Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[ixtap]

Mr. Ixtap left his job a few months ago with just two and a half weeks' notice, so we didn't really stockpile cash. Now we need to control total income for ACA. All that sweet 2024 Roth IRA and HSA space is going to waste!

This made me double check: our spending over the last 12 months is almost exactly equal to his 2024 take home. We only saved what went into 401k/MBR. What kind of heathens only save 20% and leave tax sheltered space unfilled?!?

[BicycleB]

Mr. Ixtap left his job a few months ago with just two and a half weeks' notice, so we didn't really stockpile cash. Now we need to control total income for ACA. All that sweet 2024 Roth IRA and HSA space is going to waste!

This made me double check: our spending over the last 12 months is almost exactly equal to his 2024 take home. We only saved what went into 401k/MBR. What kind of heathens only save 20% and leave tax sheltered space unfilled?!?

My condolences

[crocheted_stache]

Because I’m Mustachian I was able to FIRE.
Because I’m FIREd I can and do travel a lot.
Because I travel a lot I started to acquire too many souvenirs that were starting to clutter my place.
Because I wanted to reduce the clutter I eventually restricted myself to just getting one refrigerator magnet per trip.

I’ve now run out of room on my refrigerator and this is clearly an MPP.

My aunt hosted Christmas this year, and at some point we admired the assortment of travel magnets on her fridge. She pointed out that one fridge door was for trips within the U.S. and the other was the international trips. She was a librarian during her entire career, so that tracks. I didn't check to see if they were in alphabetical order too.

[PhilB]

If the logo were on glass or stainless steel, I'd try the nail polish remover. On top of other paint or powder coat, I would worry for the base finish. With the logo embroidered on, I'm not expecting it to do much.

I don't expect DH ever to part with a jacket, barring some catastrophe. His favorite is still one he's had since probably high school, and frayed cuffs be damned, that is the one that goes with him most days.
I visited a craft store the other day, and walked past a shelf of Stanley cup* knock-offs marketed as "ready to be decorated with," and then I'm not sure if the thing that came next was a type of paint, decal, or what. They were kind of short staffed for the crowd, and I had a lot of time to contemplate while waiting to check out. If crafters want to decorate this kind of thing, there really should be a group of them that takes the heaps of corporate-branded swag that gets discarded and does the craft equivalent of tattoo cover-ups. Don't remove the irrelevant, unwanted logo if it's going to be destructive; just obscure it or work it into some other design.

*The larger-than-necessary branded insulated mug that trended in the US in the past couple years, not the hockey trophy.

I've mentioned this somewhere before, but my friend takes a new (free, normally heavily branded) water bottle on vacation and covers it with stickers. When she goes on the next vacation, she puts the old water bottle on a display shelf and takes a new one with her. It ends up being a pretty impressive souvenir for about $10 each trip.

That sounds like a shelf full of clutter to me (and a waste of perfectly usable bottles).

Because I’m Mustachian I was able to FIRE.
Because I’m FIREd I can and do travel a lot.
Because I travel a lot I started to acquire too many souvenirs that were starting to clutter my place.
Because I wanted to reduce the clutter I eventually restricted myself to just getting one refrigerator magnet per trip.

I’ve now run out of room on my refrigerator and this is clearly an MPP.

You're gonna need a bigger boat fridge.

[Alfred J Quack]

If the logo were on glass or stainless steel, I'd try the nail polish remover. On top of other paint or powder coat, I would worry for the base finish. With the logo embroidered on, I'm not expecting it to do much.

I don't expect DH ever to part with a jacket, barring some catastrophe. His favorite is still one he's had since probably high school, and frayed cuffs be damned, that is the one that goes with him most days.
I visited a craft store the other day, and walked past a shelf of Stanley cup* knock-offs marketed as "ready to be decorated with," and then I'm not sure if the thing that came next was a type of paint, decal, or what. They were kind of short staffed for the crowd, and I had a lot of time to contemplate while waiting to check out. If crafters want to decorate this kind of thing, there really should be a group of them that takes the heaps of corporate-branded swag that gets discarded and does the craft equivalent of tattoo cover-ups. Don't remove the irrelevant, unwanted logo if it's going to be destructive; just obscure it or work it into some other design.

*The larger-than-necessary branded insulated mug that trended in the US in the past couple years, not the hockey trophy.

I've mentioned this somewhere before, but my friend takes a new (free, normally heavily branded) water bottle on vacation and covers it with stickers. When she goes on the next vacation, she puts the old water bottle on a display shelf and takes a new one with her. It ends up being a pretty impressive souvenir for about $10 each trip.

That sounds like a shelf full of clutter to me (and a waste of perfectly usable bottles).

Because I’m Mustachian I was able to FIRE.
Because I’m FIREd I can and do travel a lot.
Because I travel a lot I started to acquire too many souvenirs that were starting to clutter my place.
Because I wanted to reduce the clutter I eventually restricted myself to just getting one refrigerator magnet per trip.

I’ve now run out of room on my refrigerator and this is clearly an MPP.

You're gonna need a bigger boat fridge.

That's not very mustachian though, think of the increase in power usage...

I'd paint a wall with magnetic paint, that'll take a lot more time to fill up and there's always another wall to do that with 😂

[ixtap]

If the logo were on glass or stainless steel, I'd try the nail polish remover. On top of other paint or powder coat, I would worry for the base finish. With the logo embroidered on, I'm not expecting it to do much.

I don't expect DH ever to part with a jacket, barring some catastrophe. His favorite is still one he's had since probably high school, and frayed cuffs be damned, that is the one that goes with him most days.
I visited a craft store the other day, and walked past a shelf of Stanley cup* knock-offs marketed as "ready to be decorated with," and then I'm not sure if the thing that came next was a type of paint, decal, or what. They were kind of short staffed for the crowd, and I had a lot of time to contemplate while waiting to check out. If crafters want to decorate this kind of thing, there really should be a group of them that takes the heaps of corporate-branded swag that gets discarded and does the craft equivalent of tattoo cover-ups. Don't remove the irrelevant, unwanted logo if it's going to be destructive; just obscure it or work it into some other design.

*The larger-than-necessary branded insulated mug that trended in the US in the past couple years, not the hockey trophy.

