A big thing during Presidential elections is the release of the candidates’ tax records.  Obviously, it’s good to know that [...]]]> I’m going to talk Politics.  I never talk politics, because after living in DC for five years, I kind of hate politics.   But there is a financial issue going on right now that I find interesting.

A big thing during Presidential elections is the release of the candidates’ tax records.  Obviously, it’s good to know that our candidates are paying their taxes, aren’t getting money from illegal sources, and it’s nice to see that they give to charity.  But really, what does it mean?

So Mitt Romney released his tax records.  And he paid around a 15% tax rate while Gingrich paid around 31%.  That is a big difference, and 31% is closer to what I pay.  Or is it?  These people make so much more money than the “average American” that on some level, it’s kind of meaningless.  They’re rich.  Different levels of rich, but they’re rich.

So the big deal is that Romney’s money all comes from investments.  He (legally) didn’t pay taxes on the trusts set up for his kids.  He and his wife gave about 15% of their income to charity.

And while that is so far from my understanding that I can’t comprehend the numbers he lives by, isn’t this sort of the American Dream?  He founded a company and got rich.  I’m not saying he built up from nothing, but he has the lifestyle that many of us dream of.  Come on, wouldn’t you love to be able to live off of your investments and spend your life doing what you want?  Maybe doing what you want is volunteering or traveling, or maybe it’s doing your job because you love your job.  But that’s some awesome freedom.

Does this mean that Romney can understand the plight of the average person who struggles to pay their bills?  I have no idea – but I don’t think any of the candidates truly understand that.  They’re all wealthy, some just happen to be more wealthy than others.

I’m not endorsing Romney in this post.  I’m not not endorsing him either.  I really don’t have an opinion of the man, or of any of the Republican candidates.  But I find the focus on their personal finances very interesting.

And then I [...]]]> As a couple of commenters suggested, I could call my credit card company and see if I could get the late fees waived after my stupid mistake.  This was something I knew, but something I was reluctant to do.  Would I learn anything from my mistake if I had the damage automatically un-done?

And then I realized I was being dumb.  This was money we were talking about!  Two late fees!  $50!

So I called.  Admitted my mistake, had no excuses, and asked that since I had such a long relationship with the company (nearly ten years), if it might be possible to get the late fees waived, understanding that I would still have to pay the interest that accrued during the one day where I was late.

The rep could not have been nicer.  Waived the fees and said she would make sure no interest would accrue and she thanked me for staying with them for so long.

So thank you, Chase.  I appreciate your confidence in me.  And trust me – I will not be paying late ever again.

How I forgot, I don’t know.  I have two Chase credit cards.  They are linked to one account, so I login once and can see both cards.  Somehow, I set up the electronic payment for one and not for the other.

Thankfully, [...]]]> I made a stupid mistake this month.  I forgot to pay a credit card bill.

How I forgot, I don’t know.  I have two Chase credit cards.  They are linked to one account, so I login once and can see both cards.  Somehow, I set up the electronic payment for one and not for the other.

Thankfully, I realized this the day after the payment was due when I saw the $25 late fee hit.

I’m also going to be hit with a day of interest for that late payment too, and that’s gonna hurt.

It was a stupid mistake, and I’m going to be extra careful about it from now on.  I’m just going to suck up the fees and move on and make sure to be on top of my bills.  I’m sure of what happened – the bill came while I was out of town during the holidays, and it just got set aside rather than getting paid immediately.

At least it was just a credit card and not something bigger, like a utility bill.  No need to mess with not having heat during the winter!

I think this is a good lesson for life.  People always say “If you don’t like something, change it.”  But that’s not always possible.  You change what you can and you [...]]]> There is a song that includes the lines “I will learn to let go what I cannot change… but I will change whatever I can.”

I think this is a good lesson for life.  People always say “If you don’t like something, change it.”  But that’s not always possible.  You change what you can and you learn to accept what you can’t and work around it.

I have a coworker who is currently very stressed about a situation here at work.  The situation affects our whole team, but this particular coworker is taking it very personally.  It’s causing her a great deal of stress, and she complains about it quite a bit.  I understand her frustrations – but this is one of those things that we can’t change.  No amount of work or complaining or effort will have an ounce of difference.

