|
We hired a tax accountant this year because a lot of complicated stuff happened in 2013, and I just got our tax return paperwork (plus another one for an estate I'm handling) in the mail. He typoed my husband's name (i.e. Andrw) and also put the executor's middle name as her first name. Now, I doubt this will make a difference with the IRS but it sure makes me worry about his attention to detail! I chose him because Angie's List had about 6 reviewed accountants nearby and he had 17 "A" ratings. The next best only had 4. Oh well, hope nothing important was missed!
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2014 23:28
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 18, 2024 04:14 |
|
|
We went and checked out the house/neighborhood again today and I'm feeling more positive about the move, especially after I talked with a uninvolved real estate attorney who told me the final walk through is the last opportunity for me to walk away/make demands if something is hosed up. My wife and I ate out together today  but we BFC'd it up a bit and just ordered one regular meal and split it which was more than enough to get us through the rest of the day.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 00:51
|
|
|
I've been doing intermittent fasting since it was mentioned in this thread, over a week ago. I'm doing a variation called alternate day fasting, where I eat during a 12 hour period, and then I do about 500 calories total over the course of 36 hours. I would not have thought this was something that I could do. I've low-carbed a lot in the past, and I never had as much energy as I do now, even with 500 calories. You might get a little bit hungry, but it's not bad at all. And I feel much better, and more energetic then I ever felt when I'm doing the low-carb diet. I'm down quite a bit in a short amount of time, although I know some of that is water weight. But my face is already a bit slimmer, and my pants are a little looser. I don't really want to share specific numbers because I don't want to argue about what's healthy, and water weight and yadda yadda. I'm staying hydrated, I take a multi-vitamin every day, and I'm getting some exercise as well, because I actually have some energy compared to when I was doing low carb. This article has the top ten fasting myths debunked, and there is a lot of good information if anybody is interested: http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html?m=1 I enjoy not worrying much about meals for an entire day, since what I eat is pretty minimal.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 01:08
|
|
|
I think when I move I'm going to try and convince the wife to go with a standing desk in the office and no couch in the living room. The only place we'll lay down is in the bedroom and there won't be a TV there, just a radio and books/the kindle. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 13:43 on Apr 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 02:14
|
|
|
Doin the BFC move and making a Stew tonight. Dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow and maybe some more dinners woo.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 02:24
|
|
|
This past week made a bunch of chili and lentil soup, freezing half of it for suppers so I don't waste a ton of money going out. I've been spending $500-$1k each month on eating out with my fiance, and I'd like to cut that down to more like $300.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 02:32
|
|
|
Made tacos. The plan was to eat 1/4 of the beef and bring a sort of taco kit with me to school. That was the plan. There is no beef left. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 02:39
|
|
|
moana posted:This past week made a bunch of chili and lentil soup, freezing half of it for suppers so I don't waste a ton of money going out. I've been spending $500-$1k each month on eating out with my fiance, and I'd like to cut that down to more like $300. drat that is some serious coin.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 03:17
|
|
|
tuyop posted:Made tacos. The plan was to eat 1/4 of the beef and bring a sort of taco kit with me to school. This is when my dad would yell "CRACKERS AND KETCHUP!" into the phone which is something I've never actually tried but the line has stuck with me my whole life. edit: Boiled eggs and some fruit/veges from Aldi tonight. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Apr 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 03:20
|
|
|
moana posted:This past week made a bunch of chili and lentil soup, freezing half of it for suppers so I don't waste a ton of money going out. I've been spending $500-$1k each month on eating out with my fiance, and I'd like to cut that down to more like $300. It's a stupidly easy trap to fall into, isn't it? I ran my 2013 finances at the end of the year, and we somehow managed to rack up $14,500 in total food expenses for 2013 (groceries plus eating out plus special occasions, etc). I had no idea at all because we were still saving up and paying down debt at a good rate, but that doesn't make it anything other than loving ridiculous. I could've had my student loans paid off in October instead of March if I'd paid attention. gently caress, I could've had a trip to India if we'd spent half as much. We went onto low-carb diets for the new year, which has severely cut down our restaurant expenses, mainly because there's nowhere we can eat.  Our expenses are way more reasonable now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 03:34
|
|
|
drat Bananas posted:We hired a tax accountant this year because a lot of complicated stuff happened in 2013, and I just got our tax return paperwork (plus another one for an estate I'm handling) in the mail. He typoed my husband's name (i.e. Andrw) and also put the executor's middle name as her first name. Now, I doubt this will make a difference with the IRS but it sure makes me worry about his attention to detail! I chose him because Angie's List had about 6 reviewed accountants nearby and he had 17 "A" ratings. The next best only had 4. Oh well, hope nothing important was missed! Call the guy up. Note one of the mistakes you saw (not both) and ask him to do a detailed review. Hopefully he catches the other name issue. poo poo like name is really easy to miss as a preparer and doesn't necessarily mean he's lovely. If he misses it the second time around, he is poo poo and be very wary and check all of his calcs.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 04:34
