Nice article. I thought I would clarify a matter that there seems to be some confusion about, though:
While it's true that you should consider the tax consequences of a changing annual income, it's not true that if you make more money and get knocked into a higher tax bracket that you will in any sense "lose" the money you've earned to higher taxes. The key point to understand is that the tax brackets are marginal, that is, up to 25,000 ((or whatever), which is the first tax bracket, you get taxed at 15%, and for the amount you earn beyond that and up to the next bracket ceiling of $35,000, for *that portion only* do you pay a higher tax rate. So, while a portion of your extra earnings could potentially get taxed at a higher rate than your existing earnings, it's not true that *all* of your income is taxed at the higher rate.
I have no idea if they will start offering it again before Xmas, but the 1-month promo I know of ends TODAY. If you're lucky, you have until midnight Seattle time.
I think taking a second job is a great motivator to make you start thinking about what skills you have that could be marketed from your own home. You do not have to join an MLM company to start a home-based business.
My best friend from college is a PE teacher, but he started a lawn-mowing business 25 years ago. One man, one mower. Now, he has two crews and 210 lawn accounts. He nets $150K each year. He also still teaches.
Prior to starting his lawn business, he delivered pizzas and refereed basketball games on weekends to supplement his teaching salary.
Another friend paints addresses on curbs. He charges about $20 per house. He's now started installing peep-hole hardware in front doors.
I started out as a PE teacher too. Now I run an Internet business.
I agree with you. There are many things that we have recently lost but are actually really good ideas. I think in this age of consumerism and instant credit people have forgotten the basics of money management and the other things we can do to get by and get by better.
Tip number three made me smile. I have on of those stable jobs with the federal government. I get to work on issues involving international trade and international relations, so for me anyway my job also qualifies as exciting.
Although government pay is often lower than pay for comparable jobs in the private sector, there are many aspects - including the stability - that make it attractive. A colleague of mine believes that the stability of working for the federal government is worth roughly 10% of your salary. The freedom from worrying about losing your job, the ability to maintain lower emergency reserves and put that money to better use, and the near certainty that you will not spend a few months out of every decade or two not drawing a paycheck all add up.
I still use and balance a check register - it helps me to keep from overspending, and it helps me to review my online statements effectively. Maybe it's old-fashioned, but it works.
Hey, we're practically neighbours. I love your posts.
My routine is baking in the morning and canning in the evenings-I try to look at the forecast for the week and plan accordingly though it can change suddenly. I bake bread a few times a week anyway. The canner throws off wonderful steam and works great as a humidifier. This is the time of year to start making steamed puddings for Christmas (so it can soak in brandy for a couple months) which take a good four hours of steaming to cook. Does wonders for a cold house. Making a large batch of tamales works too.
I can't stand it much below 60 (chronic anemia and rheumatoid arthritis) but everyone else can. I keep following our three year old around with a sweater asking if he's cold but he insists he's not. He's not shy about complaining so I figure we're good.
Several years ago there was an error on one of my credit card bills. The charge was legitimate, but the amount was incorrect. I ended up calling the credit card company and they got working on it with the vendor. The vendor, a restaurant, ended up apologizing later.
Goes to show, it pays to check and review your finances regularly. Everything you hold important in your life should be reviewed regularly as well. It goes for relationships, finances, career direction, business, web browsing habits, blogs :-P, you get the point.
I'm working on a wool Christmas tree skirt right now. It keeps my legs toasty and my hands busy - stops the late night snacking! :) They make great gifts, too.
Great tips, we keep our house at 55-60 degrees with central oil heat.
I'm nodding my head in agreement! A few months after my husband and I were married, a mysterious charge of only like $17 showed up on one of our accounts at a store that we never shop at. I called the bank, and they are the ones that said we needed to close our acocunt and open a new one because this type of fraud (taking only a small amount to see if anyone notices) was just starting to catch on. That experience several years ago made a believer out of me!