I've mentioned this somewhere before, but my friend takes a new (free, normally heavily branded) water bottle on vacation and covers it with stickers. When she goes on the next vacation, she puts the old water bottle on a display shelf and takes a new one with her. It ends up being a pretty impressive souvenir for about $10 each trip.

That sounds like a shelf full of clutter to me (and a waste of perfectly usable bottles).

Because I’m Mustachian I was able to FIRE.
Because I’m FIREd I can and do travel a lot.
Because I travel a lot I started to acquire too many souvenirs that were starting to clutter my place.
Because I wanted to reduce the clutter I eventually restricted myself to just getting one refrigerator magnet per trip.

I’ve now run out of room on my refrigerator and this is clearly an MPP.

You're gonna need a bigger boat fridge.

That's not very mustachian though, think of the increase in power usage...

I'd paint a wall with magnetic paint, that'll take a lot more time to fill up and there's always another wall to do that with 😂

I would do this, but with pantry or cupboard door to keep it near the fridge. I guess some folks have a wall near their fridge, but I never have.

[Shinplaster]

Umbra makes really nice magnetic bulletin boards.   We have two - one with the grandkids' drawings, and the other with travel magnets.  That way you can put them anywhere you'd like, and keep the fridge clear.   

Mustachian win - here in Canada they go for a pretty penny, but at one point a couple of years ago Dollarama (similar to Dollar Tree) had them for $5 each.   I bought enough for us and the grandkids to use in their rooms, and still didn't spend what one large board would have been on Amazon.

[Sugaree]

I was going over my kid's 529 account, which is something I only do a couple of times a year.  I realized that I spent the last year contributing to VTIAX instead of VTSAX.  I think I'm going to cry.

[Dave1442397]

I was going over my kid's 529 account, which is something I only do a couple of times a year.  I realized that I spent the last year contributing to VTIAX instead of VTSAX.  I think I'm going to cry.

Ouch, that hurts!

[ATtiny85]

Planning to hang it up in a couple months, so went into SSAtools just to review what the current projection is at 70. Since I will 'earn' a couple paychecks this year it will displace my earnings at 16 of $81 indexed up to $293. Those zeroes from being in grad school and overseas really 'hurt'. Next on the top 35 chopping block will be my earnings at 18 of $175 ($579), but I am planning to never displace that one!

[crocheted_stache]

DH got let go at the end of the year when headquarters pulled the plug on the local division.

He's trying to take some time off, because we're FI and he didn't have more than a week or so between any of his previous jobs. He got to tell another two recruiters today that he's "not available until March." One of them even got his phone number somehow. They really, really want him to apply.

[Sugaree]

I have a spreadsheet that calculates my taxes in near-real time.  At the end of the year, I can make certain moves to ensure that my state tax liability is exactly zero.  I just got my W2 and realized that while my state has an exception for OT, because I'm considered salaried exempt (even though I do earn OT pay), I don't qualify for it to be excepted.  Apparently though, the payroll software isn't yet coded to know that, so none of my OT this year had any state taxes withheld on it and my calculations used the assumption that OT would be exempt because the state says OT is exempt.  Now I owe the state $30.  Boo. 


I suspect that quite a few people that I work with are about to get a nasty surprise though. 

[pasadenafr]

I just received a written job offer that I'm going to sign as soon as they correct a couple of things. I've been 100% remote since 2019, and travel for work has been near zero since COVID. The new job is hybrid with up to 20% travel at times.

I realized today that I'm going to have to go shopping *shudders* for (1) work- and customer-appropriate clothes AND shoes, and (2) make-up (!).

There was also a new purse in there but I decided that my current one would be perfectly good with a little black leather cream.

And also maybe start wearing normal bras again, AND I DON'T WANNA.

[The Beebsta]

I finally have a mustachian people problem.

I’ve been watching our superannuation balances (Australian retirement account) daily for the last  couple of weeks as they inch ever closer to a combined value of $1m for SO & I. I made sure to push through my last 2 months of contributions this week (self employed so I pay the contributions from company bank account) to try to get us over the line. I logged in today and the balance is $999,965. My MPP is that while I am tempted to transfer $36 to get to a balance of $1,000,001 it’s  Sunday and transfers are not instant, they take a day or two to be processed. So even if I transfer the money, depending on the mood of the market gods tomorrow, I could be well over or well under the $1m mark. I guess I just have to wait patiently for a few more days or weeks to hit this milestone and share the good news with my SO. They don’t know this is coming, I told them several months ago that we had hit $930k. I’m fairly sure their reaction will be along the lines of “oh… ok”.

Funny, I update my spreadsheet on the second of the month. Friday's stock market gains bumped our 401(k) balance from $993,631.48 on Friday morning to $1,001,982.91 today. It feels good to see that second comma show up! Hopefully it'll still be there at the end of the month.

Congratulations!

Congratulations @Dave1442397 . The silver lining if it’s not still over $1m at the end of the month is that you get to celebrate this milestone again when it is! It seems like a milestone that will possibly get repeated a couple of times given how bouncy the markets are lately. I wonder how many times I can justify a bottle of champagne to celebrate hitting this milestone. 🤣

Thanks @Dicey, and congrats to you too, @The Beebsta !

It's fun keeping track of things. I started my spreadsheet in November 2016, which is when I found MMM and got serious about paying off debt and building net worth. Between 1/1/17 and 1/1/24 our net worth increased by $997,285, and we now have a net worth of $1,405,999.

I've been letting my daughter (now 19) keep an eye on the spreadsheet for the past few years, and we got her started with a Roth IRA, which has $7k in it now. She has a net worth of $10.5k, which is $10k more than I had at that age :)

I wish I'd known all this 30 years ago, but at least we got with the program before it's too late.

The stock market gods smiled on me today. Balance is $1,005,438. Woohoo!

Our combined super balance today is  just over $1.2m. Up $200k in less than a year. I am enjoying this game! I think the first $200k would have taken close to 10 years, probably longer.

