Thanks for the post. I think a lot of people don't know a lot about warranties, so if they want one they just buy one without doing the research...Any time you are spending a good amount of money it is worth shopping around and asking questions. The question I like is "is this price the best you can do?" I am surprised how often they are able to lower it or through something else int to make it an even better deal. You don't know unless you ask!
I'm absolutely in love with the Roth, but's it's not the only thing I do. I also have a SEP IRA that I use for my business. I think it's wise to have a balance of both pre-tax and tax-free money at retirement.
Needless to say, I haven't read the book. But only CERTAIN cities are super-expensive to live in. You can have a frugal city life in, say, Indianapolis or Cincinnati or even Philadelphia.
I live in a small town and I know plenty of dancers and actors and musicians! Oh, and I also know some organizers, activists, and social workers.
Living requires personal choices. The person who sets out to be an activist, and then determines that he/she must live in the big city must then make a lifestyle choice. I see no reason why others should potentially bear the burden of ensuring that this person achieve his her goals and/or dreams in spite of the fact that his/her decision is beyond financial reach.
I am also a frugal person and believe that in many ways debt equals slavery. In order to get and stay out of debt we chose not to take lavish vacations and drive our cars for at least 10 years or so. We also live in a more moderately price part of the country, instead of our first choice, which would be in the sun belt.
However, we are happy and healthy and look forward to the near future when we can head out and avoid winters and jobs. In the meantime, I hope for government gridlock, where each side can balance the other side.
I've stopped buying fresh fish for a while now! Thanks for this post, hopefully I'll stop by my local farmer's market and pick up something fresh (And get out of the canned tuna trap!) :)
I sense a lot of people are converting to a Roth due to the feeling income tax rates are going up in the future. Politically it is much easier to raise fees and fines than income taxes.
The more I read blogs about frugality, the more I come across nay-sayers who think that frugality is bad. I agree that there's a limit to how much you can achieve with frugality, and you really have to have money coming in as well. Also, I haven't read this book (yet). But the premise that frugality stops you from doing what you want is wrong - if that's what the book is arguing. I live in a big city, and frugality has allowed me to enjoy more of what I like doing.
However, I welcome different points of view since that makes me think harder about what I'm doing, so I'll probably look up The Trap on Amazon. Thanks for an interesting review Philip :)
I took a tax class this year at one of the walk-in type tax prep places. Every year I procrastinated--even though I was getting a refund--but not any more. The class was great--given by a CPA more than willing to answer any tax questions, even detailed ones about my exact situations. This year, for the first time, I can't wait to get them done!
I don't do them. My husband does. Ours are so complicated if he wasn't around, I'd hire someone. We're pretty much on target payment wise and rarely get much of a refund.
I almost never get a refund, because I don't like the government holding on to my money interest free. Nevertheless, I don't mind doing my taxes myself. I was a math geek in school and still enjoy working with numbers. Following the byzantine steps to itemize my deductions or calculate capital gains, as others have noted, gives me similar satisfaction to solving complex math problems. And this may sound a little masochistic to some of you, but I don't use any software, just a pencil and calculator.
People in this country are pretty unsophisticated about what they believe and what they sign. If someone is telling them these are the terms of the mortgage they believe it. You shouldn't have to have a master's degree to figure out all of the implications of buying a property and getting a loan. It's way too complicated for the average person.
If you "did everything right" then congrats to you. But the folks who really screwed up, through pure, unadulterated greed, were the mortgage brokers, the banks who make the ridiculous loans and the oversight agencies who let it go for years with virtually no regulation. People want the American Dream. They are not bad people. They wanted a house and they were finally able to get one. In my neighborhood, many of my neighbors going into foreclosure are not native English speakers. Do you think for a moment anyone told them "what they were getting into"? Probably not. Houses always go up. Now they are virtual debt slaves who will probably have to foreclose anyway.
So I am sure all of you feel angry, but maybe you should be angry that this type of fraud was perpetrated on the most vulnerable part of our population, the undereducated, non-English speakers and people who are not as financially well versed as all of you.
