The US mortgage payment hit with $376 going to principal. That makes $740 down, $1060 to go on my February goal.
I did my taxes on TaxAct.com and it was indeed free, though they kept throwing in sales pitches every couple steps. Also, they would charge if you wanted to preview schedules or forms before e-filing; the only thing they let you preview for free is 1040. So it took me awhile to figure out why they had my income as $3000 more than I thought it was. Turns out I needed to report my HSA as an income deduction. 2009 was my first (and last, for awhile at least) year of having an HSA, so I didn't know that. Once I figured that out it was fine. The software actually prompted me to itemize the state tax I owed last year, which had slipped my mind somehow, so I'm getting an extra $100 or so more than I'd calculated.
Now that I know my refund and when I'm getting it, I was able to shuffle some money around and make some progress on savings goals. I fully funded our birthdays with $600, $200 for each person's gifts. I also put $336 into the travel fund, so we're a third of the way to our Va. trip goal! The rest of the federal refund will go to pay MN state taxes, which I owe on.
I did a rough calculation of AS's taxes and it looks like she'll probably get a refund. Unless I'm really off on her business profits, should be about $1000. I did pretty well on hers; she would have broken even but for the Making Work Pay credit, the stimulus benefit of not paying taxes on the first $2400(?) of unemployment money, and starting a traditional IRA.
This means she has a nice chunk of change to help move her sewing operations into our dining area! That'll be fun to help her plan. We'll probably sell a few pieces of furniture, repurpose a few and buy some new things.
It also means we can take out some of her business profits to put toward our financial goals. Sweet...
Progress on debt repayment & savings goals
February 2nd, 2010 at 09:40 pm
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:52 pm 1265151168
February 3rd, 2010 at 02:49 pm 1265208574
February 3rd, 2010 at 03:21 pm 1265210476
homebody, yes and yes! That was AS's main source of income (that and proofrading) during her layoff besides unemployment. Mostly mending but also doing some original pieces. She's made me some beautiful dresses and tops that I can't wait to fit into again. One was featured in the "year's best" on Burdastyle.com, a sewing community online. NT and I are both short, and so she ends up hemming most of the pants we buy. She also knits and does other crafts. It's very handy to have a craftsy person in the house!
And we're obsessed with Project Runway! Have you gone online and seen any of Tim Gunn's extended consultations with the contestants? We did that for the first episode and it was fascinating. Lifetime's Web component is so much better than Bravo's was; there's a lot more stuff, and it's a lot more accessible.
February 4th, 2010 at 03:12 pm 1265296359
I actually let my children (daughters usually because the boys are asleep) stay up until 10 PM CST on Thursdays to watch the new episodes primetime. We love that show! And confession: I stay up to watch the 1/2 hour after that about the Models!
If AS lived closer I'd hire her to make up some new Irish Dance dresses. I'm looking at paying $900 (but that includes fabric and embellishments) for a custom dress for my older. The younger will need to have the oldest's refit, her new dress will be coming in October.
February 4th, 2010 at 04:39 pm 1265301545
PS I just noticed I spelled "proofreading" wrong on my last comment. D'oh...
Wow, that seems like a lot for a dress, but I suppose it's more ornate than an ordinary piece of clothing! Hopefully if our kids get into activities that require costumes or other custom clothing, AS will be able to save us some money by doing the labor herself!
February 4th, 2010 at 07:30 pm 1265311853
If AS is bored and wants to check out what kind of dresses Irish dancers wear (and what I'm having made),
check this out:
http://www.thevelvetcastle.com/IrishDance.html