And for those of us in California, it's best to get them filed before February 1st to avoid refund delays! The state is out of money, so any refunds after the 1st may be delayed.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tax season!
It's that time of year again! For those of you who like to get your taxes done early, this is a great time to get going! You have until April 15th, but why wait?
And for those of us in California, it's best to get them filed before February 1st to avoid refund delays! The state is out of money, so any refunds after the 1st may be delayed.
And for those of us in California, it's best to get them filed before February 1st to avoid refund delays! The state is out of money, so any refunds after the 1st may be delayed.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
"Nickel and Dimed"
I had some free time at work today and read a book that I had been meaning to read for some time now, but probably wouldn't have remembered I wanted to read it if I hadn't seen it on the shelf in our mini-library. It's called Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich, and it tells her story of an attempt to get by on a low-wage job and find a place to live in a new town. She moves to three different locations as part of her "undercover" journalistic study, and in each place she learns lessons and sees the realities faced by people who do not choose to live a low-income lifestyle, but nonetheless find ways to survive.
The book got me thinking of my own situation in work and that I should probably be looking at ways to make a higher wage, but the idea also hit me tonight as I was typing this that if I had time to read the book while at work, my job probably isn't all that bad!
by Barbara Ehrenreich, and it tells her story of an attempt to get by on a low-wage job and find a place to live in a new town. She moves to three different locations as part of her "undercover" journalistic study, and in each place she learns lessons and sees the realities faced by people who do not choose to live a low-income lifestyle, but nonetheless find ways to survive. The book got me thinking of my own situation in work and that I should probably be looking at ways to make a higher wage, but the idea also hit me tonight as I was typing this that if I had time to read the book while at work, my job probably isn't all that bad!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Let the new year begin!
It's 2009! And it's going to be a great year!
This is the year that I accomplish my goal of $300 in 30 days. This is the year that I finish the year closer to being out of debt than I began it. This is the year that I take charge of my personal finances and apply the lessons I have learned. This is the year!
As I have been thinking about ways to approach the new year, I am somewhat torn between two approaches. This afternoon I have been sorting through all of that stuff that you pile away and plan on sorting through someday, and separated out all of my bank, credit card, and other financial statements. The plan was to organize everything and figure out what exactly happened in 2008 and then come up with a plan of attack for 2009. But as I was in the kitchen preparing my mac & cheese dinner (I've learned to budget, but haven't quite hit the healthy part yet!), it hit me that maybe I should just throw all of it away and start fresh. Start from today. That doesn't mean that I don't have to face my debt and my past mistakes, but I don't need to dwell on them and categorize them to death - just recognize them, establish exactly where I am at today as I start the new year, and move forward.
This is the year that I accomplish my goal of $300 in 30 days. This is the year that I finish the year closer to being out of debt than I began it. This is the year that I take charge of my personal finances and apply the lessons I have learned. This is the year!
As I have been thinking about ways to approach the new year, I am somewhat torn between two approaches. This afternoon I have been sorting through all of that stuff that you pile away and plan on sorting through someday, and separated out all of my bank, credit card, and other financial statements. The plan was to organize everything and figure out what exactly happened in 2008 and then come up with a plan of attack for 2009. But as I was in the kitchen preparing my mac & cheese dinner (I've learned to budget, but haven't quite hit the healthy part yet!), it hit me that maybe I should just throw all of it away and start fresh. Start from today. That doesn't mean that I don't have to face my debt and my past mistakes, but I don't need to dwell on them and categorize them to death - just recognize them, establish exactly where I am at today as I start the new year, and move forward.
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