BUT, it is fun.
I had mixed feelings after doing our taxes this year. I've finally realized that unless Josh deploys, or until we have kids, we have reached the point where taxes aren't really "rewarding" for us. We are getting a whopping $561 back, much less than the $3500 from last year (deployments make a difference!). Without Josh checking the "student" box, we would be looking at a refund of $136 instead!! We also discovered that we lost about $8,000 in our IRA contributions last year! We have already gained it back, but it just makes me miss the simple times where the government took pity on us and gave us more money at tax time.
*Insert rant*
On the good side, I feel blessed that we are responsible because it made me realize that we no longer look forward to our tax refund to help us out financially. It also makes me feel fantastic that the people who do our taxes are "impressed" with what we've done at a young age and give us lectures of what other people our age are doing wrong.
On the other side, I get ticked that people who have no desire to work and have no job, get medicaid, food stamps, WIC, etc, pop out kids and get HUGE tax refunds. They end up blowing it on hairstyles, clothes, fake nails, and spoiling their kids (I've personally seen $30,000 of Medicaid assistance go down the drain in less than 6 months). Heaven-forbid being responsible with it and here's a thought, SAVING it (for the record they saved $0).
It just frustrates me, why don't I personally hand my paychecks to them? WHY does our government insist on helping people out financially with all these programs, when the people just take advantage of it? Now, I know that may not be the case for everyone in that situation, there are probably some people that use that aid responsibly and temporarily. Yet, I heard on the news that 1 in 5 people are receiving some sort of government financial aid (not including school loans). We are creating a society of people who feel they are entitled to everything without having to work for it, or to have other people do it for them. For if they actually got a job and worked hard, they would lose all the benefits the government is giving them. Not to blame them, from their perspective who wouldn't want "free" money? BUT, it's not free, it's the money of the hard working people, it's my money, and it is sickening.
*Off my soapbox*
On another good note, we are making more progress with paying debt. Moving to SA held us back just a tad with the switch of me going to hourly and part-time as well as all the upfront costs of moving (security deposits, moving truck, etc). We are holding off getting reimbursed for the move and Josh's per diem until we get to Del Rio. Once that comes in, that will put a nice dent into the debt!
As we inch closer, I am dreading the thought of possibly buying a new car. Eventually we will have kids, ideally in Del Rio. We currently have no car payments, BUT we have two 2-door cars and the Harley. I've given up on the Harley, but am seriously considering just living off the 2-door cars for awhile longer, maybe a year or so. We are toying with a few different options to keep our debt low.
SO, we started 2011 with $57,000 in debt, as of Jan 1st of this year, we start with $32,868 in debt! (Me: $5,268, Josh $27,600). A big difference from $112,000 nearly 5 years ago!
I had mixed feelings after doing our taxes this year. I've finally realized that unless Josh deploys, or until we have kids, we have reached the point where taxes aren't really "rewarding" for us. We are getting a whopping $561 back, much less than the $3500 from last year (deployments make a difference!). Without Josh checking the "student" box, we would be looking at a refund of $136 instead!! We also discovered that we lost about $8,000 in our IRA contributions last year! We have already gained it back, but it just makes me miss the simple times where the government took pity on us and gave us more money at tax time.
*Insert rant*
On the good side, I feel blessed that we are responsible because it made me realize that we no longer look forward to our tax refund to help us out financially. It also makes me feel fantastic that the people who do our taxes are "impressed" with what we've done at a young age and give us lectures of what other people our age are doing wrong.
On the other side, I get ticked that people who have no desire to work and have no job, get medicaid, food stamps, WIC, etc, pop out kids and get HUGE tax refunds. They end up blowing it on hairstyles, clothes, fake nails, and spoiling their kids (I've personally seen $30,000 of Medicaid assistance go down the drain in less than 6 months). Heaven-forbid being responsible with it and here's a thought, SAVING it (for the record they saved $0).
It just frustrates me, why don't I personally hand my paychecks to them? WHY does our government insist on helping people out financially with all these programs, when the people just take advantage of it? Now, I know that may not be the case for everyone in that situation, there are probably some people that use that aid responsibly and temporarily. Yet, I heard on the news that 1 in 5 people are receiving some sort of government financial aid (not including school loans). We are creating a society of people who feel they are entitled to everything without having to work for it, or to have other people do it for them. For if they actually got a job and worked hard, they would lose all the benefits the government is giving them. Not to blame them, from their perspective who wouldn't want "free" money? BUT, it's not free, it's the money of the hard working people, it's my money, and it is sickening.
*Off my soapbox*
On another good note, we are making more progress with paying debt. Moving to SA held us back just a tad with the switch of me going to hourly and part-time as well as all the upfront costs of moving (security deposits, moving truck, etc). We are holding off getting reimbursed for the move and Josh's per diem until we get to Del Rio. Once that comes in, that will put a nice dent into the debt!
As we inch closer, I am dreading the thought of possibly buying a new car. Eventually we will have kids, ideally in Del Rio. We currently have no car payments, BUT we have two 2-door cars and the Harley. I've given up on the Harley, but am seriously considering just living off the 2-door cars for awhile longer, maybe a year or so. We are toying with a few different options to keep our debt low.
SO, we started 2011 with $57,000 in debt, as of Jan 1st of this year, we start with $32,868 in debt! (Me: $5,268, Josh $27,600). A big difference from $112,000 nearly 5 years ago!