[crocheted_stache]

Recruiter sent me a job description that includes a benefit of $2000/month housing stipend for living within walking distance of the office, in a very high cost of living area. I'm tempted to poke at that one and see what they consider walking distance, or if they'd extend it to bicycling distance of that office, given that I'm a dedicated bicycle commuter. It's about 5 miles from my paid-off house, and for that much additional money, I would be more than happy never to arrive by car.

MPP: I don't really want another job, even for a bunch more money. I want to retire from this one and then maybe change gears.

If I were serious about applying, I'd want to steer clear of asking about that benefit until the offer was in hand and the base salary negotiated. As it is, I may just poke the recruiter to ask about how they administer that benefit and how they came to include it.

[jeroly]

Recruiter sent me a job description that includes a benefit of $2000/month housing stipend for living within walking distance of the office, in a very high cost of living area. I'm tempted to poke at that one and see what they consider walking distance, or if they'd extend it to bicycling distance of that office, given that I'm a dedicated bicycle commuter. It's about 5 miles from my paid-off house, and for that much additional money, I would be more than happy never to arrive by car.

MPP: I don't really want another job, even for a bunch more money. I want to retire from this one and then maybe change gears.

If I were serious about applying, I'd want to steer clear of asking about that benefit until the offer was in hand and the base salary negotiated. As it is, I may just poke the recruiter to ask about how they administer that benefit and how they came to include it.

I would be very worried that they are willing to pay extra for someone to live within walking distance because they will plan on having you available to come in at all hours and over weekends.

[ixtap]

Recruiter sent me a job description that includes a benefit of $2000/month housing stipend for living within walking distance of the office, in a very high cost of living area. I'm tempted to poke at that one and see what they consider walking distance, or if they'd extend it to bicycling distance of that office, given that I'm a dedicated bicycle commuter. It's about 5 miles from my paid-off house, and for that much additional money, I would be more than happy never to arrive by car.

MPP: I don't really want another job, even for a bunch more money. I want to retire from this one and then maybe change gears.

If I were serious about applying, I'd want to steer clear of asking about that benefit until the offer was in hand and the base salary negotiated. As it is, I may just poke the recruiter to ask about how they administer that benefit and how they came to include it.

I would be very worried that they are willing to pay extra for someone to live within walking distance because they will plan on having you available to come in at all hours and over weekends.

I doubt it; they are probably getting tax incentives.

[NorthernIkigai]

Recruiter sent me a job description that includes a benefit of $2000/month housing stipend for living within walking distance of the office, in a very high cost of living area. I'm tempted to poke at that one and see what they consider walking distance, or if they'd extend it to bicycling distance of that office, given that I'm a dedicated bicycle commuter. It's about 5 miles from my paid-off house, and for that much additional money, I would be more than happy never to arrive by car.

MPP: I don't really want another job, even for a bunch more money. I want to retire from this one and then maybe change gears.

If I were serious about applying, I'd want to steer clear of asking about that benefit until the offer was in hand and the base salary negotiated. As it is, I may just poke the recruiter to ask about how they administer that benefit and how they came to include it.

I would be very worried that they are willing to pay extra for someone to live within walking distance because they will plan on having you available to come in at all hours and over weekends.

I’m also curious as to the reason. But I want to think that it’s just that that they’ve had problems in the past with employees not turning up because of car trouble, etc. Because who’s to say that crocheted_stache is even at home during evenings and weekends?

[crocheted_stache]

Recruiter sent me a job description that includes a benefit of $2000/month housing stipend for living within walking distance of the office, in a very high cost of living area. I'm tempted to poke at that one and see what they consider walking distance, or if they'd extend it to bicycling distance of that office, given that I'm a dedicated bicycle commuter. It's about 5 miles from my paid-off house, and for that much additional money, I would be more than happy never to arrive by car.

MPP: I don't really want another job, even for a bunch more money. I want to retire from this one and then maybe change gears.

If I were serious about applying, I'd want to steer clear of asking about that benefit until the offer was in hand and the base salary negotiated. As it is, I may just poke the recruiter to ask about how they administer that benefit and how they came to include it.

I would be very worried that they are willing to pay extra for someone to live within walking distance because they will plan on having you available to come in at all hours and over weekends.

I’m also curious as to the reason. But I want to think that it’s just that that they’ve had problems in the past with employees not turning up because of car trouble, etc. Because who’s to say that crocheted_stache is even at home during evenings and weekends?

It's true I don't always get out as much as I'd like, but it's likely because they want people in the office (more than*) full time and because they're in a super-expensive area (even by California standards) and want to encourage actually living there rather than commuting from someplace much further afield, nor passing up the job for not wanting to pay $3k/month for the smallest apartment (and still probably ending up with a half-hour commute across a couple cities). Many of my current coworkers have hour-by-car commutes, and it would not surprise me if prospective hires thought better of either the commute or the relocation and declined offers.

I'm not that enchanted with the job—it's really similar to what I already do, but I'd have to meet a whole new batch of people—but the possibility of getting paid to ride my bike and continue to live in my house would be pretty cool.

*Pretty common in tech.

[jennifers]

DH got let go at the end of the year when headquarters pulled the plug on the local division.

He's trying to take some time off, because we're FI and he didn't have more than a week or so between any of his previous jobs. He got to tell another two recruiters today that he's "not available until March." One of them even got his phone number somehow. They really, really want him to apply.

He can send the recruiters to me! I hope he enjoys the time off.

[crocheted_stache]

DH got let go at the end of the year when headquarters pulled the plug on the local division.

He's trying to take some time off, because we're FI and he didn't have more than a week or so between any of his previous jobs. He got to tell another two recruiters today that he's "not available until March." One of them even got his phone number somehow. They really, really want him to apply.

He can send the recruiters to me! I hope he enjoys the time off.

He has a third-round interview next week. As he puts it, left to his own devices, he spends all day either climbing walls or being a couch potato. There are worse problems to have than too many prospective employers clamoring to hire him for lots of money, but I am really enjoying his free time.

If you're serious about wanting recruiters and you're in tech or something tech-adjacent, let me know where to send some of the extras, what to tell them you're looking for and where. DH gets messages on a daily basis even when he's not trying, and I get them maybe weekly. Unfortunately, I doubt any of them would have anything useful to offer for someone not in tech, like a program director for old folks' homes, say.

