Yesterday Hubby made us some $$$. Well, he retrieved our money some would say. He filed out federal taxes. All the federal taxes we had paid were refunded. The only direct taxes we pay are sales tax. Texas does not have a personal property tax. The auto tags are more expensive than in Missouri which makes up the difference. Real estate taxes are some of the highest in the nation. The Austin area ranks in the top 50 cities with the highest real estate taxes. While we do not own our apartment we still pay the tax indirectly in our rent each month.
Taxes are hated by so many folks. We have never gotten too excited about them. After all we use the roads and other infrastructures. We attended public schools as has our son and grandchildren. We have had help from police and firemen at different points in our lives. And I do love indoor plumbing and running water at the turn of a knob. Taxes are the cost of these conveniences and services. We paid our share of income taxes in the past. Should I have income in the future that requires paying taxes, I will do it willfully.
Politics are just all over us this year. The entire House of Representatives is up for election this year. The primaries are over with the exception of a couple of run off elections where no one received 50% of the vote. This fall will be mid-term elections. Mid-term of the presidential 4 year term. There seems to be more turnout anticipated due to well, Trump and the far right agenda. No need for me to give my opinion at this time.
Apparently the politics have waded into my sub-conscience. I spent last night working to get a newspaper to correct my profile they had published for the campaign. Mom saw us and said we needed to get over and cast out ballot for me. I said I would as soon as I contacted the newspaper. Hubby and I looked for the phone number of the paper and finally found it. I laid the paper down to get my cell. This lady came up and sat on my paper. I asked her to move so I could get my paper. She finally stood up and I then explained to her who I was and hoped she would vote for me. As I was preparing to tell her my political position, I awoke.
Whew! What a nightmare. Anyone that knows me probably would not vote for me cause most folks I know lean more conservative than I. It would not be difficult to be more conservative than me. Anytime I take tests about my political leanings it is always waaaayyy liberal. Just not quite bat poop crazy by one mark. Oh, well. I do not plan to ever run for office of any kind ever again. Not even dog catcher.
Janice
Livin' the life and having some laughs along the way.
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Walking Is Good
Those first few steps in a regular pair of shoes were strange. The knee of the leg that has had a boot that reached to the knee for six weeks felt wobbly. Shoes that were exactly the same height was an interesting sensation, too. I am shorter by about an inch or so without the boot and extra lifts for the other shoe. There is still some stiffness in the toes of the foot that was damaged. Who knows why. Probably the doctor could guess. I do not care as the foot seems to work when walking. And it is not painful to walk. I have almost 6000 steps for the day. I have spread them out over the day instead of walking for an hour. Ice packs were applied after each 10 to 15 minute walk to keep any swelling to a minimum. Bottom line is walking is good!
Of course all this walking stuff is going on with a background of politics. I really missed the ability to let off some steam by walking. I fear I substituted eating but I have refused to step on the scales to confirm what my jeans suggested. Budget cuts are coming. The hiring freeze has already caused some historical sights to close due a shortage of workers. Looks like volunteers will be in higher demand as the cuts and other changes trickle down from Washington. We shall see what else trickles down from the swamp.
Our state government is making many of the same cuts. School vouchers seem to be the new drum beat to solve education woes. Fifteen years ago it was testing. Texas' spending on education is in the bottom fourth of the nation's states. Bills are being introduced to restructure state employee and teacher retirement benefits in order to cut costs. My contemporaries who served as teachers are terrified of losing their retirement income. A close read of the two bills shows a study would be ordered to consider a hybrid retirement setup. That hybrid would involve 401 K contributions from the employee as an option. Nothing I read said anything about changing the plan for currently retired individuals. I am not a lawyer so I cannot be certain I did not miss some loophole that the state could use to eliminate or reduce benefits. My friend really wants the two bills pertaining to teacher retirement defeated as does the Retired Teachers Assn.
The 401 K savings account is a fairly typical approach to retirement in the business world. It was scary when first introduced to the company for which we worked. The company matched the first 4 % dollar for dollar and neither the company nor the employee paid tax at the time of saving. We use the interest from these tax sheltered accounts for our major extra expenses. Tax is paid on the money as we withdraw from the account. With our current income level we get most of those taxes back after filing our tax return.