If you attend a public university, it is usually illegal for the bookstore not to allow you to write down isbn numbers. Although it may vary state to state.
Yes, I agree. Except govt. needs to be involved to ensure the free market does not go haywire or "wild west" on the consumer and do the same things (or worse) than govt. intervention. It needs to be a happy medium of sorts. Let's face it, Wall Street is "a Bull & a Bear" (if you know what I mean), and someone has to play "Cowboy" to keep 'em in check. (Uncle Sam)
I actually love tax time because our taxes are pretty simple. And we will be receiving a check because DH is still in school. This year will be especially sweet because we'll be getting an extra $1500 for the new energy efficient A/C unit we put in to replace the 28 year old one that cratered. It will help replenish the EF nicely. :)
Fantastic information as always but I'm wondering where you stand on Roth vs. traditional. In the PF blogosphere I see a lot of back and forth about whether a Roth will payoff in the end. I understand you may have to shy away about recommending one over the other, but if you can give your view?
We appreciate you coming to take the time to share your side of the story a bit more. These kinds of articles rarely cover all that they can, and I'm glad you had a chance to tell us more about your situation!
I feel sorry for my tax person this year. I went from single to married, both me and the wife have more than 1 source of income, and we'll need to pay taxes in 2 states. But I look forward to tax season as well, I've always gotten a return.
For no other reason than numbers make me nervous, I dread tax time. But I should be getting a good refund because of an energy-efficiency rebate, so I will make myself do the taxeds as soon as all of my documentation arrives.
This is good adivce. I got suckered into buying an extended warranty on my first car. It turned out to be a waste. The warranty was overpriced and didn't cover things I'd had assumed it would.
Thanks for the post. I think a lot of people don't know a lot about warranties, so if they want one they just buy one without doing the research...Any time you are spending a good amount of money it is worth shopping around and asking questions. The question I like is "is this price the best you can do?" I am surprised how often they are able to lower it or through something else int to make it an even better deal. You don't know unless you ask!
I'm absolutely in love with the Roth, but's it's not the only thing I do. I also have a SEP IRA that I use for my business. I think it's wise to have a balance of both pre-tax and tax-free money at retirement.
Jeff Rose is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and authors the blog Good Financial Cents.
Needless to say, I haven't read the book. But only CERTAIN cities are super-expensive to live in. You can have a frugal city life in, say, Indianapolis or Cincinnati or even Philadelphia.
I live in a small town and I know plenty of dancers and actors and musicians! Oh, and I also know some organizers, activists, and social workers.
Living requires personal choices. The person who sets out to be an activist, and then determines that he/she must live in the big city must then make a lifestyle choice. I see no reason why others should potentially bear the burden of ensuring that this person achieve his her goals and/or dreams in spite of the fact that his/her decision is beyond financial reach.
I am also a frugal person and believe that in many ways debt equals slavery. In order to get and stay out of debt we chose not to take lavish vacations and drive our cars for at least 10 years or so. We also live in a more moderately price part of the country, instead of our first choice, which would be in the sun belt.
However, we are happy and healthy and look forward to the near future when we can head out and avoid winters and jobs. In the meantime, I hope for government gridlock, where each side can balance the other side.
Once again, it is truly about personal choices.
I've stopped buying fresh fish for a while now! Thanks for this post, hopefully I'll stop by my local farmer's market and pick up something fresh (And get out of the canned tuna trap!) :)
I sense a lot of people are converting to a Roth due to the feeling income tax rates are going up in the future. Politically it is much easier to raise fees and fines than income taxes.
The more I read blogs about frugality, the more I come across nay-sayers who think that frugality is bad. I agree that there's a limit to how much you can achieve with frugality, and you really have to have money coming in as well. Also, I haven't read this book (yet). But the premise that frugality stops you from doing what you want is wrong - if that's what the book is arguing. I live in a big city, and frugality has allowed me to enjoy more of what I like doing.
