charity, one of my lists, saving, taxes

If you make less than $111,645 a year, Obama will put more money in your pocket if elected. If you make more (besides being a lucky s.o.b! haha...), then McCain is your man on this one. At least, that's what Smart Money Mag is saying this month.

What i like about this statement is that it is simple. It's saying "here's a # that you can base your presidential decision on" if you base your vote merely on the affects of your wallet. Sure it's all "in theory" (we don't know if either will, in fact, follow through with their ideas), but it does help get the core information out there - One nominee saves money for this group, and another potentially saves more for another group.

I'm all for this simplicity. Those of us with short memory spans, and/or political smarts, eat up these tidbits of information ;) To my credit, I actually did read the entire article on this, but i couldn't tell you for the life of me what the details were. My memory is horrible. I can, and will, however, remember that Obama will help those of us making under $100k. (yeah i know, i'm biased)

Here are some other interesting nuggets straight out of Smart Money (pg. 74):

MCCAIN on Taxes: Tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 lowered the top rates on income, dividends and capital gains; they're scheduled to expire in 2010. McCain originally opposed the cuts, but he now supports making them permanent.

OBAMA on Taxes: Middle-income families would get breaks tied to home ownership, college tuition and savings; some retirees would be exempt from income taxes. People with income of $250,000 or more would see their rates increase.

So am i going to vote for Barack on this alone? of course not. But it's no surprise to many of you that i will in fact vote for him, based on a number of variables. Unfortunately that'll have to wait for another time though, and another blog ;) I know what'll happen if we go down that route, and i'm sure as hell not ready for a cyber showdown here!

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Check out my other post on political donations not being deductible.

Labels: barack obama, politics, taxes

Holy hot dogs. Would you cash it in if it happened to you?

I told her to be veryyyyy careful here, the last thing she wants to do is cash it and then later owe the Gov't back the $300 + interest at 17%!

But is it possible that it's correct? I don't think so. My friend is single, has no kids, and has no extreme circumstances. I can't imagine any other reason she'd get more than her alotted $600, so what gives?

That's exactly what she's trying to figure out. Apparently she got a note with it stating that they will be providing her with more information on WHY she's receiving what she did via mail shortly. But even that is strange to me. What's funny is that the letter also states if it is incorrect, she better notify them as soon as possible! haha... doubt much?

It's now been 2 days since she received it, so it's very safely collecting dust on her desk until she gets it all figured out. Have any of you come across this in '08? Unfortunately she hasn't shown it to me, and since she really doesn't know i'm posting about this cuz of the whole anonymous stuff, i don't feel comfortable asking to make this post better ;)

She's got my attention, though, that's for sure. And she promises to keep me updated, so that's the best we can do at this point. As soon as I get word, you know i'll be hollering as fast as my fingers can type!


***Update @ 3:02pm***

So yeah....um...turns out my friend isn't all that detailed oriented. Apparently 3 MORE "stimulus" checks just came in, when it hit her that they aren't in fact stimulus checks! Yeah they all looked the same, but it wasn't until they started piling in that she realized what was going on. D'oh.

The $900 one, actually a few dollars and cents over $900, was this year's Federal tax re-imbursement. The 2nd one, for $500 and some change, was from her State's taxes. The 3rd check, for $1400 something, was from 2006's taxes where something was awry (she told me, but i can't remember it exactly....something about estimating her returns, but then re-doing them?), and the last $600 one was finally for, drum roll please... her STIMULUS CHECK! he he.

So yes, I, J. Money, was a bad blogger journalist (slaps his hands for not doing his homework), and yes, my friend now has over $3,000 that she wasn't expecting. At least it ended up better than expected! What a mix up though...aye.

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- The 411 on Bush's stimulus checks
- Rebate checks hit stands on Monday!

Labels: stimulus check, taxes

Man, thank goodness I didn't shell out those 10G's I was planning on sending to Obama! Haha...j/k, of course.

But seriously, i had no idea you couldn't write them off. I bet you used to be able to, but someone (or a bunch of someones) ruined it.

It's surely not the end of the world, and def. shouldn't be one of the top reasons to donate to a cause, but it did get me thinking. Esp. considering i was just about to donate for the first time ever to a campaign! (can you guess whose?) I would have just slapped it right into my "contributions" folder at home, an added it to next year's tax #'s.

I guess it's good that I subscribe to Money Magazine then ;) Their brief, and to the point, write up on this caught my eager eyes on my daily commute in this morning. It was titled, "Funding Your Candidate" (June, pg23) and shared 3 things to keep in mind:

1. You can give only so much
There are actually caps on how much you can donate - imagine that! Here are the limits each person can donate for 2008 (they are adjusted every 2 years for inflation):

• $2,300 per candidate, per primary
• $2,300 per candidate, per general election
• $28,500 to a national party
• $10,000 per state or local party
• $5,000 per political action committee (PAC)
• UNLIMITED donations to a 527 - some sort of candidate lobby group...maybe this is why i hear of people donating $100,000 here, $200,000 there?