[NorthernIkigai]

I interpreted “he spends all day climbing walls” as bouldering, and thought “cool, what’s wrong with that, that’s a very wholesome sport :-)

[crocheted_stache]

I interpreted “he spends all day climbing walls” as bouldering, and thought “cool, what’s wrong with that, that’s a very wholesome sport :-)

No, more of a metaphorical wall climbing, in which he fidgets about all the things he should be doing and only accomplishes some tiny fraction of what's on his mind. Unstructured days are not his strong suit.

[NorthernIkigai]

I interpreted “he spends all day climbing walls” as bouldering, and thought “cool, what’s wrong with that, that’s a very wholesome sport :-)

No, more of a metaphorical wall climbing, in which he fidgets about all the things he should be doing and only accomplishes some tiny fraction of what's on his mind. Unstructured days are not his strong suit.

I did figure. Maybe he could try bouldering ;-)

[Sugaree]

I finally got the last of my tax forms today (Vanguard for those of you who are waiting on it).  I usually use FreetaxUSA to file them and just pay the $15 to file the state return.  This year, I was going to use the state's new online filing portal and save myself the filing fee, but it's atrocious and about 15 minutes into it, I decided that it was worth the $15 for me to not have to reenter all my information. 

[crocheted_stache]

I finally got the last of my tax forms today (Vanguard for those of you who are waiting on it).  I usually use FreetaxUSA to file them and just pay the $15 to file the state return.  This year, I was going to use the state's new online filing portal and save myself the filing fee, but it's atrocious and about 15 minutes into it, I decided that it was worth the $15 for me to not have to reenter all my information.

My state's was pretty decent, last I used it, but I usually paid the $15 to support FreeTaxUSA. TurboTax and Intuit have put a lot of lobbying money into keeping taxes complicated and expensive.

[Sugaree]

I finally got the last of my tax forms today (Vanguard for those of you who are waiting on it).  I usually use FreetaxUSA to file them and just pay the $15 to file the state return.  This year, I was going to use the state's new online filing portal and save myself the filing fee, but it's atrocious and about 15 minutes into it, I decided that it was worth the $15 for me to not have to reenter all my information.

My state's was pretty decent, last I used it, but I usually paid the $15 to support FreeTaxUSA. TurboTax and Intuit have put a lot of lobbying money into keeping taxes complicated and expensive.

My very first job in HS was as a tax preparer for H&R Block.  I filed returns for other people before I ever had to do my own.  I was 18 and looked 12.  It was very disconcerting for my clients, lol.  I've considered going back as a side hustle over the years, but there are a few parts of that business model that just feels icky to me.  But, the class that I took to get the job has been very useful to me over the years.  If nothing else, it taught me that tax returns aren't that scary.  I'm currently waiting on Schwab to finish up the kid's 1099 so that he can file his.  I'm being a mean mom and making him do his own.  He doesn't actually have to file this year, but I harvested some gains in his UTMA and want to file as a way to close the loop on the year and give him the experience of filing. 

[crocheted_stache]

I finally got the last of my tax forms today (Vanguard for those of you who are waiting on it).  I usually use FreetaxUSA to file them and just pay the $15 to file the state return.  This year, I was going to use the state's new online filing portal and save myself the filing fee, but it's atrocious and about 15 minutes into it, I decided that it was worth the $15 for me to not have to reenter all my information.

My state's was pretty decent, last I used it, but I usually paid the $15 to support FreeTaxUSA. TurboTax and Intuit have put a lot of lobbying money into keeping taxes complicated and expensive.

My very first job in HS was as a tax preparer for H&R Block.  I filed returns for other people before I ever had to do my own.  I was 18 and looked 12.  It was very disconcerting for my clients, lol.  I've considered going back as a side hustle over the years, but there are a few parts of that business model that just feels icky to me.  But, the class that I took to get the job has been very useful to me over the years.  If nothing else, it taught me that tax returns aren't that scary.  I'm currently waiting on Schwab to finish up the kid's 1099 so that he can file his.  I'm being a mean mom and making him do his own.  He doesn't actually have to file this year, but I harvested some gains in his UTMA and want to file as a way to close the loop on the year and give him the experience of filing.

If you're willing to help prepare others' taxes and don't need the money, VITA recruits and trains volunteers: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-tax-volunteers

For your son or anyone else you know who's trying to prepare a return and would like a little more assistance than the fine print on the blank tax forms, https://www.getyourrefund.org/en is free for basic taxes, and FreeTaxUSA is a for-profit site that is actually free for federal taxes, with a $15 fee for filing state taxes. The latter is solid even for itemizing, although there are fewer and more basic handrails than the likes of TT. None of the free/low cost options have the marketing and SEO resources behind them that TT and H&R Block do, so I figure a little extra word-of-mouth promotion is also a public service of sorts.

You're right to feel icky about the H&R Block/Intuit business models. They suck. These are not the only bad things, just a couple recent headlines.
https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/ftc-orders-h-and-r-block-to-revamp-practices-and-pay-millions
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/05/heres-who-qualifies-for-the-141-million-turbotax-settlement.html

Tax advertisement season, football season, and election season are all reasons I run ad blockers and set my VPN to "tell them I'm in Europe" most of the time.

[ixtap]

I couldn't figure out why the agent was pushing back against replacing all my tires: "The warranty is pro rated and only applies to the one that blew and the two worn tires. Are you really sure you want to replace all four?" Uh, yeah, everything I read says even numbers, preferably all four at the same time.

Then I picked up my 16yo car that has spent more than half it's life parked out of doors, often where there are a lot of birds and realized we probably don't present as people who can blithely replace all of their tires on a whim...

[Sugaree]

I finally got the last of my tax forms today (Vanguard for those of you who are waiting on it).  I usually use FreetaxUSA to file them and just pay the $15 to file the state return.  This year, I was going to use the state's new online filing portal and save myself the filing fee, but it's atrocious and about 15 minutes into it, I decided that it was worth the $15 for me to not have to reenter all my information.

My state's was pretty decent, last I used it, but I usually paid the $15 to support FreeTaxUSA. TurboTax and Intuit have put a lot of lobbying money into keeping taxes complicated and expensive.