However, I welcome different points of view since that makes me think harder about what I'm doing, so I'll probably look up The Trap on Amazon. Thanks for an interesting review Philip :)
I took a tax class this year at one of the walk-in type tax prep places. Every year I procrastinated--even though I was getting a refund--but not any more. The class was great--given by a CPA more than willing to answer any tax questions, even detailed ones about my exact situations. This year, for the first time, I can't wait to get them done!
I don't do them. My husband does. Ours are so complicated if he wasn't around, I'd hire someone. We're pretty much on target payment wise and rarely get much of a refund.
Absolutely not! That's why I use Turbo Tax, so I minimize my chances of making mistakes!
I almost never get a refund, because I don't like the government holding on to my money interest free. Nevertheless, I don't mind doing my taxes myself. I was a math geek in school and still enjoy working with numbers. Following the byzantine steps to itemize my deductions or calculate capital gains, as others have noted, gives me similar satisfaction to solving complex math problems. And this may sound a little masochistic to some of you, but I don't use any software, just a pencil and calculator.
I think they're all great sites, but you forgot this one which I frequent: Bodybuilding.com Coupons
Cheers,
Dan
People in this country are pretty unsophisticated about what they believe and what they sign. If someone is telling them these are the terms of the mortgage they believe it. You shouldn't have to have a master's degree to figure out all of the implications of buying a property and getting a loan. It's way too complicated for the average person.
If you "did everything right" then congrats to you. But the folks who really screwed up, through pure, unadulterated greed, were the mortgage brokers, the banks who make the ridiculous loans and the oversight agencies who let it go for years with virtually no regulation. People want the American Dream. They are not bad people. They wanted a house and they were finally able to get one. In my neighborhood, many of my neighbors going into foreclosure are not native English speakers. Do you think for a moment anyone told them "what they were getting into"? Probably not. Houses always go up. Now they are virtual debt slaves who will probably have to foreclose anyway.
So I am sure all of you feel angry, but maybe you should be angry that this type of fraud was perpetrated on the most vulnerable part of our population, the undereducated, non-English speakers and people who are not as financially well versed as all of you.
I love tax time. I'm no fan of the government getting a tax-free loan from my income, so I'm always eager to get that money back.
If you attend a public university, it is usually illegal for the bookstore not to allow you to write down isbn numbers. Although it may vary state to state.
Yes, I agree. Except govt. needs to be involved to ensure the free market does not go haywire or "wild west" on the consumer and do the same things (or worse) than govt. intervention. It needs to be a happy medium of sorts. Let's face it, Wall Street is "a Bull & a Bear" (if you know what I mean), and someone has to play "Cowboy" to keep 'em in check. (Uncle Sam)
I actually love tax time because our taxes are pretty simple. And we will be receiving a check because DH is still in school. This year will be especially sweet because we'll be getting an extra $1500 for the new energy efficient A/C unit we put in to replace the 28 year old one that cratered. It will help replenish the EF nicely. :)
I usually have nothing to fear around tax time, since I make so little that the government has to pay ME. (I'm still a student.)
Jeff,
Fantastic information as always but I'm wondering where you stand on Roth vs. traditional. In the PF blogosphere I see a lot of back and forth about whether a Roth will payoff in the end. I understand you may have to shy away about recommending one over the other, but if you can give your view?
We appreciate you coming to take the time to share your side of the story a bit more. These kinds of articles rarely cover all that they can, and I'm glad you had a chance to tell us more about your situation!
Linsey Knerl
I feel sorry for my tax person this year. I went from single to married, both me and the wife have more than 1 source of income, and we'll need to pay taxes in 2 states. But I look forward to tax season as well, I've always gotten a return.
I don't usually look forward to tax time, but that's just because I don't like filling out the forms.
You'd think that after all these years of running a business, we'd have a better attitude about income taxes. Thank goodness it's only once a year!
For no other reason than numbers make me nervous, I dread tax time. But I should be getting a good refund because of an energy-efficiency rebate, so I will make myself do the taxeds as soon as all of my documentation arrives.
This is good adivce. I got suckered into buying an extended warranty on my first car. It turned out to be a waste. The warranty was overpriced and didn't cover things I'd had assumed it would.