I agree with Mr Spielman. Why work another job, when you can become a global super-villain! In fact, if your current day job isn't Fraud, quit that one too.
Hey, Canadian Girl! Was wondering when you would stop by.
I think that the notion of "empowering the worker" is nice, but it's mostly rhetoric. Socialism really is about collective ownership. There are many aspects of American government and society that are not socialist in the traditionally Marxist sense of the word, and one might argue that the Canadian healthcare system does not necessarily "empower" the workers who run it (I've met my fair share of awesome Canadian doctors, though). But because it is supplied through government taxation and technically run by the government, which is in turn supposedly run by 'the people', the health care system is considered socialist.
Unless I am drastically misunderstanding the Canadian healthcare system. Which is possible.
My friends and I ate at mcdonalds every lunch and had a crap load of pieces. I never won once, and then bam, landed on a community chest 8 times in a freaking row. why? the dice are rigged and i was playing 10 mins before the game ended and I think they were trying 2 liquidate there crap.
What is missing from this discussion (if one can still in good faith call it a discussion) is that many Americans fail to be satisfied with what they have -- which is another subtle point to this fictional example. Yes, there is a significant gap between the upper class and the middle class incomes (though to establish/market household income of $250K/year as a cut-off for the middle class seems high to me), yet compared to other comparable industrialized economies, the US middle class has more income on average -- evidenced by 1800 sq ft homes versus a 1000 sq ft apartments ---- larger, more expensive (and often multiple) cars versus mopeds and Smart cars.
To be in the middle class is not a bad thing, yet much of this campaign has focused individuals on "how bad they have it" or what they don't have. I grew up squarely in the middle class, and I was only unhappy when I spent too much time and energy worrying about what others had that I did not - friends that were gifted new Hondas when they turned 16, while I was stuck with a beat-up Pontiac that I had to pay for with money earned from afterschool and summer jobs. I had two working parents (a teacher and a nurse -- who are still very much in the middle-class) and shared one of two bedrooms in a 1600 sq ft house with my younger sister. I financed my way through graduate school, put in many 80 hour work weeks, and now have moved into the top 5% . . . but if I look around, I am really closer to the bottom of the top 5% and there are plenty of other people with bigger houses, bigger cars, better vacations, and more stuff than I. I work very hard (and make sacrifices) to maintain my standard of living and so that I may be self-suffient when I retire (which now will come at a later date given recent market turmoil). What I notice on this board is that posters are quick to make sweeping generalizations about the "poor" (such as lazy and stupid) and the "rich" (that they are self-absorbed and they all have million$) -- neither are fair or accurate. Personally, I wish that politicians and their constituents would spend a little more time focusing on the gap between the US poor and the US middle class (it's about the same as the gap between the middle class and the upper class) but the consequences to standards of living and quality of life are more significant. No one seems to be talking about that --- maybe because most of the voting power by population in the US is in the middle class -- not the upper and lower classes.
I have been trying to get into the playatmcd.com site for 2 days now to play and the site won't comes up. The websit address will show up in a google box that says something like this is not a site.
is anyone else having this problem? there are only a few more days and i still have codes to put in.
And it always rips me off codes. I even contacted them online and the answer came back just like there stupid rules about 10 per day(mine keep saying the code was already used).
so does anyone know why the site isnt working or if it is over or what?
thanks if you do.
Taking on a second job is not the answer.
Guys, Never before in the History of Mankind has it been easy to build wealth. The Economy is bad….so what not for me and thousands of others. What it takes is a clear plan, a burning desire and system that will transform your life. I am not talking about getting rich quick. We all know that is a lie.
What I am talking about is finding a Global Mentor and having them assist you in building your financial future. Millions of people all over the World are saying ENOUGH. You can too.
If you do not believe me that it is possible….then you will always be stuck where you are. If truly believe that you deserve more out of life…then contact me and I will prove to you that you too can have a better life.
