The Tax Man Cometh…..whether we like it or not the April 15th deadline looms over many Americans as a day to pay their taxes and if you do not pay taxes and you are getting a refund instead it means you are underpaying and therefore the government is earning interest on your money. Either way its lose lose…..
So like many Americans across the country you go to work on your taxes and realize you owe and not only do you owe but your favorite type of mayonnaise is hitting $5.69 a jar and you realize something’s gotta’ give. I actually said to myself we either are going to have to start eating less mayonnaise or stop paying taxes……:) That’s my sense of humor I absolutely believe in being a stand up citizen and following our country’s laws however I have a take issue with the tax laws not protecting the middle class. We just do not catch any breaks at all. Higher gas prices mean higher costs for food, but for many government workers where states have no funds no raise is in the forecast for the fourth or fifth year in a row.
Another big shocker for me was that even if your adult child still lives at home with you and they make over a certain amount every year if they are a not a full-time student they are no longer a dependent and you cannot claim them. I thought as long as they lived at home until I don’t know some magical age I made up in my head; that was not the case so…..a little disappointing.
So at this point I pull out all my tax books, go to all the tax websites and try to find every single honest legitimate break I can for us and hope for the best.
In these times though it does seem for many people their dollars just are not stretching or that it can’t stretch much more. Which is why we are all in pursuit of answers how can we stretch that buck there are a million books and blogs on this very topic…..
I actually did a Twitter search tonight on Taxes and it was unbelievable how many folks are tweeting about their taxes. Some say we should not pay and some are saying Taxes are a relatively new thing and were never in the constitution. In Italy they are asking their citizens to pay taxes I guess their economy is not doing all that great either. Surprisingly no one was complaining about the price of mayonnaise yet on Twitter but I will tomorrow for sure 😉 But somebody did ask Cha Cha “Why is mayonnaise so expensive?”
Another thing that was upsetting to me that is tax related is that I just learned they are no longer allowing educators to deduct the standard $250.00 deduction. Just last year alone I spent $111.00 on Smilebox to run movies for my school but I have made sure that I have been completely unsubscribed for 2012 and I will no longer be able to purchase items since this deduction is no longer in place. I wonder how many other educator’s will be forced to make this same decision.
This month is a very busy one and yes I have my head focused on taxes if you couldn’t tell from this post! Have a great “hump” day folks….Happy Wednesday!
Fondly,
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Hand raised. Thank you for reminding me I need to cancel my glogster…
You see….it’s ridiculous you are an example of a fabulous teacher who is cancelling resources you had been paying for all along because you wanted more for your students……but where do you draw the line? They have to give something….
I so TOTALLY agree with you!!! Thank the Lord we got a tax refund this year….but my daughter will graduate from college in May. She still lives at home and has no plans to move out. I have already warned her that next year she may have to help us with our taxes. We have used our tax refund for stocking up groceries, gardening, vehicle stuff and all that fun grown up stuff. It has been important to my husband and I that we increase our food storage because we know that prices will be increase. We don’t have on hand what we would like to …but let’s just say we have more then the average family and for that we are blessed. I feel like you are so inside of my head with your post. LOL. Do you know that my husband today read that the government is saying that all sorts of areas of business are increasing. I wonder where they find this info and what drugs they are taking. I can’t believe people listen and believe this crap. What they are reporting is not the cold hard fact that people see around them. Oh and my husband is one of those state employees since he got his job over 4 1/2 years ago….so he is still at his starting wage which was at the both of the pay scale….but I am thankful that he even has a job, so many people are not as blessed as we are. Love your blog.
Trudy
Trudy we are both so thankful to be employed too and we are also increasing our food storage as best we can. (Thanks for the reminder!) It’s smart to do so the thing is right now we are mostly just stocking the garden up and hoping for a big harvest but I know we need to look into other ways of stocking up as well. I have not seen business increasing but we do have some new restaurants and stores coming to our town….but maybe they are talking about small start ups people that are looking for a write off or another deduction;)…..Thanks for your kind words about our Lil’ Suburban Homestead I hope you stop back in soon!
I had my taxes done over a week ago. I’m hardly getting anything back…total bummer. OH, and mayonaise? My dad’s favorite is from Trader Joe’s…but I may end up making my own mayonnaise at home!!! Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 😉
Heather ….I know taxes are always a sore subject one way or another…..
You should make your own mayo! I have been making it for a few years now, and have developed a recipe my family loves. There were a few fails in the beginning though. 🙂 It is so simple with a stick blender!
You know Jen I have been considering it but my kids love the olive oil mayo….do you happen to know how to make that homemade? We go through mayo fast so I don’t think it would go rancid? Thanks for stopping in!