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Oct 19, 2017    |       9 comments

IRS Frustrations

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The IRS is currently working its way to the top of my list of most hated organizations to deal with.

My current Top 3 List of Organizations I Hate Dealing With include:

#3. Social Security (I am the representative payee for my father so I have to deal with them in reference to his disability payments, and it suuuuuucks the life out of me!)

#2. IRS! Read more below.

#1. Navient. Oh Navient, you know how much I hate you.

(Side note: Hmmmm, interesting how 2 of the 3 are government organizations and the third is also backed by the federal government. Inefficiency, much???)

Nothing like calling the IRS, sitting on hold for half an hour, and then having the line disconnected. Only to call again, sit on hold again, and have it disconnected again. I think there might be a 30-minute time hold limit and then the IRS system automatically disconnects??? I’ve been sitting on hold while working at my desk so I’m not out and about with poor cell service or anything like that. Grrrr!!!!! If you can believe it, I’m still trying to set up a payment plan from my 2016 back-taxes!!!! AGH! In April we sent a huge payment and tried to initiate a payment plan at that time. Thought it was all set up, but it turns out it was never accepted. I’ve tried calling multiple times but have been thwarted every time (to clarify, I’ve been able to speak to people, but they can never help me – they have to mail me something to sign, or transfer me to another department. It’s a whole cluster-f over there)! I’ve been making payments online through their online system just so they’re receiving something, but it hasn’t been officially set up yet. I was just able to (fingers crossed) finalize everything today, but they still deal with 1983 technology so the official agreement has to be mailed out, signed, and returned. Sooooo, still not completely set up but at least it’s progress compared to the past 7 months of nonsense. The issue, if you’re curious, is that when we did our 2016 taxes we also had a small amount they claimed we owed from 2015. We had an accountant help us with everything and agree the 2015 charges shouldn’t exist. So everything was on “hold” with 2016 stuff because we’d refused to sign an IRS agreement of taxes owed for 2015. I guess they couldn’t move forward with any payment plans unless and until the discrepancy was resolved, which took a long time and a lot of snail-mail back-and-forth. (Who doesn’t use internet these days??? I mean, I know it’s secure info but there are lots of ways to encrypt email, right???)

Anyway, it’s been a pretty shitty past couple of days. A lot of stress with work drama and some nonsense going on at our kids’ school in addition to the ever-present financial stress we have in our lives currently. I’m glad to have this minor “win” on the IRS front. Not that it’s even been officially completed yet. But I think we’re finally on our last step. Supposedly, the papers will come in the mail, we sign and return, and everything should be set for our first OFFICIAL payment starting in December. We’ll be paying $283/month, which is significantly LESS than what I’d been paying previously through their online system. The reduced payment means we’ll be paying for a much longer period of time (ummmm, approximately forever???) But with our serious budget shortfall going on right now, we really can’t afford to continue making larger payments. So it is what it is. And we keep moving forward.

My motto the past few days has been: Make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today. My husband thought it sounded a little pessimistic, but I think it’s optimistic. Looking forward to a better tomorrow! 🙂

Oct 16, 2017    |       6 comments

Three Recent Purchases

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I’ve been talking about all this money we’d spent in summer but haven’t given specifics. There’s a lot to talk about in the context of that whole conversation, but today I wanted to pop in quickly with 3 recent purchases (made in the last 3-4 months).

1. Hot Water Heater

When we bought our house in November, we new we would need to purchase a new hot water heater soon. It was original to the house (almost 30 years old) and had a huge dent in the side. Most of our home had been updated semi-recently before we bought it, but the hot water heater was still original. It never really worked great, but over the summer it totally puttered out, requiring a replacement. Not a huge expense, but an easy $350 on the old Home Depot credit card. (Cha-ching!)

2. A New Tire (again)

Can we all agree that I have the worst luck in the world with tires? I replaced two tires in April, then we had a blow-out in June which required 2 more tires to be purchased. If I’d purchased all at one time I could’ve saved a lot of money, but I hadn’t realized I was in a situation where I’d be buying 2 more tires only two months after the first 2 tires. And the blow-out occurred while driving on a cross-country trip, so it was a pretty huge ordeal at the time. WELL, fast forward to early September. I was driving on my way to work and had another blow-out. All I can guess is it was due to construction debris along the highway. There was no real “cause” (didn’t hit or run over anything obvious) and the tires were brand new. Guess which tire blew out? One of the two that were replaced in that out-of-state tiny-town repair shop. No warranty. So add another tire to the credit card (cha-ching!)

3. Halloween Masks

I really have no business being in any retail stores right now, but the girls had a friends birthday party at a Michael’s Craft store (did you know they hosted parties? the kids really had a blast!). Anyway, while walking around I noticed that all the Halloween stuff was 60% off!!! I love Michaels because they’re one of the only places that will do big sales before a holiday (not just after it’s passed). These little face masks were originally $1.00, but I scooped them up for 40 cents each. I bought 8 in total and have invited some of the kids’ friends (and their moms) over for a playdate this weekend. The friends’ parents are going to bring craft stuff to decorate with (e.g., sequins, feathers, pom-poms, etc.). I’m going to provide the masks and paint (which we already own) and will have some snacks we can share from our pantry/Costco snack stash. Cheap little playdate. Also the only one of the 3 items on this list that I was pumped to buy! Forty cent face masks?! Can’t argue with that! Woo!

 

What’s one of your recent purchases?

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