Wishing you the best,
Patrick Spielmann
StopMakingOthersRich.com
I once detected a significant withdrawal from my bank account (like, 4-digit significant) that I did not initiate. The withdrawal occurred from a point of sale in another city which I had visited some months earlier, where my careless use of a public Wifi spot must've exposed my account information. A prompt call to the bank saved me a bundle. And my hotspot practices are now much more secure.
This is a quick and easy way to make some extra cash that most people often overlook. I have a few different small side gigs, myself. Just remeber to keep it simple.
You bring up a VERY important point. We have an electric dryer, so no worries there. We do use Carbon Monoxide and smoke/fire detectors, however, because of the dangers associated with having our wood stove/chimney. We also have a separate pellet/corn stove in our main living area that we use for supplemental heat on the coldest days. This has been known to malfunction on a very, very rare occasion. The detectors are so important (especially with very young kids in the house.)
lvleph, you raise an interesting point about who owns the means of production. You're right... Socialism is about taking power from exploitative bosses and owners. So Bill Gates would be the enemy in a socialist system ;)
I've seen a lot of Americans turn up their noses at our health care system and disdainfully label it as "socialist". If the government operates our health care system using our taxes, who actually owns the means of production? (tax payers or government?) In the US, that answer is clear -- it's a business, like any other. I guess the workers own the means of production rather than the government... So does that make the US system socialist and not ours?
I'm so confused :) I guess I should crack the books and have another look then. My concern is that the people who actually get to vote in this election are going to hear these buzzwords and vote based on a set of false assumptions.
Nice article. I thought I would clarify a matter that there seems to be some confusion about, though:
While it's true that you should consider the tax consequences of a changing annual income, it's not true that if you make more money and get knocked into a higher tax bracket that you will in any sense "lose" the money you've earned to higher taxes. The key point to understand is that the tax brackets are marginal, that is, up to 25,000 ((or whatever), which is the first tax bracket, you get taxed at 15%, and for the amount you earn beyond that and up to the next bracket ceiling of $35,000, for *that portion only* do you pay a higher tax rate. So, while a portion of your extra earnings could potentially get taxed at a higher rate than your existing earnings, it's not true that *all* of your income is taxed at the higher rate.
I have no idea if they will start offering it again before Xmas, but the 1-month promo I know of ends TODAY. If you're lucky, you have until midnight Seattle time.
I blog at www.shopliftingwithpermission.com.
I think taking a second job is a great motivator to make you start thinking about what skills you have that could be marketed from your own home. You do not have to join an MLM company to start a home-based business.
My best friend from college is a PE teacher, but he started a lawn-mowing business 25 years ago. One man, one mower. Now, he has two crews and 210 lawn accounts. He nets $150K each year. He also still teaches.
Prior to starting his lawn business, he delivered pizzas and refereed basketball games on weekends to supplement his teaching salary.
Another friend paints addresses on curbs. He charges about $20 per house. He's now started installing peep-hole hardware in front doors.
I started out as a PE teacher too. Now I run an Internet business.
I agree with you. There are many things that we have recently lost but are actually really good ideas. I think in this age of consumerism and instant credit people have forgotten the basics of money management and the other things we can do to get by and get by better.
Tip number three made me smile. I have on of those stable jobs with the federal government. I get to work on issues involving international trade and international relations, so for me anyway my job also qualifies as exciting.
Although government pay is often lower than pay for comparable jobs in the private sector, there are many aspects - including the stability - that make it attractive. A colleague of mine believes that the stability of working for the federal government is worth roughly 10% of your salary. The freedom from worrying about losing your job, the ability to maintain lower emergency reserves and put that money to better use, and the near certainty that you will not spend a few months out of every decade or two not drawing a paycheck all add up.
RDS
http://www.smartfinancialvalues.com
I've been trying to become a super-villain for years, but even on a contract basis, most places aren't hiring.
