Kat's Notebook » money matters

I got tax refund!

Katkat — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:11:00 +0000

I hate filing income tax return. But it’s one event I am excited about because I can get free money from the government! Of course it’s not free – they were paid by my salary but still it’s a free bonus. Last year I didn’t get a refund. The year before that I got more than 500 refunded. And there was that stimulus package of 300USD. But that was long time ago. Now the idea of a stimulus package is unfounded.

Anyway, I finished my ITR filing mid-March. 2 weeks later I found out that I missed filing one more form. Uggghhh. I thought I needed to do the amended tax return form for next year. But fortunately, the IRS wasn’t able to process my ITR because there was an error. I was able to correct that error and added the other tax form I forgot to file. I filed it a week ago. 5 days after, I got my refund!!! Ka-ching!!!

My refund is comparable to a round-trip ticket to the Philippines during lean season. But I already saved money for that ticket. I’m debating whether to reward myself with 2 pairs of Nike rubber shoes or a shopping spree or set it aside for some future travel plans. It’s so tempting to spend when it’s free money.

I am thankful to God for this blessing.

It’s Tax season!

Katkat — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:48:57 +0000

It’s one of the times in the year when I am expected to be a grown-up. Filing tax is a chore for me. When I see numbers and calculations, I become cross-eyed. But I have to do the tax. I could let my mom do it for me but she has a lot on her plate right now, so…

It is important to file an income tax return. I’ve never filed one in the Philippines. Even though I take up a temporary or seasonal job, I never file in an income tax return. It’s because the employer doesn’t give me any tax documents. So every cent just goes into my pocket – tax free! In the US, I’m afraid to try not filing tax. The IRS sounds scary and the penalty is mortifying. It’s fairly easy to file tax. The government provides the resources for the taxpayer to encourage them to file tax. They have free tax forms, free online filing help, free electronic filing, etc. Hence there is no excuse not to file tax return.

I’ve just finished filing my income tax return electronically today. I chose the CompleteTax efiling. The past weeks I have dallied with calculating my tax in paper wanting to double check it later online. I got past my cross-eyedness to get down to business. You don’t need to be a CPA to file your own tax. The forms are easy to comprehend and instructions are presented well. I followed all the directions and with a little bit of help from my mom, I was able to calculate my refund. Yup I’m having refund this year!!! Yahoo!

Initially I thought my refund is under 200USD. But when I filed it electronically, they found some deductions that actually increased my refund. Double yahoo! I couldn’t believe it. I rechecked everything and I was sure I didn’t miss out on anything. My parents said that it’s ok if there were some errors in the calculation because the IRS will review it anyway and they will correct the amount. So I hope there’s no correction and I’m truly going to receive more than 500USD refund based on their calculations. For my state resident income tax return however, I’m only getting under 50USD. hehehe.

So for all tax-filers, do not perish. There’s light at the end of the IRS tunnel.

Way to save with Wachovia's Way-to-save program

Katkat — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:45:13 +0000

Now where to put aside my hard-earned money? At present I have accounts in both Chase and Bank of America. Before when Chase bought Washington Mutual, I was really happy with WAMU because of its high APY for savings account. Then they also have high-yield interest for CDs with the lowest opening amount of 1000. Anyway those days are long gone. Both Chase and Bank of America have currently low APY interest for their savings accounts. Although Chase accepts a 1000 minimum cash for CD, the interest is only 0.25% for 6-12months. What good is that, right? And Bank of America…well forget BA – no savings, lots of fees and high maintaining balance. I’m nearing in closing that account. CDs right now are not that appealing if you want to earn good interest for your money.

So I stumbled upon Wachovia when I was doing some banking for my employer. Wachovia is offering a 5% APY for checking account linked with their Way-to-Save program. The checking account is completely free – no hidden charges and only low maintaining balance. (300USD) So how this work is, every month Wachovia will automatically transfer 100USD from the checking to the savings account. And other transactions will automatically transfer 1USD to the savings account. This will yield 5% APY. Then the bank gives additional 5% bonus from the money you saved. It’s like earning a lot of money from the bank which doesn’t happen at all. It’s also like CD but the money is moving instead of locked for a time-being. But unlike CD, this one has way much higher APY.