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:drat that is some serious coin. Still, I'm now saving up for a down payment, so I want to make sure I know where the dollars are going. I'm absolutely stupid at tracking the major stuff. Like this: Apparently I've been overpaying my property tax 100% and that's why I've been getting a $4k check from escrow at the end of every year.  I mean, it's nice not to have to worry about that kind of stuff, but I really should worry a bit more about that kind of stuff.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 05:12
|
|
|
$1000 eating out and groceries doesn't see as bad. Our eating out, groceries, and alcohol budget is $550 a month.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 05:38
|
|
|
I didn't buy lunch out yesterday or today, I made mega fancy (and healthy!) rolls and brought those to work with me. I think this was a lot easier back when I worked in an industrial park and the options were BYO, starve, or the gross tuck shop around the corner. In other news I looked at my superannuation account today and it turns out that salary sacrifice contributions show up on the graphs, so I can see how my salary sacrifice impacts my overall retirement savings. Looking at my account today, I'm really glad that I put in extra on top of the mandatory employer contributions and took advantage of the low earner co-contribution scheme because it has almost doubled my retirement savings. Now I'm on track so even if I take some time off to travel or start a family I won't be losing out too much.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 07:33
|
|
|
I brought food for both of us in today Anyway, on the NPR "Market Place Morning Report" this morning (or the broadcast right before, I forget) they were talking about "Tandas" which are basically lending circles that many Latin people participate in. EX: You get 12 friends together that you trust and they each give you $100 bucks, then the next month everybody gives $100 to the next person in the circle, etc. They were even talking about how certain "community" banks were helping people set these up in a way that reduced risk so that way low income people could get capital to start a business or whatever. I thought, "Neat a 0% loan" and my wife said "Yeah, my aunt does that, I think it's dumb" and then I tried to convince her to get in on it once she told me no one has ever missed a payment. Obviously, I'll tell her to scratch that idea when we get home. moana posted:that's why I've been getting a $4k check from escrow at the end of every year. whoa. edit: NEW MONTH woohoo clean slate. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Apr 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 13:26
|
|
|
Sephiroth_IRA posted:I brought food for both of us in today This is known as microfinance. It's a loving awful neoliberal racket.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 14:06
|
|
|
tuyop posted:This is known as microfinance. It's a loving awful neoliberal racket. edit: You're right, it is a type of microfinance but there are some key differences. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_Savings_and_Credit_Association Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Apr 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 14:14
|
|
|
Sephiroth_IRA posted:edit: You're right, it is a type of microfinance but there are some key differences. I read a study years ago that showed that the most "successful" microfinance banks were blending traditional lending and the lending circle system. Kind of sick, exposing poor (like $1/day poor) people to predatory interest rates and leveraging their community and friendships to enforce collections. But you know, nothing's wrong here we just need to give those rational productive individuals some bootstraps (and profit from the giving), it's a win win win!
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 14:46
|
|
|
tuyop posted:I read a study years ago that showed that the most "successful" microfinance banks were blending traditional lending and the lending circle system. Kind of sick, exposing poor (like $1/day poor) people to predatory interest rates and leveraging their community and friendships to enforce collections. But you know, nothing's wrong here we just need to give those rational productive individuals some bootstraps (and profit from the giving), it's a win win win! Yeah, that specifically is messed up but I don't see anything wrong with the traditional lending circle among people that trust one another. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Apr 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 14:51
|
|
|
If you get a loan, and then don't manage to contribute to the tanda the next month, they get to kill you. Seriously though I've never heard of this. I grew up in Chile. It's probably because most Chileans would bail after they got a loan. I can really see this going wrong.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 14:51
|
|
|
Juanito posted:If you get a loan, and then don't manage to contribute to the tanda the next month, they get to kill you. Yeah, my wife/aunt are from Peru and I don't think they became aware of it until they moved to the United States where the Latin population is made up of people from both Central and South America. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 14:56 on Apr 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2014 14:52
|
|
|
Carpooling makes it hard to avoid eating out. The main thing that sucks is there isn't really any place my wife and I can go together to eat (except for a parking lot but that will suck in the summer/winter) without feeling obligated to buy something.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2014 13:29
|
|
|
Sephiroth_IRA posted:Carpooling makes it hard to avoid eating out. The main thing that sucks is there isn't really any place my wife and I can go together to eat (except for a parking lot but that will suck in the summer/winter) without feeling obligated to buy something. That is rough. There's no park around? Green space attached to either of your offices? Break room?