My very first job in HS was as a tax preparer for H&R Block.  I filed returns for other people before I ever had to do my own.  I was 18 and looked 12.  It was very disconcerting for my clients, lol.  I've considered going back as a side hustle over the years, but there are a few parts of that business model that just feels icky to me.  But, the class that I took to get the job has been very useful to me over the years.  If nothing else, it taught me that tax returns aren't that scary.  I'm currently waiting on Schwab to finish up the kid's 1099 so that he can file his.  I'm being a mean mom and making him do his own.  He doesn't actually have to file this year, but I harvested some gains in his UTMA and want to file as a way to close the loop on the year and give him the experience of filing.

If you're willing to help prepare others' taxes and don't need the money, VITA recruits and trains volunteers: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-tax-volunteers

For your son or anyone else you know who's trying to prepare a return and would like a little more assistance than the fine print on the blank tax forms, https://www.getyourrefund.org/en is free for basic taxes, and FreeTaxUSA is a for-profit site that is actually free for federal taxes, with a $15 fee for filing state taxes. The latter is solid even for itemizing, although there are fewer and more basic handrails than the likes of TT. None of the free/low cost options have the marketing and SEO resources behind them that TT and H&R Block do, so I figure a little extra word-of-mouth promotion is also a public service of sorts.

You're right to feel icky about the H&R Block/Intuit business models. They suck. These are not the only bad things, just a couple recent headlines.
https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/ftc-orders-h-and-r-block-to-revamp-practices-and-pay-millions
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/05/heres-who-qualifies-for-the-141-million-turbotax-settlement.html

Tax advertisement season, football season, and election season are all reasons I run ad blockers and set my VPN to "tell them I'm in Europe" most of the time.

I hadn't thought about the VITA program.  That might be fun. 

I use FreeTaxUSA for my own return and have for several years.  I got pissed off at TT when the 1040 changed a few years ago and the Schedules 1 and 2 got added to the list of things that weren't actually free.  I've been very happy with them and will use that for the kid's return too. 

I do have a confession here.  I like having a federal refund.  I know all the arguments about giving the government an interest free loan, but I also know that the extra $90/ paycheck would just be absorbed into the budget for not-fun things while a refund is usually invested and then lets me spend on fun things without feeling bad about it.  However, with the current state of things, I don't really want the government holding onto my money.  So, I came up with a solution.  I changed my withholdings to get as close to $0 refund as possible, but also set up an allotment with my payroll office to send the extra money directly to a savings account so that I never see it.  I'll let it build up there and when I file my taxes next year, I'll transfer it to my regular accounts as a "refund."  As a bonus, I get to play with my spreadsheet and make it a game to get to $0 (yes, I am a nerd).

[Sugaree]

If the logo were on glass or stainless steel, I'd try the nail polish remover. On top of other paint or powder coat, I would worry for the base finish. With the logo embroidered on, I'm not expecting it to do much.

I don't expect DH ever to part with a jacket, barring some catastrophe. His favorite is still one he's had since probably high school, and frayed cuffs be damned, that is the one that goes with him most days.
I visited a craft store the other day, and walked past a shelf of Stanley cup* knock-offs marketed as "ready to be decorated with," and then I'm not sure if the thing that came next was a type of paint, decal, or what. They were kind of short staffed for the crowd, and I had a lot of time to contemplate while waiting to check out. If crafters want to decorate this kind of thing, there really should be a group of them that takes the heaps of corporate-branded swag that gets discarded and does the craft equivalent of tattoo cover-ups. Don't remove the irrelevant, unwanted logo if it's going to be destructive; just obscure it or work it into some other design.

*The larger-than-necessary branded insulated mug that trended in the US in the past couple years, not the hockey trophy.

I've mentioned this somewhere before, but my friend takes a new (free, normally heavily branded) water bottle on vacation and covers it with stickers. When she goes on the next vacation, she puts the old water bottle on a display shelf and takes a new one with her. It ends up being a pretty impressive souvenir for about $10 each trip.

That sounds like a shelf full of clutter to me (and a waste of perfectly usable bottles).

Because I’m Mustachian I was able to FIRE.
Because I’m FIREd I can and do travel a lot.
Because I travel a lot I started to acquire too many souvenirs that were starting to clutter my place.
Because I wanted to reduce the clutter I eventually restricted myself to just getting one refrigerator magnet per trip.

I’ve now run out of room on my refrigerator and this is clearly an MPP.

What about xmas tree ornaments?  That's been my souvenir of choice for the last few years.  I get to enjoy them for awhile and they don't clutter up my house all year.

[Sibley]

If the logo were on glass or stainless steel, I'd try the nail polish remover. On top of other paint or powder coat, I would worry for the base finish. With the logo embroidered on, I'm not expecting it to do much.

I don't expect DH ever to part with a jacket, barring some catastrophe. His favorite is still one he's had since probably high school, and frayed cuffs be damned, that is the one that goes with him most days.
I visited a craft store the other day, and walked past a shelf of Stanley cup* knock-offs marketed as "ready to be decorated with," and then I'm not sure if the thing that came next was a type of paint, decal, or what. They were kind of short staffed for the crowd, and I had a lot of time to contemplate while waiting to check out. If crafters want to decorate this kind of thing, there really should be a group of them that takes the heaps of corporate-branded swag that gets discarded and does the craft equivalent of tattoo cover-ups. Don't remove the irrelevant, unwanted logo if it's going to be destructive; just obscure it or work it into some other design.

*The larger-than-necessary branded insulated mug that trended in the US in the past couple years, not the hockey trophy.

I've mentioned this somewhere before, but my friend takes a new (free, normally heavily branded) water bottle on vacation and covers it with stickers. When she goes on the next vacation, she puts the old water bottle on a display shelf and takes a new one with her. It ends up being a pretty impressive souvenir for about $10 each trip.

That sounds like a shelf full of clutter to me (and a waste of perfectly usable bottles).

Because I’m Mustachian I was able to FIRE.
Because I’m FIREd I can and do travel a lot.
Because I travel a lot I started to acquire too many souvenirs that were starting to clutter my place.
Because I wanted to reduce the clutter I eventually restricted myself to just getting one refrigerator magnet per trip.