When you enroll into the program, the 5% is guaranteed for the first year. After that it’ll be 2% in the 2nd and 3rd year. Still higher than other banks. Then it turns into a regular savings account with regular interest after the 3rd year. By then you have a choice of closing that account. But for now all I need to do is just let my money sit in that account and earn myself good interest. Way to save, right?

To learn more about Wachovia’s Way to Save, click here.

The birth of a credit card shopper

Katkat — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:08:06 +0000

I love to shop especially here in the USA where items are easily bought, exchanged, returned ,and refunded. Online shopping is easy too. Most of American retail stores have websites which make it very accessible and convenient to shop. No wasted gas money when you know which store carries the item you are looking for. Tandem with shopping is the use of credit cards. Consumers ready their cards to be swiped at the signal of the sales associate. Only a few here pay in cash.When they do, the sales associate becomes flustered because they don’t carry change.

However you can’t easily get credit cards. The card company actually needs the consumer to have a good credit history before they can issue the person a credit card. This has been my dilemma for the past 4 years. I really don’t like to apply for a credit card. I don’t like putting myself in debt. So I always use my parents’ credit card and pay them afterwards. When my bank introduces a debit card mastercard, I am impressed because now I can purchase online items with the mastercard feature in my debit card. However I get envious sometimes on those credit card users. They get free stuffs, discounted stuffs just because they have credit card especially when they have a retail store credit card. Whenever I shop, the cashier will ask me if I want to apply for the store’s credit card to avail of the extra 15-20% discount on all the items I have bought. Of course I’d like that! So I go through the process of applying for one right there in front of the cash registry only to find out that my application has not been approved because of lack of credit history. This goes on for 3 to 4 more times in different stores until I stopped trying and just forewarned the cashier that I don’t have credit history to be accepted.

My dad suddenly opens a joint credit card account with me. I have my first credit card finally! My dad says that I will be the only one to use and pay for that account. I am able to enjoy the reward points of using the credit card. Because of the reward points I find myself often using the card then later to discover that my billing statement is so high! After 2 months of being like this, I have become prudent on which cards to use. I switch from credit card to debit card or to cash. Then my dad terminates his other credit cards and decide to use this card he has with me. This presents a little problem of who’s going to pay what items.

When I return from the Philippines recently, I of course am in a shopping mode. I need to buy some essential skincare items. Having no cash in hand, I have taken liberty in using my credit card again! I have been looking for Clinique moisturizer and knowing that some stores give free items when purchasing a beauty product, I am drawn to Bloomingdale’s promo. Purchasing a Clinique item worth 21.50USD or more will entitle me to a beauty bag with 8 Clinique items in it. The sales associate starts ringing my item and she routinely asks if I have their credit card. I answer no and I immediately tell her that I cannot be approved for any credit card because of lack of credit history. She tells me that she’ll just try anyway, which I agreed.

It’s like winning a lottery or getting a surprise gift or getting to travel to an exotic beach. The sales associate inform me that I’ve been approved for a Bloomingdale’s credit card. Woot! But I immediately sober up and ask if there are any extra fees I should pay and she negatively answers. Coolness! With opening an account, I get to have 20% discount off my items and a special gift from Bloomingdale’s. So it has been a fantastic shopping day for me! I have bought 2 items and come out with 3 gifts, 20%off, and a new credit card! What more can a girl ask?

Paying online gig

Katkat — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:20:13 +0000

For the past few days I’ve been thinking on how to generate income from the net. The most logical thing for me to do is to write or make reviews. Writing reviews is easy and I’ve done it before. I could also join those sites where you get paid for clicking on websites. I wanted to post paid advertisement but WordPress is not allowing it. So after a relentless search I stumbled upon 1 simple paying gig.

Reviewstream.com pays writers to review any subject under the sun. Their current review rate pay is USD2.00. The review must be original, hasn’t been posted in other sites, and be over 200 words. You can review anything from anywhere. They welcome your opinions very much. It’s like doing a review in Amazon.com but this site pays you. They also offer a “bulk rate” for your review. Meaning they would still buy your review but at 0.40cents. This meant if you’re review is not worth publishing, you’ll still get paid for your writing efforts with the “bulk rate” option. The minimum payout is 50$ and you need to have a paypal account. When I started out, I was really confused on how to navigate their website. There’s no signing in or signing up. I thought it was a scam. So I read the testimonials on the website and it appears the website is made that way and some reviewers are also confused by the set-up.