Our experience with the 401 K savings has been positive. I surely understand the fears of us old retirees about our retirement income. Not sure what the President and Congress will do to Social Security and Medicare. The President says SS and Medicare will not be touched . He has said and tweeted lots of stuff. Many Republicans have been opposed to SS since its inception and want it abolished. I really, really understand the teachers concerns as the same is being discussed at a national level. Time will tell how it all works out for a while. Then someone else will come along and just know for certain what will make 'it' all better.
Again I find myself typing while the TV is playing in the background. The show I am half watching is on PBS, which is losing funding under the budget cuts, too. The name of the program is 'Empire' produced by the BBC. The episode is 5 of 5 covering the part of the British Empire in Africa. Cecil Rhodes used the belief that the Anglo-Saxon race is "the first race in the world". That sounds like the manifest destiny attitude that justified the decimation of the Native American culture of North America.
Thank goodness I will be able to walk. Counting every other step, one, two, three ... one hundred, raise a finger. One, two, three ... 'till I reach one full hand of out stretched fingers and thumb. That gives one thousand steps. Take the long way back to the apartment. Counting and thinking. Working through the issues. Cause, that is how I keep going. Walking is good.
Peace,
Janice
Of course all this walking stuff is going on with a background of politics. I really missed the ability to let off some steam by walking. I fear I substituted eating but I have refused to step on the scales to confirm what my jeans suggested. Budget cuts are coming. The hiring freeze has already caused some historical sights to close due a shortage of workers. Looks like volunteers will be in higher demand as the cuts and other changes trickle down from Washington. We shall see what else trickles down from the swamp.
Our state government is making many of the same cuts. School vouchers seem to be the new drum beat to solve education woes. Fifteen years ago it was testing. Texas' spending on education is in the bottom fourth of the nation's states. Bills are being introduced to restructure state employee and teacher retirement benefits in order to cut costs. My contemporaries who served as teachers are terrified of losing their retirement income. A close read of the two bills shows a study would be ordered to consider a hybrid retirement setup. That hybrid would involve 401 K contributions from the employee as an option. Nothing I read said anything about changing the plan for currently retired individuals. I am not a lawyer so I cannot be certain I did not miss some loophole that the state could use to eliminate or reduce benefits. My friend really wants the two bills pertaining to teacher retirement defeated as does the Retired Teachers Assn.
The 401 K savings account is a fairly typical approach to retirement in the business world. It was scary when first introduced to the company for which we worked. The company matched the first 4 % dollar for dollar and neither the company nor the employee paid tax at the time of saving. We use the interest from these tax sheltered accounts for our major extra expenses. Tax is paid on the money as we withdraw from the account. With our current income level we get most of those taxes back after filing our tax return.
Our experience with the 401 K savings has been positive. I surely understand the fears of us old retirees about our retirement income. Not sure what the President and Congress will do to Social Security and Medicare. The President says SS and Medicare will not be touched . He has said and tweeted lots of stuff. Many Republicans have been opposed to SS since its inception and want it abolished. I really, really understand the teachers concerns as the same is being discussed at a national level. Time will tell how it all works out for a while. Then someone else will come along and just know for certain what will make 'it' all better.
Again I find myself typing while the TV is playing in the background. The show I am half watching is on PBS, which is losing funding under the budget cuts, too. The name of the program is 'Empire' produced by the BBC. The episode is 5 of 5 covering the part of the British Empire in Africa. Cecil Rhodes used the belief that the Anglo-Saxon race is "the first race in the world". That sounds like the manifest destiny attitude that justified the decimation of the Native American culture of North America.
Thank goodness I will be able to walk. Counting every other step, one, two, three ... one hundred, raise a finger. One, two, three ... 'till I reach one full hand of out stretched fingers and thumb. That gives one thousand steps. Take the long way back to the apartment. Counting and thinking. Working through the issues. Cause, that is how I keep going. Walking is good.