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2014 13:48
|
|
|
Eat at desk. Increased productivity and no peer pressure to eat out. I guess you don't get to eat with your wife then but that's what the drive to/from work and all the time away from work is for!
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2014 13:52
|
|
|
My wife and I car pool. We bring lunch everyday and just eat at our desks
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2014 14:37
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:My wife and I car pool. We bring lunch everyday and just eat at our desks This is what I usually do but I like to leave the office and spend time with my wife during lunch when we can because we each get an hour and our work locations are close together. I'll try to see if a park is nearby but like I said there really isn't anywhere to go when it's too hot or cold.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2014 15:46
|
|
|
Used ~$2300 of my bonus to pay taxes (boo) and used the remaining bonus money to put $4340 to Sallie Mae for my wife's student loans (yay). I am so close to owing that company under $10k next month's payment will be exciting. The hard thing about debt and budgeting is the long road. I spend way to much time looking at my spreadsheets and playing with the numbers. I know it can only go down so fast. You want so bad for it just to go away though. 2 more years to get all the student loans paid off, with any luck I will get it before then. I feel like my wife and I are getting some really good impulse control though and will be super savers/non slow motion style ballers in a few years. Or we will have a kid and all my money will go to daycare...
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2014 18:44
|
|
|
I know what you mean. When I first started out things went great because every week/month I was completing goals and knocking my debt out of the park. A credit card here, the car, the wedding expenses, my emergency fund, etc. Now all of my personal finance goals are long term so those highs are no longer as frequent. What made the long term stuff easier is when being frugal became part of my philosophy rather than something I had to do. I'm actually happier consuming less than I was before I started this journey and not just because I'm better off financially. I feel like the less I want/need the less of a slave I am and most of the people I've met that have high consumption lifestyles, even those that can afford it aren't really happy.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 16:33
|
|
|
Sephiroth_IRA posted:I know what you mean. When I first started out things went great because every week/month I was completing goals and knocking my debt out of the park. A credit card here, the car, the wedding expenses, my emergency fund, etc. Now all of my personal finance goals are long term so those highs are no longer as frequent. 100% this.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 16:35
|
|
|
My wife forgot her lunch on the way to work today, but luckily we were only 3 blocks from home and whipped back and grabbed it. This weekend might be expensive as we have 3 family members in town for 4 days.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 16:45
|
|
|
Just put an offer in on a rental property that I've only seen pictures of. My wife did a walk through and I trust her judgement. Projecting a pretty solid ROI on this one. Hopefully my projections aren't hilariously wrong E: Phone posting typo Bloody Queef fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Apr 3, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 21:39
|
|
|
Hi guys, I'm one of those high consumption life style guys and all my money literally turns to poo poo. I'm not in debt or anything but I would like to have better control of my finances. Even if I'm going to blow money on hookers and blow, I at least want to be able to budget that and not just take it from a large pool of savings. Maybe it's age kicking in, it's time for me to be more responsible for myself, save for marriage etc... Oh and I bought a new Macbook for my girlfriend. And a new camera for myself. Ok, now time to budget things 
|
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2014 06:13
|
|
|
Didn't eat out at work once this entire week! My bank balance and waistline are probably thanking me. I'll make an effort to not buy out my lunch next week, too, because I like the warm glow of realising I've hit all my extra savings targets for the fortnight because I've been eating out less.caberham posted:Hi guys, I'm one of those high consumption life style guys and all my money literally turns to poo poo. I'm not in debt or anything but I would like to have better control of my finances. Even if I'm going to blow money on hookers and blow, I at least want to be able to budget that and not just take it from a large pool of savings. Admitting you have a spending problem is the first step to financial security. Budgetting doesn't mean you don't get to have nice things, it just means you have to consider all your other goals first and ask yourself if what you want is worth more than your other longer term goals.