So to start, you’ll just click on “Write Review” and enter your details. You’ll get an account in their system after they bought your review. It’s better to have a GMAIL account because up until now I don’t get confirmation emails for my reviews from my YAHOO account. Make sure you have a copy of your reviews. I write mine at Microsoft Word and then copy paste it to their site. After 5-7 days, you’ll get an answer if your review has been rejected or bought. To frequently check status of your review, click on the “control panel”. I thought my reviews were not getting any response because the processing was taking too long. I finally wrote to them about it and they replied and instantly my reviews were processes and bought. The good thing about this site is they reply to your queries immediately. So if you like to write and earn some, this is a good start.

Tips on how to save gas money

Katkat — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:27:10 +0000

Remember last year when the gas prices hike up in an all time high? I was in the US back then and living in northern california. The gas price went up almost to USD4/gallon. We then scrambled to find ways on how to save on fuel. We limit our travel, we carpool, we do all errands in one trip, I rarely use the a/c, etc. Right now, compared to last year the gas price is relatively low and manageable. Still it’s always a good thing to save up anyhow we can.

Here’s how to save up on your gas:

ON CARS

Go for hybrid cars. If I’m going to buy myself a car, I would go for small size and has a really good gas mileage. We had a Toyota corolla SLE before and I love driving that car because I can zip my way in and out of traffic. It’s small and it really saves me up on gas. Now my dad told me that he traded it for Toyota camry. It’s still economical in gas but its size would be a problem to me since I’m small.
Maintain a well-tuned car. Check your tire pressure. Don’t underinflate because this will give the car a hard time running. Driving with soft tyres can add up to 2% to your fuel bills. Invest in tire pressure gauge to check your tires pressure frequently. Clean the air filters. A clogged air filter will make the car exert more gas and energy to run. A new study shows that replacing a clogged air filter on cars with fuel-injected, computer-controlled gasoline engines does not improve fuel economy but it can improve acceleration time by around 6 to 11 percent. When my dad had the air filter replaced it cost us around 80USD. But our mpg improved – from 28 to 31mpg!
Go for the recommended grade of motor oil. If your car doesn’t need premium gas, then don’t bother wasting your money on premium gas since it won’t make your car run more efficiently anyway. Check you car’s manual and see what the recommeded gas/octane rating is.
It’s not commonly known, but Diesel engines can give you a much better gas mileage than Hybrids on long distance drives. That’s one of the reasons, hybrids aren’t popular in Europe but Diesels are.

ON DRIVING

Go slow. Accelerating means using more gas to make your car go faster. Although a clear highway is tempting to go fast, I still go below the speed limit. For a 65mph limit, I will drive at 55-60mph. I read somewhere that driving below 55mph can reduce fuel consumption. As much as possible maintain the same speed. Breaking or accelerating often will not help in saving your fuel. If you have cruise control, use it especially in long drive. I personally love the cruise control because I’m the type of driver who cannot drive in a straight line. Cruise control makes me forget about maintaining the same speed and let me just focus on the road.
Limit the air-conditioning, heater/defroster. I live in northern california – we basically have a centralized airconditioning everywhere. So I don’t need to open the air-conditioning most of the time. I don’t use the defroster much either because it doesn’t defrost the car really well. I just roll the window down a little bit and let the warm air from the outside defrost the inside of the car. Good luck in the Philippines though!
Ride light. Remove any excess or unnecessary baggage from your car to lighten the weight of your car. An extra 100 lbs in the trunk reduces a typical car’s fuel economy by 1-2 percent.
Reduce idling time. If you’re not going to run your car yet, turn it off. Idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.
Reduce aerodynamic drag. Every car has a certain amount of drag (or wind resistance). This drag, the rolling resistance of your tires (see below under maintenance) and the friction in your engine are the three main causes of reduced efficiency. A car moving through the air causes the air to split around the car and turbulence behind the car (the slipstream). If you drive your car into another cars slipstream, both cars will save fuel (less turbulence). The following car saves the most gasoline. In addition to, opening your windows will increase the turbulences and eventually cost you fuel. I only roll my windows down at city driving but I close it when I’m on the highway.