I’ve now run out of room on my refrigerator and this is clearly an MPP.

What about xmas tree ornaments?  That's been my souvenir of choice for the last few years.  I get to enjoy them for awhile and they don't clutter up my house all year.

I did earrings and Christmas ornaments when I went to the UK. I don't have enough ornaments yet (getting close now), and I mostly wear earrings.

[crocheted_stache]

I finally got the last of my tax forms today (Vanguard for those of you who are waiting on it).  I usually use FreetaxUSA to file them and just pay the $15 to file the state return.  This year, I was going to use the state's new online filing portal and save myself the filing fee, but it's atrocious and about 15 minutes into it, I decided that it was worth the $15 for me to not have to reenter all my information.

My state's was pretty decent, last I used it, but I usually paid the $15 to support FreeTaxUSA. TurboTax and Intuit have put a lot of lobbying money into keeping taxes complicated and expensive.

My very first job in HS was as a tax preparer for H&R Block.  I filed returns for other people before I ever had to do my own.  I was 18 and looked 12.  It was very disconcerting for my clients, lol.  I've considered going back as a side hustle over the years, but there are a few parts of that business model that just feels icky to me.  But, the class that I took to get the job has been very useful to me over the years.  If nothing else, it taught me that tax returns aren't that scary.  I'm currently waiting on Schwab to finish up the kid's 1099 so that he can file his.  I'm being a mean mom and making him do his own.  He doesn't actually have to file this year, but I harvested some gains in his UTMA and want to file as a way to close the loop on the year and give him the experience of filing.

If you're willing to help prepare others' taxes and don't need the money, VITA recruits and trains volunteers: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-tax-volunteers

For your son or anyone else you know who's trying to prepare a return and would like a little more assistance than the fine print on the blank tax forms, https://www.getyourrefund.org/en is free for basic taxes, and FreeTaxUSA is a for-profit site that is actually free for federal taxes, with a $15 fee for filing state taxes. The latter is solid even for itemizing, although there are fewer and more basic handrails than the likes of TT. None of the free/low cost options have the marketing and SEO resources behind them that TT and H&R Block do, so I figure a little extra word-of-mouth promotion is also a public service of sorts.

You're right to feel icky about the H&R Block/Intuit business models. They suck. These are not the only bad things, just a couple recent headlines.
https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/ftc-orders-h-and-r-block-to-revamp-practices-and-pay-millions
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/05/heres-who-qualifies-for-the-141-million-turbotax-settlement.html

Tax advertisement season, football season, and election season are all reasons I run ad blockers and set my VPN to "tell them I'm in Europe" most of the time.

I hadn't thought about the VITA program.  That might be fun. 

I use FreeTaxUSA for my own return and have for several years.  I got pissed off at TT when the 1040 changed a few years ago and the Schedules 1 and 2 got added to the list of things that weren't actually free.  I've been very happy with them and will use that for the kid's return too. 

I do have a confession here.  I like having a federal refund.  I know all the arguments about giving the government an interest free loan, but I also know that the extra $90/ paycheck would just be absorbed into the budget for not-fun things while a refund is usually invested and then lets me spend on fun things without feeling bad about it.  However, with the current state of things, I don't really want the government holding onto my money.  So, I came up with a solution.  I changed my withholdings to get as close to $0 refund as possible, but also set up an allotment with my payroll office to send the extra money directly to a savings account so that I never see it.  I'll let it build up there and when I file my taxes next year, I'll transfer it to my regular accounts as a "refund."  As a bonus, I get to play with my spreadsheet and make it a game to get to $0 (yes, I am a nerd).

Be pissed at TT for paying both political parties a lot to keep even simple taxes complicated and scary, and then making the free options both hard to find and hard to use when you do find them. It's the equivalent of the credit card company sending you a blank piece of paper at the end of the month and telling you to write down all your charges and you better not mess up. And if you ever do make a mistake, you're going to hear about it.

In civilized countries, the tax agency gets all the forms they already get and their computer sends you a bill. Agree? Sign it and send money, authorize payment, or confirm your account info for a refund. You only have to do something if there's stuff the forms don't cover.

I like the strategy of sending your excess "withholding" to yourself as a direct deposit into a separate savings account. I hope it's at least getting a decently high yield while it waits for release.

[Sugaree]

I finally got the last of my tax forms today (Vanguard for those of you who are waiting on it).  I usually use FreetaxUSA to file them and just pay the $15 to file the state return.  This year, I was going to use the state's new online filing portal and save myself the filing fee, but it's atrocious and about 15 minutes into it, I decided that it was worth the $15 for me to not have to reenter all my information.

My state's was pretty decent, last I used it, but I usually paid the $15 to support FreeTaxUSA. TurboTax and Intuit have put a lot of lobbying money into keeping taxes complicated and expensive.

My very first job in HS was as a tax preparer for H&R Block.  I filed returns for other people before I ever had to do my own.  I was 18 and looked 12.  It was very disconcerting for my clients, lol.  I've considered going back as a side hustle over the years, but there are a few parts of that business model that just feels icky to me.  But, the class that I took to get the job has been very useful to me over the years.  If nothing else, it taught me that tax returns aren't that scary.  I'm currently waiting on Schwab to finish up the kid's 1099 so that he can file his.  I'm being a mean mom and making him do his own.  He doesn't actually have to file this year, but I harvested some gains in his UTMA and want to file as a way to close the loop on the year and give him the experience of filing.

If you're willing to help prepare others' taxes and don't need the money, VITA recruits and trains volunteers: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-tax-volunteers

For your son or anyone else you know who's trying to prepare a return and would like a little more assistance than the fine print on the blank tax forms, https://www.getyourrefund.org/en is free for basic taxes, and FreeTaxUSA is a for-profit site that is actually free for federal taxes, with a $15 fee for filing state taxes. The latter is solid even for itemizing, although there are fewer and more basic handrails than the likes of TT. None of the free/low cost options have the marketing and SEO resources behind them that TT and H&R Block do, so I figure a little extra word-of-mouth promotion is also a public service of sorts.