|
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2014 09:38
|
|
|
froglet posted:Didn't eat out at work once this entire week! My bank balance and waistline are probably thanking me. I'll make an effort to not buy out my lunch next week, too, because I like the warm glow of realising I've hit all my extra savings targets for the fortnight because I've been eating out less. I also see myself having an earning problem. I'm hitting 60K a year and I don't see my income making any bigger gains in the foreseeable future. I just want to better myself through investment, saving, and perhaps running some sort of side business. I can see my health bills, my future house payment bill and other bills just piling up. My girlfriend just got a new job as a teacher making 70k but I think both of us have pretty much reached the income ceiling unless we move way up into management. We don't have any IRA's here in Hong Kong and the government mandatory savings plan is a joke (forcing us to buy mutual funds and getting eaten up by management fees). Luckily, health care and insurance is not American expensive but as late 20's people it's time for both of us to shape up. Oh and I'm probably going to eat out tonight It's not I don't deserve nice things but I think I am living on borrowed time and wealth. Time to meet my maker.
|
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2014 09:45
|
|
|
I've been eating out every day this week, if it's any consolation my wife and I have been splitting one meal for two. If we end up car pooling indefinitely I think I'm going to start preparing meals and just meet her somewhere, order something dirt cheap off the menu (A drink to share?, a small fry?) and then find a corner where we can eat without being judged too harshly. Too bad there isn't a Target nearby.caberham posted:I also see myself having an earning problem. I'm hitting 60K a year and I don't see my income making any bigger gains in the foreseeable future. I just want to better myself through investment, saving, and perhaps running some sort of side business. I can see my health bills, my future house payment bill and other bills just piling up. My girlfriend just got a new job as a teacher making 70k but I think both of us have pretty much reached the income ceiling unless we move way up into management. We don't have any IRA's here in Hong Kong and the government mandatory savings plan is a joke (forcing us to buy mutual funds and getting eaten up by management fees). Luckily, health care and insurance is not American expensive but as late 20's people it's time for both of us to shape up. The best thing to do is to start a budget and share it with us. You can do that here or in one of the other threads. Based on your budget/debt/spending people will make recommendations. There's a chance you could be one of the chosen ones and people will recommend that you start your own thread in BFC. I've heard that Hong Kong can be really expensive, like it's supposedly the place where many upper income Americans wants to retire but for some reason they don't think they can afford it. At least that's what a co-worker told me. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Apr 4, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2014 13:19
|
|
|
Isn't it super smoggy and junk though? I thought you were supposed to retire in Hawaii or Florida 
|
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2014 21:56
|
|
|
So, my company is sending our team on a paid-for 3-day trip to a fancy resort in Cabo. Awesome, right? Yeah, except they're only paying for the employee; you have to pay for your family yourself. Subtracting out travel time, for us that translates to ~$1400 for about a day and a half of actual vacation. And if you don't go you still get those 3 days off of work on top of the normal holidays and vacation time. Pretty easy decision I think.
|
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2014 22:11
|
|
|
Cicero posted:So, my company is sending our team on a paid-for 3-day trip to a fancy resort in Cabo. Awesome, right? Yeah, except they're only paying for the employee; you have to pay for your family yourself. Subtracting out travel time, for us that translates to ~$1400 for about a day and a half of actual vacation. And if you don't go you still get those 3 days off of work on top of the normal holidays and vacation time. Pretty easy decision I think.
|
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2014 22:18
|
|
|
No Wave posted:It looks like 3 days without family in Cabo or 3 days with family here. How often will Mr. FI get to do a resort vacation in Cabo? Go for iiiiiiit But really, I wouldn't enjoy that kind of vacation without my family. Maybe next time I can convince them to send us to PAX or something.
|
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2014 22:45
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 18, 2024 04:14 |
|
|
For what it's worth I've been to Cabo twice on the company dime at all inclusive resorts and didn't find it to be worth the hassle. There wasn't anything we did there that couldn't have been done in the States without the pain in the rear end of bad water, rear end in a top hat immigration (on both sides) and constantly being reminded that I was in a shithole. If you haven't gone before it might be worth going just to say you've been. Otherwise I'd say skip it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2014 02:37
|
|