ON TRIPS

Combine trips. Plan your route well.
Do carpooling. In the US highway, they have a lane for carpool cars. It is encouraged to do carpools to save on fuel consumption, reduce air pollution and traffic.
Use the public transportation. I hate driving to San Francisco so I always take the bus. It will cost me USD4.50 and a longer time but hey I save on gas and driving headache.

AT GAS PUMPS

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. The colder the ground, the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening, your gallon is not exactly a gallon.
When you’re filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back in to the underground storgage tank so your’e getting less worth for you money.
One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is half full or half empty. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank, the less air occupying its empty space.
If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up. Most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

No refund but owe tax

Katkat — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 04:04:01 +0000

I got a shock when I discovered from my mom that I will be paying tax this year! I usually get a tax refund for my income tax. Last year I cashed in 1k of refund and that’s only working for 4 months!This year I was anticipating my 1k refund for working last year. I have plans to spend it on a macbook or save it for a trip somewhere, probably Japan.

I just learned from my mom, who did my tax filing since I’m currently here in the Philippines, that I owe the government $57! My plans to splurge it has been dashed. I know it’s not a lot of money to pay but a 1k refund is a lot of money to lose. I wondered why it was that way and my mom gave me the breakdown and it turned out I earned more last year than the previous year. So my income bracket went up that I joined in the ranks of those who gets taxed. So is it better not to earn a lot?

The silver lining in this dark cloud is I will be getting a stimulus package! I will be receiving $400 come July. Last year it was 600 (although I only got 300 which is puzzling) and now they trimmed it down to 400. Well money is money. At least we get some.

But $400 is still a long way from a trip to Japan or buying a macbook.

Belt-tightening in the 12 days of Christmas

Katkat — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:02:59 +0000

With the grave economic recession right now, we need to be more conscious on our budget. I got this tip from an email:

Effective immediately, the following economizing measures are being implemented in the “Twelve Days of Christmas” subsidiary:

1) The partridge will be retained, but the pear tree, which never produced the cash crop forecasted, will be replaced by a plastic hanging plant, providing considerable savings in maintenance;

2) Two turtle doves represent a redundancy that is simply not cost effective. In addition, their romance during working hours could not be condoned. The positions are, therefore, eliminated;

3) The three French hens will remain intact. After all, everyone loves the French;

4) The four calling birds will be replaced by an automated voice mail system, with a call waiting option. An analysis is underway to determine who the birds have been calling, how often and how long they talked;

5) The five golden rings have been put on hold by the Board of Directors. Maintaining a portfolio based on one commodity could have negative implications for institutional investors. Diversification into other precious metals, as well as a mix of T-Bills and high technology stocks, appear to be in order;

6) The six geese-a-laying constitutes a luxury which can no longer be afforded. It has long been felt that the production rate of one egg per goose per day was an example of the general decline in productivity. Three geese will be let go, and an upgrading in the selection procedure by personnel will assure management that, from now on, every goose it gets will be a good one;

7) The seven swans-a-swimming is obviously a number chosen in better times. The function is primarily decorative. Mechanical swans are on order. The current swans will be retrained to learn some new strokes, thereby enhancing their outplacement;

As you know, the eight maids-a-milking concept has been under heavy scrutiny by the EEOC. A male/female balance in the workforce is being sought. The more militant maids consider this a dead-end job with no upward mobility. Automation of the process may permit the maids to try a-mending, a-mentoring or a-mulching;

9) Nine ladies dancing has always been an odd number. This function will be phased out as these individuals grow older and can no longer do the steps;

10) Ten Lords-a-leaping is overkill. The high cost of Lords, plus the expense of international air travel, prompted the Compensation Committee to suggest replacing this group with ten out-of-work congressmen. While leaping ability may be somewhat sacrificed, the savings are significant as we expect an oversupply of unemployed congressmen this year;

11) Eleven pipers piping and twelve drummers drumming is a simple case of the band getting too big. A substitution with a string quartet, a cutback on new music, and no uniforms, will produce savings which will drop right to the bottom line;

Overall we can expect a substantial reduction in assorted people, fowl, animals and related expenses. Though incomplete, studies indicate that stretching deliveries over twelve days is inefficient. If we can drop ship in one day, service levels will be improved.

