Escalating Taxes…

In an effort to curtail the California state financial crisis, lawmakers have decided to ‘temporarily’ raise our income taxes. They promise to reduce the taxes mid-year but I have yet to meet someone who believes that to be true.

How much is the hike for us?

$50 a month.

I stared at my already lean budget and tried to find a line item to reduce. I’m already dancing with danger in my necessity line items. My ‘check engine’ light came on again but unless I can fix it for the $37 I have in my car repair fund, it won’t happen. I sadly looked at the non-necessity line items, pulled out my ugly red pen, and started scratching off our once monthly dinner out, my Saturday morning bike ride icy lemonade stop, and stretched the distance between haircuts to 14 weeks.

Thank you California.

I think lawmakers are hoping residents will forget about the painful tax hike 10 months from now when they are up for re-election but I have this to say…

My ratty split ends will remind me.

I’m off to send good vibes to my car. Maybe if I wash it lovingly and talk to it sweetly, it will fix itself.

Posted by Beks on January 25, 2010 at 5:00 AM in Saving Money | 14 Comments »
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Sharon responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 8:01 am
If it makes you feel any better, I’ve driven with my check engine light on since April 2007. I need a new transmitter, but because I only drive my car about 400 miles a month and no farther than 10 miles from the house, and the car is worth less than $1000, I don’t see the point in replacing it just yet.
Another Reader responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 8:44 am
My recollection is they are raising the amount withheld, not the tax rate. To avoid them borrowing your money at no interest, why not just up your deductions on your California withholding form?
Tonya responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 10:19 am
If you go to a pep boys, they will pull the code for free. They will tell you the code and then you can go home and look it up online to see what the issue is and how serious it is. Then if you know ANYONE with mechanical experience, get some advice and barter a repair.

This just happened to us and when I called the shop it was going to be $55 just to pull the code and then they’d start the process. After I had the code I found out it would have been at least 3 hours of labor charged for a problem that took 15 minutes and less than $5 out of our pocket to fix.

I KNOW how stressful this can be….good car vibes to you.
Jean responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 11:57 am
I agree w/the other commenters – as long as you know what the Check Engine light means, you might be okay to drive w/it on for awhile. But don’t let it become like the fence…

Also, could you check out a local beauty school to see what they charge for haircuts? Or we often get coupons for the chain salons in our area.

Hang in there!
Sara responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
my husband runs several auto repair shops, and my check engine light has been on for over 7 months. most shops will pull the code for free, and most times it is fairly simple to fix. when it starts BLINKING at you, then it’s a problem.
emmi responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Definitely get the codes off it to see whether this is the fence X10. I know it feels like you can’t afford a small fix, but you REALLY can’t afford a new engine.
Kari responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
In my Honda Accord, the check engine light came on around 30,000 miles. Brand new car – what the heck?!? I looked in the owner’s manual and they mentioned that the light will come on at that time to ‘remind’ you to go in for your routine servicing. They also specified how you could turn the light off. So it’s not always a problem when the light comes on, but I agree it would be worth checking out just in case.

Also, the suggestion about the beauty school haircuts is a great one. In Seattle a haircut at a good salon can run $50 and up. I go to the Aveda Institute and they charge only $20, which includes a scalp massage – and the haircuts look nice too. I don’t think there’s one in San Diego but I found a listing online for Paul Mitchell the School, which got good ratings on Yelp.

Hang in there Beks…
Michelle responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Hi Beks – I’m going to chime in with Emmi … its better to diagnose the problem now than to blow your engine.

I’ll be having good thoughts for you!
sarah responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I thought this is what they did in November. They’re changing it again?
Brianne responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
someone else already said it, but just change your withholding. You won’t owe any more in the end. They’re just hoping most people won’t figure it out. Personally, I’m going to let them take the money because I have two jobs and usually end up owing the state a little each year.
Joe responded:
Posted: January 25th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Actually, the check engine light in my Nissan Sentra comes on and goes off all on its own all the time. It’s been on pretty consistently for the last two weeks, but the last time I took the car to Pep Boys to get the issue checked out, they literally couldn’t find anything wrong with it. So now I just make sure to get regular servicing and don’t pay much attention to the light.
seattle responded:
Posted: January 26th, 2010 at 1:13 am
Eeek! I’m so sorry! That does not sound fun at all! I will pray that the check engine light is nothing major.
sahmCFO responded:
Posted: January 30th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
It’s true that even $10 less a month can reek havoc on you personal finances. Our newest budget disaster is the Health Insurance Premium increases which resulted in $60 less a month….
Nicole responded:
Posted: January 30th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
It IS ridiculous isn’t it? I mean as if we don’t give them enough! My hubby told me to look up all of the states and that we were moving to the one with the lowest income taxes. With no personal income tax, South Dakota, here we come!