The IRS issued the first few rounds of refund checks.
I first learned this from a friend who has been in a legal battle with the City of Raleigh who charged (I kid you not) $2400 for water over the course of two months. This isn't late fees, this is just incorrect meter reading. She's decided to give up her fight and simply pay off the city. I told her to raise Hell with the newpaper and local representatives (in fact, I made some inquiries myself), but found that the complicated relationship between utility companies and Section 8 recipients leaves Section 8 recipients in a vulnerable position. It's risky to raise your voice when you could lose your house because your water or electricity was cut off. She would have to move and may be ineligible for Section 8 for a few few weeks or even months as her appeal made it through some bureacratic process (akin to Dante's 3rd layer of Hell) that I would hope determine that she was not at fault for her utilities being cut off, and then her Section 8 benefits would be restored. Anyhow, she's a great lady, but she won't be getting ahead this tax season. Maybe out from behind, but not ahead.
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I just realized that my entire "editorial" calendar for the next three weeks is just one controversial post after another. While I'm sure that some of you read my blog just waiting to see the eventual implosion, I figure that I better space out the overly opinionated content; after all, one can only handle so much divisive rhetoric, and I'm sure that you've already gotten more than your fair share from the elections. Which is why I'm going off course for today to bring you three gender neutral financial truths about parenting. While these truths require parents to come up with solutions, I won't prescribe solutions... this time. I admit it. When I fell in love with Rob, his earnings were the furthest thing from my mind.
We had several conversations about money before we were engaged and married, but only one about his earnings. Specifically, I told him that he needed to figure out how to earn more money before we had kids. He told me that shouldn't be a problem, and based on the amount of time he put into job searching and networking, I believed him. I don't know why I told him to earn more money. I didn't particularly want to give up my career for kids, but Rob definitely did not (and does not) want to stay home full time with kids, and it seemed like we better have the option for one of us to stay home, and by one of us, I guess I meant myself. Sometimes our subliminal mind knows more about our real self than our conscious mind. I told him that he should really earn at least $65K, but he was probably worth at least $75K. A few months later, Rob got a job paying around $75K per year, but then he quit to go back to school, and we had a baby all at the same time. The best laid plans... (How does that phrase end anyhow?). Anyhow, even though Rob is not currently a high earner, and I don't have any guarantee that he will be a high earner in the future, I will still stand by the recommendation that most women should not date men who cannot earn enough money to support a family on their income. By that I mean that in low-mid cost of living areas, don't marry men who aren't on track to earn around $60K per year by the time you start a family. I expect that this isn't a popular opinion, but I still think it's something that needs to be said, and these are three reasons why. I'm in love! I'm in love! And I don't care who knows it! My husband and I have now been married four years, and I sometimes cannot believe how ridiculously fortunate I am to have married Rob. He is kind, considerate, full of love, and even though he is incredibly different than the man I married, I am thankful for every day that we have together. |
About HannahI'm a wife, a mom, an employee, and a personal finance nerd who is devoted to spreadsheeting my way through life. Archives
July 2017
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