PF Under 30

Paying off debt and finding my financial lifestyle

Archive for category Taxes

Direct Transfer to HSA – why not?

Aug 15

Posted by kiki in Emergency Fund, Finance Gurus, Taxes | No Comments

So I was about to call into Dave Ramsey and ask him if it was OK to put my Baby Step #2 on hold to contribute the max for my newly established HSA (Health Savings Account) – when I saw this “feature” -
Apparently you can rollover money from your IRA (not SIMPLE or SEP-IRA’s) once – up to the maximum annual amount – to your HSA without getting any distribution penalties.

I’ve got about $9,000 sitting in a Traditional IRA that will be taxed when I retire and withdraw it. If I move it (without penalty) to an HSA – it’s basically like a ROTH – grows tax free and can be withdrawn tax free (for qualified medical expenses.) If I had the cash, that would be ideal, but I’m already worried about maxing out my ROTH before April 15, 2009. If I can make taxable money non-taxable money without a “balance transfer fee” – why isn’t this a no-brainer?

In other news – I am establishing my Dave Ramsey Emergency Fund. Just transferred my first $200. However, I have a meeting w/ somebody on Monday who’s interested in buying my old bedroom set. If that goes through, I will have made my $1000 Emergency Fund and can check off Baby Step #1. Look for my brand new progress bar for the Emergency Fund coming soon.

Extra Tax Rebate coming May 9th.

Mar 18

Posted by kiki in Refunds and Rebates, Taxes | No Comments

Direct deposit – how I love thee? Let me count the ways:

  1. My paycheck gets deposited automatically. Whether I am on vacation (last time) or on business (next time).
  2. My 2007 income tax came back to me in 7 days thanks to the wonders of direct deposit. I paid my AMEX bill the very same day with that money.
  3. My economic stimulus check ($600) is going to be direct deposited into my USAA account May 9th. This is a wonderful early birthday present to me. That $600 will be paid to my Costco Amex the very same day.

 Thanks to the wonders of Direct Deposit – I got my 2007 refund in 10 days instead of 30. Same will go for the extra stimulus money. Because of my social security number, I am scheduled to get mine on the 9th.Go here for a list of when you can expect to receive yours. 

Tax Rebate Coming Friday!

Feb 6

Posted by kiki in American Express, Credit and Debt, Refunds and Rebates, Roth IRAs, Taxes | 2 Comments

My tax rebate is coming! My tax rebate is coming!According to the IRS, they should be depositing my “chunk-o-change” refund directly into my bank account on Friday! Yahoo! And the best part – there’s a SALE going on!!!New Apple iPhone? Costco shopping spree? There’s always Victoria’s Secret for Valentine’s Day!(d) NONE OF THE ABOVE Stocks are on sale right now and I’m taking 100% of my (almost) $2000 and contributing to my 2007 Roth IRA. I’ve been contributing like mad lately and my balance isn’t getting any higher. Oh well, I’m buying at a cheap price! The good news is – after this Tax Refund comes in (and February’s rent check) I will be almost 100% done with my Roth IRA Contributions for 2007. And I’ve already started on 2008. Did I mention I paid off my American Express Gold Card too? Balance ZERO! Nada! Zip!Can’t wait to cut the card up and tell Amex to “shove it where the sun don’t shine” when my renewal comes up this July.  Next up is my new USAA Amex (not much on there) and then off to tackle Citibank. Snowballing here I come!I love the power of the Tax Rebate! It’s so exhilarating! 

I just sent $768 to my 2007 Roth!

Jan 30

Posted by kiki in Refunds and Rebates, Roth IRAs, Taxes | No Comments

And the usual $208 twice a month to my 2008 Roth.That brings me up to 37% and climbing! $268 of it was from my State Income Tax Refund (just filed this weekend. Man they are quick!) I will put another $500 in once my rent check comes in – and another $1900 (the balance of my Federal Income Tax Refund) as soon as it arrives.After that – I will be almost entirely finished with my 2007 Roth contribution. And that should be completed by the 1st of March.I am also doing another $100 per month to my Savings – for at least my Christmas fund. That will give me $1200 for Christmas presents.After my Roth is done by the end of February I will be tackling the credit card debt. I feel broke, but I also feel very good that I’m making so much progress. Living in an apartment isn’t the same as my warm and spacious house, but it’s certainly given me the opportunity to play catch up.Stay tuned! Should have updates on my Car Loan Payoff numbers tomorrow.

Getting an LLC for $50.

Sep 27

Posted by kiki in Deals and Steals, Taxes | No Comments

Hi Everyone,

Long time no talk. Planning on blogging more, but you know how that goes.

News today is that with all of the job searching I’ve been doing, I’ve found a lot of contract opportunities (including the guy who actually laid me off – he’s at a new company now and needs help setting up shop. The NERVE!)
Anyway, with a lot of contract opportunities comes a lot of taxes, paying for your own healthcare, yada yada yada. And what better way to minimize the amount of money I give to Uncle Sam than DEDUCTIONS. That’s right…. I want to write off my Cell Phone bill, lots of mileage, my home office, and of course my new Mac Mini! :-)

I’ve been contemplating doing this for a while – especially since I got the no-fee Costco True Earnings Business American Express card back in June. I got an extra 5% Cash Back on Gasoline in addition to the usual personal card benefits by saying I was a business.

Anyway – on Legalzoom.com it’s $150 to fill out the forms, plus $85 in state fees. Yikes! Talking to my girlfriend this morning (a great local tax advisor), she said I could go onto my State’s website and do it myself. Cool! I get to save the $149 right? Actually, it’s even better than that! Apparently, Legalzoom only does the expedited version with the state. State filing fees for regular delivery are only $50! That’s it!

I am a huge fan of LegalZoom. I used them to form my Living Trust, Durable Power of Attorney, and Healthcare Power of Attorney. However, in this case, downloading the forms for FREE online and filling out two sheets of paper can save me $185. When I’m not working (or even if I was), it’s a smart move to do it myself and I’m going to take it.

If you have been considering setting up your own LLC, go look at your State’s website. In my case, it was the Arizona Corporation Commission. Good luck!