Determined. Back when I was getting out of debt, I was the very definition of determined. I worked hard, extremely hard, to stay on budget, earn extra money, and rapidly pay down my debts. Once I paid off my debts, I remained determined, and worked hard to fully-fund my emergency fund. I also worked hard to fund retirement and education savings accounts. I was motivated, pumped about the progress I had made, and, like I said, determined. After couple of years of enjoying the debt-free life, things changed. I lost a bit of my determination, and a bit of my focus. I think that this is natural. Once I reached my major goals, I took a breather, enjoyed some of…
Continue Reading→Month: August 2010
I Mailed A Payment To The Wrong Business Address
Have you ever – lost your wallet? – forgotten to mail a payment? – misplaced an important financial document? – overdrawn your checking account? – spent more than you could afford to spend? – maxed-out a credit card? – made any number of finance-related mistakes? If you answered yes to any (or all) of the questions above – welcome, you are among friends. Just last month, I mailed a check, which I intended to mail to a local medical center, to the wrong business address – a doctor’s office located just down the road from the medical center. When I make a mistake, like the one mentioned above, I do my very best to minimize its impact. I have called…
Continue Reading→Amended Our Tax Return
I did something today that I’ve never done before – I filed an amended tax return. Back in March, I filed my taxes but didn’t claim the first-time homebuyer credit. Armed with the proper paperwork, forms, and software, it took, literally, 10 minutes to amend the return. According to the IRS website, returns claiming the first-time homebuyer credit must be mailed, with correct documentation, and cannot be e-filed. This is the primary reason we did not claim the credit on the initial return. We were expecting a small, but not insignificant, tax refund, even without the homebuyer credit, and didn’t want the processing of the refund to be delayed by the processing of the tax credit documentation. Today, I used…
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