February 27, 2009

not a drop to drink

::moans:: It's tax time here in the U.S., which means spending has come to a halt. Hubbs and I are only slightly concerned (read: confused and furious) about our taxes. I'm not a fan of the do-it-yourself online tax preparation sites. I feel that they leave too much room for error and can too easily confuse you. Case in point:

Hubbs used the site Tax Slayer.com. Usually we file via the military tax center because it's free and if there's an issue we have someone to fall back on. But this year he wanted to e-file. Problem #1: Tax Slayer wouldn't let him claim me as a dependant, which I am according to the Marine Corps. Problem #2: It asked us if we received a stimulus check for 2008. This wouldn't have been an issue, except it asked us the amount which we received, meaning we were claiming it. Had we known that, we wouldn't have accepted the check. Problem #3: It's telling us that (with the stimulus check in play) we owe $600. We are not in any kind of tax bracket that we should be owing the government! But, this brings up problem #4: When Hubbs removed the stimulus check, it said we were getting a refund of $2,000! Umm...okay...if that is the case and we do have to claim the stimulus check, isn't the logical way of thinking that it should be refund (minus) stimulus check (equals) new refund? For arguments sake, let's say we received $600 for our stimulus check. It should have looked like this: $2,000 - $600 = $1,400. Lastly, we come to problem #5: When Hubbs tried to do my state taxes for North Carolina (where we lived/I worked in 2008), it said I owe the state $1,500 after paying in almost $800 for state taxes! This is why I hate online tax sites. So, first thing next month we're going to see the military tax center and see what they have to say about it. Let's just say steam will be shooting out of our ears if anything Tax Slayer said was true (unless we do get that nice big refund, which I doubt because we never get that much back).

However, I have been able to sneak in the odd goodies here and there for myself (don't feel bad for Hubbs, his baseball/football card collection isn't hurting any!). Mostly I've been purchasing music on iTunes, as at $0.99 per song, it's a cheap thrill with immediate payoff. I purchased "Meet Me in St. Louis," to add to my collection of musical theater songs, and I also purchased "Maestro" from my current favorite modern movie The Holiday (I love this movie! Is there anyone more beautiful than Kate Winslet?). I wish I could find a snippet of this song for you but alas even Amazon doesn't have a clip. But it's really a gorgeous melody (it's the opening number for the movie) and I just love to turn it on and veg out in a bubble bath surrounded by candles.

Speaking of bubble baths, I found this beautiful vintage milk glass bath set on eBay while we were in San Diego. I snagged it for a mere $15 and then ran out and bought some lavender bath oil to fill it with. Sadly, when it got here the soap dish was broken completely in half. The seller is searching high and low for a replacement of some kind, but in the meantime, I still have the little pitcher and bowls.



Lastly, just purchased today is this gorgeous satin skirt. It's from the Kristin Davis Collection at Belk (you may know her better as Charlotte York?). When I heard she was coming out with a line that was based off of her Sex and the City character I was over the moon! She has such a classic style and some of her outfits really do err on the side of vintage. I was only going to look, but when I saw this piece I had to peek at the price tag.



I entered my size and it came up with $8.49. That's right! The original price was $68!! This is one of those moments when you say to yourself, "At this price, I can't afford not to buy it!" So into the shopping cart it went. I wish I could find the shoes the model is wearing because they are the perfect compliment to the skirt, but it seems they're not from her line, nor any of Belk's lines (side note: if you're going to put something fabulous on your clothing models, please either a. carry the item, or b. tell me where I can buy the item, but please don't taunt me with the perfect outfit and not offer all the essentials!).



So it will have to wait until post-tax preparation. But at least I have a few lovelies to keep me sustained until then!

5 comments:

  1. I LOVE that skirt--and the shoes. I agree about the rudeness of showing something that can't be had LOL!

    I HATE tax time, too. I'm the one that does them in our house and I have been putting it off. I decided that decluttering my office this week should set me up in a better position to hit the taxes next week.

    But, I really don't want to...

    Congrats on 18 followers, too!

    Roxanne

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  2. Anonymous2/28/2009

    OH my Goodness! That stimulus check thingamajig happened to me too! I barely scrap by and got the $300 check last year and now I owe money. I cried for like an hour. I needed a refund.

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  3. Ugh, this is just so ridiculous! I cannot believe that with a measley $300 you had to pay! I was always under the impression that if a monetary gain was less than $1200 you didn't have to claim it! I hate taxes. This is why I'm no longer a tax paying citizen. I fully plan to just be a SAHW for as long as I can!

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  4. That's what is so stupid about government giving us money. It sounds good, but you always pay more in the end. We need the government to stop nurse-maiding us and let us not pay as many taxes and we can each make our OWN stimulus check. We were not eligible for the check and at the time I thought, 'wah I want 600 dollars' but, now I am glad to see we were not able to have it. Also, we haven't done our own taxes in years, it is work enough for me to get all the slips together to give to the accountant and I can't remember the last time we 'got money back', but honestly, I would rather be able to save my own money during the year and not expect the government to take some of it, mess about with it and then, if I am good, give me back my own money! The whole subject makes me so angry! I need to research some tax law for 1955.
    That skirt is adorable, I don't think I could wear it now unless it were a good five inches longer. The shoes are wonderful. You could't even by a yard of that fabric for $8.00 so good snag!

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  5. I actually ordered the skirt in a bit of a bigger size so it would sit lower on my hips, hence make it longer on my legs! ;0)

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