Leap Year
Posted by moonimus on Feb 29, 2008
I’m psyched about the calendar correction day because today is my true birthday. It’s something I’ve looked forward to every 4 years because I can only say that today is my real birthday even though I get older every year just like everyone else. In Leap Years I’m 8 but 32 in real age. I’ll be going out to dinner with Mrs. Moonimus and then meeting friends at a bar tonight. My birthday is probably the only day when I can comfortably say that I will not be paying for one drink!
Oh and for any local NY readers, you should make any Metrocard related purchases today or tomoorw as the rates increase March 2. I purchased my monthly Metrocard early to avoid the increase for a month.
Taxes Part 3: Revenge of the CPA
Posted by moonimus on Feb 28, 2008
So Taxcut finally fixed the 529 issue and my refund is very close to what I thought it should be. As soon as I corrected the error, I filed our returns with a mix of relief and joy that the waiting was over and we would get our refund. Later that same day, Mrs. Moonimus called me and said that a 1099 had arrived. (insert nerd walking into hip party record scratch here) I was furious. It was the same 1099 that I had mentioned before. I couldn’t believe the incompetence of the person who had our 1099 sent to the wrong address and then receiving it on February 25th. February 25th!!
OK, I’m over it but it I was seriously irritated at the time. This means I have to file a 1040x which amends the previous 1040 filed. Luckily, New York rejected Taxcut’s filing so I will have to prepare the state return as soon as I run the new numbers on the 1040x. Just on initial glance, I think we will give back $500 of our original refund. I’m not sure if I will use Taxcut next year…
I made a decision to crack open a recent Federal Taxation textbook and I’m going to relearn Individual Taxation. My first time through Individual Taxation in college didn’t go so smoothly as it was my toughest semester. I did however rock Corporate Taxation though I don’t remember much of it. I’m hoping to share what I learn on here from time to time. First thing I did learn was calculating your FICA portion of self employment wages. There’s a lot that goes into the calculation though the math isn’t difficult.
So 2007 taxes are nearly behind us. I just have to spend a half day over the weekend preparing a 1040x and redoing my state return. Let the good times roll!
Weighty Matters
Posted by moonimus on Feb 21, 2008
I haven’t posted my last two weigh ins because I’m depressed about them. The last two weeks I’ve weighed in at 232 lbs. That’s 2 lbs above my starting weight! What gives? I know I’ve been sick but I’m feeling the best I’ve felt in a while. My diet hasn’t really changed since I started. I can only conclude that I am not exercising enough.
Remember, I’m trying to work my weight off first through physical exertion before I make adjustments in my diet. I will keep working at it. I’ll have to go to bed earlier, and wake earlier. Commit to at least 5 days of exercise, even if it’s 15 minutes of walking. That 15 minutes is better than nothing. Also, I got replacement clips for my Caltrac
On the advice of Mr. Lowfat, I’m giving this little routine a try. I always wondered how gymnasts were able to sculpt their bodies. It’s going to be pretty insane once I can do Straddle Planche Pushups and Straddle Front Lever Pullups. You can ask most of my friends if I could ever do those and most of them would say, “Heck no!” Well they probably wouldn’t use the word “heck.”
Bank Laundering
Posted by moonimus on Feb 16, 2008
Even though I’ve been watching the last season of the Wire religiously in the last month, I’m not talking about cleaning dirty money. Clever Dude has inspired me to start cleaning up my bank accounts so I’ve closed my FNBO Direct savings account and my igobanking savings account. Both relatively painless process though I think FNBO was easier. I left very little money in each account and kept them open in case rates at those banks became favorable again. But in the current climate, rates for savings account continue to fall near inflation levels so I won’t be chasing rates any time soon. One United continues to offer an APY of 5.15% but I’ve read from other sources that their rate cuts will be more gradual as they only pay interest quarterly.
This leaves me with the One United savings account, 3 brick and mortar accounts with Chase, an Electric Orange checking account at ING and a rewards checking account with Toledo State Bank. I previously posted about my banking situation here. I’m still looking for suggestions…
Economic Stimulus Plan
Posted by moonimus on Feb 14, 2008
I just read a solid FAQ in the Wall Street Journal on the tax credit that we should expect in the spring. We would receive $1,500 since we are married filing jointly, we have one child and our AGI is nowhere near the $150,000 threshold for married filing jointly. There are phaseouts for single and married returns. Single filers with AGI of $87,000 are completed phased out of the credit and married filers with AGI of $175,000 would also be completely phased out.
On top of our surprising tax refund, this rebate will definitely be used to fund a Roth IRA. Too bad Taxcut has still yet to fix the problems on our state return.
Patient
Posted by moonimus on Feb 11, 2008
“bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like.” - dictionary.com
“I cannot teach him. The boy has no patience.” - Yoda
I’ve blogged before about my motivation and how I usually burn out due to settling for quick bouts of progress. I was updating our financial data into Open Office and though it’s only been two months, I’m proud of the decision and progress we have made. I smiled from the fact that we have $1,000 in our emergency fund. For the first time, we are allocating money for other purposes such as a Christmas fund or other mini financial goals.
Sometimes, I wish I could complete all our financial goals with one mighty stroke. But I’m sure that it was this kind of “get rich quick” mentality that has probably gotten me into financial trouble. When I was younger, results seemed to be so concrete, so easily attained. But the world was also black and white then. Somehow with the passage of time, focus was lost and the shades of gray blended into a content mediocrity.