Regarding the lawsuit filed by the attorney’s association seeking expansion to include the legal profession (“thirteen lawyers-a-suing“), a decision is pending.

Deeper cuts may be necessary in the future to remain competitive. Should that happen, the Board will request management to scrutinize the Snow White Division to see if seven dwarfs is the right number.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!!

AFTER THANKSGIVING SALE

Katkat — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:21:55 +0000

In the US, the biggest sale in most stores happen on 2 important dates: the day after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas. These are the times when it’s best to buy electronic goods. After Thanksgiving would be best to buy Christmas gifts – that is, if you can get that best deal amidst hundreds of competitive shoppers!

I’m going to miss both great sales again this year since I’m out of the country. Last year I wasn’t able to purchase the laptop that I wanted at BestBuy since the line that formed outside the store was already a mile long and it was only 2am while store opens at 6am. I regretted that I didn’t just buy that laptop online even if it’s a little bit more expensive than in-store. This time I’m wiser! Although I don’t have any plans to buy a laptop but I’m looking out for a great deal on CANON Powershot 10.1MP ELPH. I would just have to purchase it online since I can’t count on my dad to go to the store and buy it for me (he doesn’t like shopping). But just to advise you, some products are cheaper to buy in-store than online.

Local newspaper usually has advertisements from different stores regarding their sales. My grandma has 2 subscriptions and me and my aunt always ask her to bring both so we can pore over them. If you’re not subscribed to a local newspaper where store ads are inserted, you can compare and or find out the cheapest or the best deal in products at blackfriday ads website: bfads.net. You need to subscribe to their mailing list to be able to find out those good bargains. Last year my aunt has kindly emailed me a list of the best prices of goods from different stores and I hope she emails me that list again this year.

With the economic recession in the US right now, I wonder if there are still many shoppers who would participate in these sales. I remember my aunts telling me that I shouldn’t waste my time going to Gilroy Outlet stores after thanksgiving because there are a lot of shoppers present I’ll just get frustrated. My cousins also said the same thing when I told them that I plan wait in line at Bestbuy last thanksgiving. They were right – it’s futile to fight my way through that throng of customers. Irregardless if you have something you want to buy, buy it on these dates because it will save you a lot!

Happy shopping!!!

economy down

Katkat — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:41:51 +0000

I’ve never realized how bad the economy was until I’ve been informed by my boss that last friday the DOW plunged to almost below 7000. I still didn’t understand that. He explained the gravity if the DOW really did go down below 7000, the economy will crash and burn. But came Monday the DOW bounced back and gained points. The economy is regaining slowly but still there are lots of losing companies. Watching the stock exchange on TV, I thought everything is getting better since I’m seeing a lot of green arrows instead of red. However the last time I saw JP Morgan, its stock was still down…arggghhh….I hope it doesn’t have the same fate as WAMU.

Of course with the economy crisis right now, jobs are being cut left and right. In our dental office, lots of patients are not scheduling for their dental appointments because of lack of funds or their insurance benefit has been cut down. Thank God our office still manages to have a full schedule everyday. We never fear that we’ll be out of jobs.

But the reality and impact of the economy has struck me when my coworker informed me that my boss won’t hire another assistant after I leave. I was alarmed and surprised because work can be overwhelming when there’s only 1 assistant. Just think of juggling front desk work, scheduling, room prep, sterilization, inventory, office cleanup, etc. It really boggles the mind – if I was in her position I would go insane in a week! And I am sure that my boss knows that work can be too demanding because there were plenty of times when my coworker has taken absences and I was brought in to fill in for her when she couldn’t do all things by herself.

My coworker frankly asked my boss why she is planning not to hire an assistant. My boss replied that because of the economy being bad right now, she won’t know how much income the practice will bring in. Hmmm…so that’s what it is….

I have not truly grasped how bad the economy is. When my bank went bankrupt, I’ve no trouble after since my money has just been transferred to the company who bought the bank. I somewhat feel that the prices are going up but not that much since I budget my money really well and I don’t pay for rent and utilities so I have money to spare. I guess if my responsibilities are to get bigger then will I start worrying about all this economic hoopla.