I'd remove that post, but now that you've snarked it, Wilson, I have to leave it up. :)
I still use and balance a check register - it helps me to keep from overspending, and it helps me to review my online statements effectively. Maybe it's old-fashioned, but it works.
Hey, we're practically neighbours. I love your posts.
My routine is baking in the morning and canning in the evenings-I try to look at the forecast for the week and plan accordingly though it can change suddenly. I bake bread a few times a week anyway. The canner throws off wonderful steam and works great as a humidifier. This is the time of year to start making steamed puddings for Christmas (so it can soak in brandy for a couple months) which take a good four hours of steaming to cook. Does wonders for a cold house. Making a large batch of tamales works too.
I can't stand it much below 60 (chronic anemia and rheumatoid arthritis) but everyone else can. I keep following our three year old around with a sweater asking if he's cold but he insists he's not. He's not shy about complaining so I figure we're good.
The one my parents always said was, "The pennies you get to keep, are the ones you don't spend!"
Very pertinent these days too.
C8j
Several years ago there was an error on one of my credit card bills. The charge was legitimate, but the amount was incorrect. I ended up calling the credit card company and they got working on it with the vendor. The vendor, a restaurant, ended up apologizing later.
Goes to show, it pays to check and review your finances regularly. Everything you hold important in your life should be reviewed regularly as well. It goes for relationships, finances, career direction, business, web browsing habits, blogs :-P, you get the point.
Thanks to all the folks chiming in with real-world examples showing why checking your statements is worth doing!
I'm working on a wool Christmas tree skirt right now. It keeps my legs toasty and my hands busy - stops the late night snacking! :) They make great gifts, too.
Great tips, we keep our house at 55-60 degrees with central oil heat.
I'm nodding my head in agreement! A few months after my husband and I were married, a mysterious charge of only like $17 showed up on one of our accounts at a store that we never shop at. I called the bank, and they are the ones that said we needed to close our acocunt and open a new one because this type of fraud (taking only a small amount to see if anyone notices) was just starting to catch on. That experience several years ago made a believer out of me!
I agree with Mr Spielman. Why work another job, when you can become a global super-villain! In fact, if your current day job isn't Fraud, quit that one too.
Hey, Canadian Girl! Was wondering when you would stop by.
I think that the notion of "empowering the worker" is nice, but it's mostly rhetoric. Socialism really is about collective ownership. There are many aspects of American government and society that are not socialist in the traditionally Marxist sense of the word, and one might argue that the Canadian healthcare system does not necessarily "empower" the workers who run it (I've met my fair share of awesome Canadian doctors, though). But because it is supplied through government taxation and technically run by the government, which is in turn supposedly run by 'the people', the health care system is considered socialist.
Unless I am drastically misunderstanding the Canadian healthcare system. Which is possible.
My friends and I ate at mcdonalds every lunch and had a crap load of pieces. I never won once, and then bam, landed on a community chest 8 times in a freaking row. why? the dice are rigged and i was playing 10 mins before the game ended and I think they were trying 2 liquidate there crap.
What is missing from this discussion (if one can still in good faith call it a discussion) is that many Americans fail to be satisfied with what they have -- which is another subtle point to this fictional example. Yes, there is a significant gap between the upper class and the middle class incomes (though to establish/market household income of $250K/year as a cut-off for the middle class seems high to me), yet compared to other comparable industrialized economies, the US middle class has more income on average -- evidenced by 1800 sq ft homes versus a 1000 sq ft apartments ---- larger, more expensive (and often multiple) cars versus mopeds and Smart cars.