You're right to feel icky about the H&R Block/Intuit business models. They suck. These are not the only bad things, just a couple recent headlines.
https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/ftc-orders-h-and-r-block-to-revamp-practices-and-pay-millions
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/05/heres-who-qualifies-for-the-141-million-turbotax-settlement.html

Tax advertisement season, football season, and election season are all reasons I run ad blockers and set my VPN to "tell them I'm in Europe" most of the time.

I hadn't thought about the VITA program.  That might be fun. 

I use FreeTaxUSA for my own return and have for several years.  I got pissed off at TT when the 1040 changed a few years ago and the Schedules 1 and 2 got added to the list of things that weren't actually free.  I've been very happy with them and will use that for the kid's return too. 

I do have a confession here.  I like having a federal refund.  I know all the arguments about giving the government an interest free loan, but I also know that the extra $90/ paycheck would just be absorbed into the budget for not-fun things while a refund is usually invested and then lets me spend on fun things without feeling bad about it.  However, with the current state of things, I don't really want the government holding onto my money.  So, I came up with a solution.  I changed my withholdings to get as close to $0 refund as possible, but also set up an allotment with my payroll office to send the extra money directly to a savings account so that I never see it.  I'll let it build up there and when I file my taxes next year, I'll transfer it to my regular accounts as a "refund."  As a bonus, I get to play with my spreadsheet and make it a game to get to $0 (yes, I am a nerd).

Be pissed at TT for paying both political parties a lot to keep even simple taxes complicated and scary, and then making the free options both hard to find and hard to use when you do find them. It's the equivalent of the credit card company sending you a blank piece of paper at the end of the month and telling you to write down all your charges and you better not mess up. And if you ever do make a mistake, you're going to hear about it.

In civilized countries, the tax agency gets all the forms they already get and their computer sends you a bill. Agree? Sign it and send money, authorize payment, or confirm your account info for a refund. You only have to do something if there's stuff the forms don't cover.

I like the strategy of sending your excess "withholding" to yourself as a direct deposit into a separate savings account. I hope it's at least getting a decently high yield while it waits for release.

I'm sending it to my HYSA, so decent-ish, I guess. 





Today's MPP is that I just noticed that one of my credit cards has been closed for inactivity.  Kinda sucks because it was one of my older cards, but really only about 2 weeks older than the next older one so the impact on my credit score hasn't been too bad.  At least it's one less account to keep track of?  One of the ones I use frequently got skimmed or something a couple of weeks back.  The dumbasses tried to hit it for $900 at some scammy looking clothing website instead of making smaller purchases first and Chase caught it before it could go through.

[zolotiyeruki]

Our 15+-year-old color laser all-in-one decided to start intermittently throwing errors last week.  It has printed over 70,000 pages in its life.  Not bad for the $350 we spent on it (plus all the toner).  My MPP is that we're making do without a working printer while I desperately attempt to repair it (the error is a common one, with a simple-but-not-easy fix, but the fix hasn't borne fruit for me yet, and I've torn it down and rebuilt it a few times in the process).

[crocheted_stache]

Today's MPP is that I just noticed that one of my credit cards has been closed for inactivity.  Kinda sucks because it was one of my older cards, but really only about 2 weeks older than the next older one so the impact on my credit score hasn't been too bad.  At least it's one less account to keep track of?  One of the ones I use frequently got skimmed or something a couple of weeks back.  The dumbasses tried to hit it for $900 at some scammy looking clothing website instead of making smaller purchases first and Chase caught it before it could go through.

My oldest CC is the better part of 10 years older than the next-oldest. It's also the one I like and use least. It's a large bank with corporate policies I no longer support. I should probably put some small, annual subscription(s) on it. As it is, I try to use it every so often for something small that I don't expect to need to return, such as a restaurant meal. I see the dentist every six months, so that's my cue to use it again.

If you have any idea where you got skimmed, you should alert the local authorities and also the store in question. It unfortunately varies as to whether either the authorities or the store will follow up, but they definitely can't do anything if they don't know. Good luck on any further sorting that may need to happen.

[rantk81]

If you have any idea where you got skimmed, you should alert the local authorities and also the store in question. It unfortunately varies as to whether either the authorities or the store will follow up, but they definitely can't do anything if they don't know. Good luck on any further sorting that may need to happen.

If the skimming affected several people, the credit card company probably already knows the store or location where it was happened.  The fraud detection algorithm probably matched a pattern of 1) shopping at the same place as other recent victims and 2) a larger than normal purchase at a retailer that they never shopped before.

[Sugaree]

I'm sure that the algo caught a very large purchase at a retailer that I never shop at.  I'm still not entirely sure where it would have gotten skimmed at.  I did go to a couple of bars the night before that I don't go to a whole lot, but none of the people I was with have had any weird charges.  Which isn't to say that it didn't happen at one of those places.  If they tried to hit my best friend's card with that charge it would have been declined due to not enough available credit, lol.  I've had cards get compromised before without ever having used them.  I once had a debit card that someone tried to use for Chinese food 500 miles away while the card was still in the envelope where it had arrived in the mail 3 days before.  It hadn't even been activated yet.

[Dave1442397]

This was my latest credit card fraud attempt. Someone tried to use my info at a grocery store in Sweden. It looks like a nice place, sorta like Whole Foods. I've never been to Sweden, so who knows where the person got my card info.

"Chase Fraud: We declined $270.52 with the card ending 9159 at Hemkop Helsingborg S. Was this you or an authorized user? Reply YES or NO. If yes, you will not be charged unless the purchase is attempted again. If no, we will close the card above and send you a new one that you should receive in 5 to 7 business days."

[Sugaree]

This was my latest credit card fraud attempt. Someone tried to use my info at a grocery store in Sweden. It looks like a nice place, sorta like Whole Foods. I've never been to Sweden, so who knows where the person got my card info.

"Chase Fraud: We declined $270.52 with the card ending 9159 at Hemkop Helsingborg S. Was this you or an authorized user? Reply YES or NO. If yes, you will not be charged unless the purchase is attempted again. If no, we will close the card above and send you a new one that you should receive in 5 to 7 business days."

It's likely that a whole block of Chase numbers got hacked. 