Now, I’m just trying to be patient with the process. This goes for my weight loss too. I need to take the thirty year view, not the thirty second one. I have to learn how to forgive myself for falling off the path. This post at 43 Folders taught me that forgiveness is a powerful, liberating force. Mistakes will be made, lessons will be learned and I just have to deal with myself and move forward. I should be happy in making any progress, no matter how small. Eventually when those small changes compound, I’ll probably notice how far we’ve come.
A good friend of mine once wrote that, “Genius is in the details.” I’m striving to learn that lesson everyday.
Are we starting to get it?
Posted by moonimus on Feb 10, 2008
Last week there were two articles, one in the New York Times and the other in the Wall Street Journal, that certain statistics suggest that the American consumers are changing their spending behavior.
Though the Times says this could be “a period of involuntary thrift,” and that the “nation…confront an unfamiliar imperative: more Americans must live within their means,” I’m hoping this trend is more permanent. I feel for the two families mentioned in the Times article. Changing your behavior at the midst of an economic recession must be very difficult. Ms. Barbaro’s situation is especially compelling because “her house demanded work” and her kids needed $25,000 worth of after school programs. It also mention medical bills but I assume the amount and reasons for those expenses were highly personal. With the exception of the medical bills, this is definitely a prime example of “keeping up with Joneses” and that is a great recipe to have your debt spiral out of control.
The Wall Street Journal article is slightly more alarming as it states that credit card delinquencies are increasing. In December, an average of 7.6% of credit-card loans were either at least 60 days delinquent or had gone into default, up from 6.4% a year earlier. The article also suggests that lenders are fairly skittish in lending out more money especially with the subprime mortgage meltdown earlier this year. A woman mentioned in the article has already reduced her Latte Factor and one man cut down his excess spending on DVDs and other electronic gadgets. I was most confused and alarmed when the article mentioned that some people will pay their credit cards first before their mortgage. Talk about getting your priorities straight!
I really do hope many people will learn from this situation and make sustainable, effective and permananet changes in their personal finances so that the next time an “economic crisis” occurs, they won’t need to make any drastic changes because they will be prepared and not rely on credit to get through the tough times. Everyone must remember the most imperative personal finance principle: Spend less than you earn.
Are we starting to get it?
I believe the same day the Wall Street Journal article was published, the President had proposed a budget that increased the national deficit. Anyone enjoy mixed messages?
Deposits
Posted by moonimus on Feb 8, 2008
There are some days where it seems as if going to the bank or an ATM to make a deposit seems like the biggest hassle in the world. I’m not sure why I feel this way but there have been days where I refuse to go or even worse I completely forget and that delays me access to my money. I just read this article in the New York Times about scanning checks and sending them to the bank electronically. For some reason, this seems a lot easier to me but I wonder if scanning checks would become the hassle that a physical deposit already represents in my mind. This would help the online banks like ING or the those rewards checking accounts that require the majority of your business to be done online. One thing’s for sure, if this catches on industry wide, I’m fairly certain that I would get rid of my Chase accounts and that would be a good thing.
Taxes Part 2
Posted by moonimus on Feb 7, 2008
I’ve nearly completed our taxes using Taxcut and we will receive a sizable refund from the IRS and NYS. Think low five digits. I didn’t realize the magnitude of having a baby and deducting a full year of interest would have on our taxes. I’m still waiting on a couple of 1099s which should have minimal effect. Every year, I want to file my returns as quickly as possible but it seems as if one lousy form takes forever to get to us.
I’ve also run into a glitch in the online Taxcut software. It will not deduct 529 contributions on our state return. This will definitely improve our NYS refund. When I asked the online technician how long this would take to resolve, I was told four business days! That’s way too long to get back to me about a problem with your software. I’m thinking about switching to TurboTax next year. Of course, I will try and leverage this inconvenience into some kind of compensation from Taxcut.
I’m trying to decide what to do with this unexpected windfall. Of course, I will pay off my personal debt and any credit card balances that are charging interest. I will earmark the 0% credit card balances and put that money into a savings account until the interest free period is over. After that, I should have more than half the refund left. My first instinct is to throw half of it into the Emergency Fund and the other half to be used for investment purposes. Or put it all into the Emergency Fund and save enough money until we can pay the Student Loan. But I’m still torn on this.
I read in a blog that I should probably just sit on the money for 6 months and then make a decision. That way, all the emotional rush from getting the money will have gone and I’ll be in a better mindset to make a rational decision. I’ll probably go this route but for sure, I’ll pay off my personal loans and high interest debts first.
Monthly Update
Posted by moonimus on Feb 4, 2008
I can’t express how I felt when the Giants won the Superbowl yesterday! It was great to see them step up and beat the Patriots. I’ve been a Giants fan for a long time and for them to win this when no one expected anything out from them, made the whole thing sweeter. I even wore my Giants jersey into work today!
As you can see from the Debt Scale on the right sidebar, we kind of had a financial hiccup. Most of it was due to timing from when I first started the Debt Scale. Certain charges hadn’t cleared the bank but ended up on the Scale this month. I’m not too worried as most of the credit card debt is on two 0% credit cards (until November and September). We should be paying off all interest bearing debt this month. I’m going to sock away any potential payments for the 0% cards into my One United savings account. I’ll pay then off when they come due. Hopefully, we can also start paying off the personal loans. I actually have the cash to pay back some of it but just need to send it out. I was hoping to pay those off with cash but it looks like I’ll have to use the good ol checkbook.
Also, you’ll notice on the Weight Scale I gained a pound from when I started. This was mostly due to battling a nagging cold for about 5 weeks. I’m back to good health and I predict that I will see some serious progress on this goal this month. The body fat% should follow.
Big expectations this month so it’s time to step it up, just like the Giants!