Peace,
Janice
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
All I Did Was A Little Cleaning
Did more sorting and combining in the closet. You are probably thinking this lady is just weird. Well, duh! I assume that is part of the reason you visit my blog, to see what the weird lady is doing. It is like this. Husband assembled the sewing table about a week ago. Over the last few days I have been emptying boxes and plastic containers into the drawers in the sewing desk. Any small plastic storage containers have been refilled with items that were in less durable containers. The two actions of emptying and re-purposing of storage containers have opened up space in the bathroom closet shelves.
Anywho, besides the rearranging in the closet I did some cleaning of baseboards and doors. Husband hung another shelf in the utility room while I was working on the apartment. I did do vacuuming and mopping, too, cause the place was really needing it by now. Had to stop for rests and cool downs. Seems as though yesterday's adventure in the wind and drizzle to watch Middle grandson play flag football has me coughing again today. Small price to pay.
We are actually eating part of our meals at the breakfast counter instead of in our laps these days. We both are doing our type of exercise on a regular basis. This is a huge thing for both of us to be doing this almost every day. Husband uses the treadmill and stationary bike. I do the stretching and pain management type of exercise. Each passing day as we work to make our lifestyle and the loft apartment work together makes it feel more like where we belong. Good thing as there is no other place for us and Husband is not moving!
With the arrival of 1099 forms we are now looking to see what else is needed for taxes. And there are still Edna's to be dealt with this year from afar. Or there may need to be a trip so Husband can talk face to face with the person who has handled this for decades. Time will tell. Hmmm. Wonder if there would be a place to stay up there? That is for another day. For today all I did was a little cleaning.
Visited with my mom for a while. She tries to cry several times during the visit over different things. Mom has probably had a mild form of chronic depression most of my life. (Yes, I probably brought it on. not.) I have sort of made it my mission to help her look on a brighter side. As she began commiserating about losing her possessions this summer, I told her of a devotion I recently read. The scripture was about Jesus going to prepare a place for us. As I read it I thought of Mom and how she misses her stuff. In that moment I visualized what a magnificent room she would have in heaven. I shared that thought with her today. I could hear in her voice a slight joy at that thought. Maybe I was able to do a little more than clean, maybe I helped my mom feel at least a fleeting moment of joy.
 |
| Room to spread out when sewing! The ends fold in and the extensions fold down. 18" X 18" floor space. |
Anywho, besides the rearranging in the closet I did some cleaning of baseboards and doors. Husband hung another shelf in the utility room while I was working on the apartment. I did do vacuuming and mopping, too, cause the place was really needing it by now. Had to stop for rests and cool downs. Seems as though yesterday's adventure in the wind and drizzle to watch Middle grandson play flag football has me coughing again today. Small price to pay.
We are actually eating part of our meals at the breakfast counter instead of in our laps these days. We both are doing our type of exercise on a regular basis. This is a huge thing for both of us to be doing this almost every day. Husband uses the treadmill and stationary bike. I do the stretching and pain management type of exercise. Each passing day as we work to make our lifestyle and the loft apartment work together makes it feel more like where we belong. Good thing as there is no other place for us and Husband is not moving!
With the arrival of 1099 forms we are now looking to see what else is needed for taxes. And there are still Edna's to be dealt with this year from afar. Or there may need to be a trip so Husband can talk face to face with the person who has handled this for decades. Time will tell. Hmmm. Wonder if there would be a place to stay up there? That is for another day. For today all I did was a little cleaning.
Visited with my mom for a while. She tries to cry several times during the visit over different things. Mom has probably had a mild form of chronic depression most of my life. (Yes, I probably brought it on. not.) I have sort of made it my mission to help her look on a brighter side. As she began commiserating about losing her possessions this summer, I told her of a devotion I recently read. The scripture was about Jesus going to prepare a place for us. As I read it I thought of Mom and how she misses her stuff. In that moment I visualized what a magnificent room she would have in heaven. I shared that thought with her today. I could hear in her voice a slight joy at that thought. Maybe I was able to do a little more than clean, maybe I helped my mom feel at least a fleeting moment of joy.
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