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

This was my latest credit card fraud attempt. Someone tried to use my info at a grocery store in Sweden. It looks like a nice place, sorta like Whole Foods. I've never been to Sweden, so who knows where the person got my card info.

"Chase Fraud: We declined $270.52 with the card ending 9159 at Hemkop Helsingborg S. Was this you or an authorized user? Reply YES or NO. If yes, you will not be charged unless the purchase is attempted again. If no, we will close the card above and send you a new one that you should receive in 5 to 7 business days."

It's likely that a whole block of Chase numbers got hacked.

I was wondering about this because I got a very sketchy looking Roblox receipt in my email... but with a card # I do not recognize as one of mine, so that's weird? But who spends $180 on Robux all at once with their own money? (AFAIK it was not my son. Again, it doesn't seem to be my credit card and he showed me his Roblox account.)

[fuzzy math]

I have various virtual visa debit cards with approx $1 on them from doing rebates.

Amazon, target, Walmart and Starbucks all have a $5 minimum for buying gift cards. Am I forgetting anywhere that would easily convert these to better funds? It has to be a place where the cashiers are used to this sort of thing too so they know how to split transactions and enter the right amount so the card doesn't reject the transaction outright.

From researching online, Walmart will take up to 4 methods of payment per transaction. I only go there about once a month. It's a hell of a lot of hassle to stand in a line and tell a cashier I want to pay $1, $1, $1, then the remaining balance. UGH

[dandarc]

Non Walmart grocery stores can also usually auto drain (Winn Dixie last time I went). So didn't need to recall amount, just remember to use the card.

[fuzzy math]

The Walmart I went to yesterday didn't have tap to pay. So now I'll move on to trying it at the Safeway (no Winn Dixie here and my preferred grocery store Winco is no frills no credit cards and you'd get a nasty look for slowing up the line). In the meantime, I had 4 more $1 rebates show up in my email. I'm drowning in dollars!

[Sibley]

I got a new laptop. So I have an old laptop. I also have the old old laptop. I have decide to wipe and reload the old laptop to be given to a particular individual, and I will wipe and reload the old old laptop to be donated somewhere that decides they want a 10+ year old laptop. Both the old and the old old laptop are Acers.

Here's the problem: I have two sets of restores. I have a set of cds labeled "Acer restore disks", and I have a flashdrive with a sticky note labeled "laptop restore". Which goes with which laptop?

The approach I'm going to take is simple. Only one of these laptops has a cd drive. I assume therefore that it goes with the cd restore disks. And if I get this wrong, well, I can always wipe and reload again.

But first, I have to finish transferring everything off the old laptop.

[ChpBstrd]

I got a new laptop. So I have an old laptop. I also have the old old laptop. I have decide to wipe and reload the old laptop to be given to a particular individual, and I will wipe and reload the old old laptop to be donated somewhere that decides they want a 10+ year old laptop. Both the old and the old old laptop are Acers.

Here's the problem: I have two sets of restores. I have a set of cds labeled "Acer restore disks", and I have a flashdrive with a sticky note labeled "laptop restore". Which goes with which laptop?

The approach I'm going to take is simple. Only one of these laptops has a cd drive. I assume therefore that it goes with the cd restore disks. And if I get this wrong, well, I can always wipe and reload again.

But first, I have to finish transferring everything off the old laptop.

Before getting too far along, consider creating a Windows installation USB stick, per instructions at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 . This will serve as a backup plan in case something goes wrong with your other media.

[fuzzy math]

The Walmart I went to yesterday didn't have tap to pay. So now I'll move on to trying it at the Safeway (no Winn Dixie here and my preferred grocery store Winco is no frills no credit cards and you'd get a nasty look for slowing up the line). In the meantime, I had 4 more $1 rebates show up in my email. I'm drowning in dollars!

Problem solved! Debit cards spent at Safeway and the cashiers do not care how many you burn at a time.

[crocheted_stache]

The Walmart I went to yesterday didn't have tap to pay. So now I'll move on to trying it at the Safeway (no Winn Dixie here and my preferred grocery store Winco is no frills no credit cards and you'd get a nasty look for slowing up the line). In the meantime, I had 4 more $1 rebates show up in my email. I'm drowning in dollars!

Problem solved! Debit cards spent at Safeway and the cashiers do not care how many you burn at a time.

Bravo!

This feels a bit like the times I've unloaded fistfuls of accumulated coins by feeding them to the grocery store self-check machine when nobody was waiting. (And unlike Coinstar, buying groceries with the coins from the jar on the dresser counts for 100%.)

[fuzzy math]

Bravo!

This feels a bit like the times I've unloaded fistfuls of accumulated coins by feeding them to the grocery store self-check machine when nobody was waiting. (And unlike Coinstar, buying groceries with the coins from the jar on the dresser counts for 100%.)

I collect all the change from the house and put it in the self checkouts too. Whenever my wallet is too bulgy I unload it (at the debit only grocery store as to not waste valuable credit rewards). I've never accumulated fist fulls! I do check the coin stars for discarded change that other people can't be bothered to collect.

[Sibley]

I got a new laptop. So I have an old laptop. I also have the old old laptop. I have decide to wipe and reload the old laptop to be given to a particular individual, and I will wipe and reload the old old laptop to be donated somewhere that decides they want a 10+ year old laptop. Both the old and the old old laptop are Acers.

Here's the problem: I have two sets of restores. I have a set of cds labeled "Acer restore disks", and I have a flashdrive with a sticky note labeled "laptop restore". Which goes with which laptop?

The approach I'm going to take is simple. Only one of these laptops has a cd drive. I assume therefore that it goes with the cd restore disks. And if I get this wrong, well, I can always wipe and reload again.

But first, I have to finish transferring everything off the old laptop.

Before getting too far along, consider creating a Windows installation USB stick, per instructions at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 . This will serve as a backup plan in case something goes wrong with your other media.

I do have backup/restore setup for the new laptop, never fear.

Old-old laptop was wiped and restored last night. It works, except it's Windows 7 so getting it on the internet is not working. Not an issue. I'm going to post it as free (or $10 to weed out the scammers) as a super old laptop and probably best suited to playing around with linux.

Going to hold off on old laptop for now, make sure that I'm good on the new laptop first. Plus, I'm busy.