2. Your info will go public
W-O-W, never saw that one coming! (i'm being serious there...although to some of you it will probably come across sarcastic. haha) Apparently there were some reforms after Watergate, and every time you make a contribution, you ALSO have to provide the following:

• your name
• your job
• your employer
• your address

Now, if your total donations are UNDER $200, then your info will just stay w/ the campaign. BUT, and a very interesting one indeed, if your contributions go OVER $200, your info then gets forwarded to the FEC, who then posts it on their website - FEC.gov !!! And then there is ANOTHER then, where it THEN gets picked up by sites like OpenSecrets.org, and FundRace.org who put them in searchable databases! Please excuse another one - W-O-W!

3. No Federal tax deductions for any contrib.
We already covered this one, but Money does a good job of pointing another option out for those deductible-hungry citizens. And that is to donate the said money to a charity that your candidate supports. This way, you help them out, the charity out, and yourself out ;)

So, what will i be doing with this new found information? I'm gonna donate directly to my man Obama. As I've mentioned, I've never once done so in my lifetime, and since my budget only allows for amounts UNDER $200, I won't have to get freaked out about my info all over the net

Labels: barack obama, charity, politics, taxes

I salute you, Government, and take back all those dirty little words I've said about you. And as soon as this bad boy clears, it's off to the race tracks i go! haha...j/k. you know very well i am MUCH too frugal/nerdy to do something as exhilarating as that.

It'll be partying with the other greenbacks in my Emergency Fund.

Labels: emergency funds, safeway, stimulus check, tax rebates, taxes

Maybe i'll use this imaginary $600 to buy some imaginary cookies and unicorns? haha

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UPDATE: According to msnbc.com, the "00 to 20" ones will be deposited in the bank BY Friday, May 2nd ... likely story ;) For other ss's, check out the latest round of dates.

Labels: safeway, stimulus check, tax rebates, taxes

This has been all over the news lately, but it wasn't until i saw DINK's post that i put two and two together, and realized how this fits in to personal finance (yes, i'm a little slow). You can check out his post for the gritty details - i just wanted to offer one piece of advice:

Labels: advice, cockamamy indeed, taxes

800,000 Rebate checks are going out on Monday (April 28th), hooray!

According to money.cnn.com:

"The federal government, eager to boost the flagging economy, will start distributing special tax rebates on Monday - five days earlier than expected, the Treasury Department said Thursday."

All in all, 130 MILLION tax filers will receive a rebate check this year! According to this new change, i should be getting mine MONDAY. How about you?

It's all dependent on your last 2 digits of your social, and how you filed. You can visit the IRS page for more details, but keep in mind you'll be getting it sooner w/ these new changes. OPAH!

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ps: check out the Q&A i had w/ my accountant for more info on these rebates.

Labels: crazy economy, safeway, stimulus check, tax rebates, taxes

I just talked w/ two friends that are sending out their taxes TODAY! aka April the 14th, aka the DAY BEFORE THEY'RE DUE.

What is going on with everyone? Are people not as afraid of the Gov't as I am? Man, seriously you all have balls. Big Huge ones. Either that or you're super cool and don't take crap from anyone. (in which case, how can i be like you?)

Maybe i never really paid attention, or cared even, but this really surprises me. Does laziness play a part in this? I always have to get it done early (like in Feb), esp if i'm getting money back. Even a fellow PF blogger, Mapgirl, just recently sent hers in - but at least she knows what she's doing.

Anyways, just thought i'd share...maybe next year i'll wait to the last minute so i can be a member of the Cool Club.

Labels: cockamamy indeed, taxes

As i'm sure i've mentioned before, i have a pretty unique workplace. Not only is the work itself freakin' awesome, but our benefits are simply incredible. One of the *best* ones are what i like to call the "good mood bonus!"

Good Mood Bonus: (n.) A sizable chunk of money your boss hands out to each and everyone at the company when he's in a helluva good mood! Bonus not to reflect profits, project completion, nor work performance... simply random.

How BAD A$$ is that? I was given a cool $1k for just "being" :) This isn't the first time my widened eyes have seen this, but it IS the first time i've sensed the evil lurking of Uncle Sam around so quickly. It's funny how every time i get my hands on some dollah dollah bills, that good for nothing beast snatches a handful of it before my very own eyes. I honestly believe the gov't enjoys being Debbie Downer. He's like our money shadow...wherever your money goes, he goes!