To be in the middle class is not a bad thing, yet much of this campaign has focused individuals on "how bad they have it" or what they don't have. I grew up squarely in the middle class, and I was only unhappy when I spent too much time and energy worrying about what others had that I did not - friends that were gifted new Hondas when they turned 16, while I was stuck with a beat-up Pontiac that I had to pay for with money earned from afterschool and summer jobs. I had two working parents (a teacher and a nurse -- who are still very much in the middle-class) and shared one of two bedrooms in a 1600 sq ft house with my younger sister. I financed my way through graduate school, put in many 80 hour work weeks, and now have moved into the top 5% . . . but if I look around, I am really closer to the bottom of the top 5% and there are plenty of other people with bigger houses, bigger cars, better vacations, and more stuff than I. I work very hard (and make sacrifices) to maintain my standard of living and so that I may be self-suffient when I retire (which now will come at a later date given recent market turmoil). What I notice on this board is that posters are quick to make sweeping generalizations about the "poor" (such as lazy and stupid) and the "rich" (that they are self-absorbed and they all have million$) -- neither are fair or accurate. Personally, I wish that politicians and their constituents would spend a little more time focusing on the gap between the US poor and the US middle class (it's about the same as the gap between the middle class and the upper class) but the consequences to standards of living and quality of life are more significant. No one seems to be talking about that --- maybe because most of the voting power by population in the US is in the middle class -- not the upper and lower classes.
i cant log on, trying to get it to game through mcd but when i click on it nothing happens,help!!!!
I have been trying to get into the playatmcd.com site for 2 days now to play and the site won't comes up. The websit address will show up in a google box that says something like this is not a site.
is anyone else having this problem? there are only a few more days and i still have codes to put in.
And it always rips me off codes. I even contacted them online and the answer came back just like there stupid rules about 10 per day(mine keep saying the code was already used).
so does anyone know why the site isnt working or if it is over or what?
thanks if you do.
Taking on a second job is not the answer.
Guys, Never before in the History of Mankind has it been easy to build wealth. The Economy is bad….so what not for me and thousands of others. What it takes is a clear plan, a burning desire and system that will transform your life. I am not talking about getting rich quick. We all know that is a lie.
What I am talking about is finding a Global Mentor and having them assist you in building your financial future. Millions of people all over the World are saying ENOUGH. You can too.
If you do not believe me that it is possible….then you will always be stuck where you are. If truly believe that you deserve more out of life…then contact me and I will prove to you that you too can have a better life.
Wishing you the best,
Patrick Spielmann
StopMakingOthersRich.com
I once detected a significant withdrawal from my bank account (like, 4-digit significant) that I did not initiate. The withdrawal occurred from a point of sale in another city which I had visited some months earlier, where my careless use of a public Wifi spot must've exposed my account information. A prompt call to the bank saved me a bundle. And my hotspot practices are now much more secure.
This is a quick and easy way to make some extra cash that most people often overlook. I have a few different small side gigs, myself. Just remeber to keep it simple.
This guy says he intends on using it for his Black and White:
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/computercorner/stories/wfaa08...
I guess that means it's OK?
Linsey
Steve,
You bring up a VERY important point. We have an electric dryer, so no worries there. We do use Carbon Monoxide and smoke/fire detectors, however, because of the dangers associated with having our wood stove/chimney. We also have a separate pellet/corn stove in our main living area that we use for supplemental heat on the coldest days. This has been known to malfunction on a very, very rare occasion. The detectors are so important (especially with very young kids in the house.)
Thanks for the reminder!
Linsey
lvleph, you raise an interesting point about who owns the means of production. You're right... Socialism is about taking power from exploitative bosses and owners. So Bill Gates would be the enemy in a socialist system ;)
I've seen a lot of Americans turn up their noses at our health care system and disdainfully label it as "socialist". If the government operates our health care system using our taxes, who actually owns the means of production? (tax payers or government?) In the US, that answer is clear -- it's a business, like any other. I guess the workers own the means of production rather than the government... So does that make the US system socialist and not ours?
I'm so confused :) I guess I should crack the books and have another look then. My concern is that the people who actually get to vote in this election are going to hear these buzzwords and vote based on a set of false assumptions.