My method of dealing with it was to vent for a few minutes, then shrug and move on.  I can’t change it.  I have to deal with it.  And I’ve learned to not let it bother me.  On the other hand, I found out that it’s causing her to lose sleep at night because she’s so stressed.

There are things you can change and things you can’t change.  If you don’t like your job, you can look for a new job.  But that doesn’t mean you will get a new job – the job market is tough.  So you do what you can – you improve your skills and you look for a job and you try to find every option out there.  But at some point, there isn’t anymore you can do.  So rather than stress, you just have to keep doing what you are doing and trust that it will all work out.

Sometimes you just have to learn to let go.

So far, there are three weddings scheduled for 2012 and not one is local.

Yes, it’s going to be an expensive year.  Flights, hotels, gifts, etc.  Of [...]]]> In the last part of 2011, three of my friends got engaged.  No, not to each other, to their respective significant others.   And another got engaged earlier in the year.

So far, there are three weddings scheduled for 2012 and not one is local.

Yes, it’s going to be an expensive year.  Flights, hotels, gifts, etc.  Of course, I’m not complaining.  I’m excited for my friends and delighted that I can be there.  Thankfully, they are all getting married in their hometowns – no destination weddings for this group.  I’m just going to have to be very smart about my budgeting this year so that I can afford all of this travel – and so I have enough leave available to use.  That’s going to be the tough part, I think.

I’m lucky in that I have a boss who is extremely flexible, especially when it comes to important events such as a friend’s wedding.

So it’s all about budgeting.  Both my time and my money.

No, just me then?

But I have to admit it.  I’m really excited to do my taxes.  It’s like an adventure, hoping that I made the proper choices and that I’m getting close to breaking even.

(Actually, I’m hoping I’m getting money back – I made some changes to my [...]]]> Is anyone else really excited about tax season?

No, just me then?

But I have to admit it.  I’m really excited to do my taxes.  It’s like an adventure, hoping that I made the proper choices and that I’m getting close to breaking even.

(Actually, I’m hoping I’m getting money back – I made some changes to my withholding when I bought the house, but I wasn’t sure how much of a change to make.  I’m hoping that I underestimated.)

I like the excitement of all of the paperwork coming in and entering it all into TurboTax to see what comes out.  It’s fun!  I know that it’s crazy.  But I’m still excited.  I can’t wait til the files come in!

And guess what?  I succeeded on all fronts.

Of course, my only goal was to start looking into a house and possibly buy one.  Well, I managed to do that early in the year.

Victory!  Seems a [...]]]> So I decided it was time to look back at my long-ignored 2011 Goals and see how I did, however inadvertently.

And guess what?  I succeeded on all fronts.

Of course, my only goal was to start looking into a house and possibly buy one.  Well, I managed to do that early in the year.

Victory!  Seems a bit like cheating though.

So I guess I should do a better job of my 2012 Financial-related goals.  I need to do a better job at sticking to my budget.  I’d like to stay within my budget goals at least 6 months out of the year next year.   I would also like to start setting aside money for a new fence.  I need to get some furniture for the guest room so that I can actually have guests.   Simple things, but important.

I do need a few more goals though.  Time to brainstorm.

But I do have to say something [...]]]> I have mentioned here before that I am a Federal employee in DC. I won’t go into any more discussion than that. Not that I am saying anything that would harm my position but because I believe that what I do doesn’t matter for the purposes of this blog.

But I do have to say something about the treatment of Federal employees in the media. We are not lazy bums sitting around all day doing nothing and getting rich off of taxpayer money. We pay taxes. We pay for our health insurance (in fact, I had a much better and cheaper plan when I worked in the private sector). We can get downsized and all the talk of reducing the size of government scares us.

When we downsize in government, it is a RIF – a reduction in force. If my position went, they would have to find me another job, but it doesn’t have to be something I like. So yes, my paycheck is safe, and I am not downplaying that. But going into a job you loathe isn’t exactly a good thing.

Right now, there is a reduction in hiring. That means that as people leave – which they do – no one else comes in to take their jobs and the rest of us take on more. Just like in private industry.

I won’t lie – I know we’re in a good spot. But I loathe the implication that we are a waste. The general public would be surprised if all of a sudden, everything shut down, including all the emergency services. We would be missed.