Although i'm not exactly sure how our accounting handles these extra "lump sums" of money, i am fairly certain they treat them as simply that. Extra "lump sums" on top of our regularly salary. Instead of the $3125 (gross) bi-weekly check i'd normally get, it magically turns into $4125 (gross) for that paycheck only; the next check turns back to $3125. So although this extra $ is still taxed, i'm thinking it's taxed as "salary money" instead of "bonus money"? At least that's how it was sorta-kinda explained to me by a senior here.

At any rate, that evil uncle took out a chunk of my $1k, and spit the rest back at me. I'm not totally complaining here, don't get me wrong. FREE money is FREE money, no matter how you slice it up. I just find the whole experience a bit interesting when it comes to the tax side of things ;)

So, out of the original $1k, how much do you think i got back from it after all taxes, ss, 401k withdrawals, etc? A chunkity chunk of $467.47! haha...all i have to say is, MAN that guy is good.

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i forgot to mention what i'll be doing w/ this extra money: straiiiiiiiiiiight into my Emergency Fund!

Labels: career, paychecks, taxes

The IRS is spending $42 MILLION to inform us that the rebate checks will soon arrive!

Direct quote from MSNBC.com:

"The notices are going out this month to an estimated 130 million households who filed returns for the 2006 tax year, at a cost $41.8 million..."

I'm not the smartest man around, but there has gotta be a cheaper way to alert everyone right? I'm racking my brain to come up w/ an idea myself, but crazily enough i can't! haha..... i know posting it online, such as the MSNBC site, as well as in newspapers is a start, but not everyone reads the news. Next i thought about emails, but how would they have ours? They COULD get it off of our tax returns, but not everyone posts it. Plus, not everyone uses email, particularly the elderly. What about calling around using one of those automated messages like those annoying car warranty people? Nevermind, that's stupid cuz we'd hang up anyways even if they DID have our #.

So perhaps sending out a letter IS the most effective way, and i'm just a sucker for statistical headlines? All i know is that it just sounds really freakin' C-R-A-Z-Y!

*more info the the rebates here.

Labels: cockamamy indeed, rant, safeway, stimulus check, tax rebates, taxes

#1) The IRS is freaking FAST fast FAST! My state and federal taxes were literally JUST sent in online (Last Thursday), and I already got both direct deposited into my account! Seriously, how tight is that? This is the first tax return i've done since buying our house, and i am totally LOVING home ownership right now :)

Federal: $3,036: The timing is impeccable. My Emergency Fund was down to $105 this week (from $3500+ last month due to our crazy Heloc freezing), so i welcome this sum with wide open arms :) I'll be updating my net worth and Sexy Goals in the next few days, and now i'm sexcited!

State: $849: Yeee-haw! Another pile which should hopefully make it into my Emergency Fund this week.

#2) I am revising this site a bit, as you can probably tell, so i huge sorry in advance if i delete comments, feeds, or anything else that can possibly happen. My goal of writing one post a week day is still alive though, so don't you worry about that my good friends. I hope you like the changes!

Labels: home ownership, taxes

I'm now clear for the year! Is it weird that i actually enjoy getting everything organized and then waiting to see how much i won?! haha...There's just something about recapping the entire last year and having an overall look at how well/worse you did compared to previous years. The fact that we're "forced" to do it also plays a part i suppose as it's not like we can just skip a year ;)

The only part i really can't stand is when you're patiently waiting for all the w2's, 1099's, and all other sorts of forms to roll into the mailbox. It's frustrating when you're waiting for that very last piece to the puzzle, and it somehow takes that company an entire month after all the others to send it in! arghhhh...

At any rate, i finally had mine done and i'm getting back almost $4,000!!! I gotta tell you, i'm pretty damn ecstatic too. This is the largest return i've EVER received.

I also forgot to mention that i use a CPA to do my dirty work. is that bad? does everyone else around the finance bloggeroo do it themselves? I feel like mine "finds" ways to get me more back each year, so the money i pay her is recouped. Over the past 4 years using her, it's cost me a total of $700.00 ($195, $195, $155, and $155 respectfully). Wow, that actually looks like a lot seeing it that way!

I can definitely see the benefits of filing your own:
- saving $150+ each year
- learning HOW to do it
- filing at your own leisure.

But, for me, the negatives win over:
- messing up
- not catching ways to save more & giving the gov't MY money.
- and going to jail

That last one is pretty ridiculous, but it IS indeed a fear i have. Going to jail when you didn't knowingly do anything bad! *shiver*. Granted there are some shady CPA's out there, but i trust mine pretty well and so far so good all around.

Who knows though, perhaps i shall read all about this stuff so next year i can do it my self. I'm interested in seeing how many PF'ers out there actually file their own? I guess there's no harm in at least trying it first, and then shooting it over to my CPA for review right? I'll put it on my list of "things i should probably do, but don't feel like doing" this year.

Labels: taxes