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This & That

June 21st, 2013 at 06:40 pm

**Two posts for one morning - just FYI if you want to read my last more philisophical post - might be good for newbies.

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**Gearing up for camp. It's a relief to not worry about camp being under 10-feet-of-snow in May or June. I won't have to worry about the mud (tracking it everywhere; driving in it, slipping and sliding our vehicle through it).

We camp annually near Tahoe with parents and some extended family. (It's "Family Camp" where they provide food, cabins, activities for kids). So yeah, I don't have to do a lot to gear up. Dh checked our bug spray and sunblock levels and I noted we need to find our flashlights.

**We bought a new garbage disposal a couple of months ago. Dh feels mostly comfortable with the installation, but had concerns about the electrical side of things. So we just had asked if my dad could help us before or after camp. (He is staying with us the night before, and we will drive him there from our home). In the meantime, the disposal died in a totally bad way. (IT's difficult and it jams at times, but no idea what this latest problem is). So, I suppose the timing will be good. Could be better, but at least it's not like we won't see my Dad for weeks...

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**BM's first summer class wrapped up. He will get a "grade," but I don't know when.

Dh and LM did well filling time, waiting, and saving gas. (Probably hardly worth the time to drive home and back, anyway).

This program is at the local University, and meant on some level to familiarize the kids with a University setting. It's interesting because LM has gotten so much out of it, tagging along. He particularly likes the video game room in the student union. $2.50/hour to play - dh obliged him a bit.

They've also been reading a lot and designing LM's board game.

Yesterday dh took some time to run a few errands:

He sold some video games to the used store (they generally take music and games and books). He's got some others to sell on Amazon.

He's got a few books he had been unable to unload, so took them to a used book store in the area. Got rid of a bunch of books in exchange for $5 cash and a couple of books. (Credit would have been better, but we just dont' buy paper books any more. He did pick up a couple of books that he couldn't find at the library; I am sure we will sell them back later).

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In two weeks my baby turns 8. In three weeks my other baby turns 10, and he leaves for England. My MIL must be *freaking out*. It has been like her lifelong dream to take her grandchildren "anywhere in the world" (their choosing) when they turn 10.

Anyway, BM is the eldest grandchild. She has been talking about this since I was like 5 minutes pregnant, so I know she is just bursting at the seams.

As much as my in-laws do love to travel, they have never been to Europe. I find that kind of weird. Surprising... But, I guess it will be quite an experience for them all.

For BM, I don't think we really had any clarity until the past 12 months or so about what he would actually pick.

So, lord knows what LM will decide. The other day we were talking about Italy. (I think it came up because we were eating gelato). A bell kind of went off in my head, well that might be *it* for him. But, probably too early to tell.

Anyway, I just have no idea how I have a 10-year-old. !!

The in-laws don't have particularly deep pockets. They do have a lot of timeshare points and airline miles. I think her offer really reads more, "I will take you anywhere *affordable* for your 10th birthday" than literally "anywhere in the world." Wink I am sure they will be spending money we couldn't possibly justify at this stage in our lives. So, definitely an awesome opportunity for the kids.

8 Responses to “This & That”

  1. guppy Says:
    1371838522

    MM - Here's a dumb question. Is there any quick and dirty way to figure out how much income loss we'd face if I quit my 60k a year job? T makes almost the same income as me, so if I were to stop working how much more could we expect him to take home? Sorry to raid your post with a question, but you seem knowledgeable and have some experience with this sort of thing!!

  2. guppy Says:
    1371838558

    Oops! I meant to post this in regards to another one of your posts. Sorry about that!

  3. MonkeyMama Says:
    1371838841

    No prob- I was probably more likely to see the comment here.

    I think the easiest thing is to re-run your 2012 tax return with different scenarios. Would you be able to do this?

    In addition, you would no longer be paying social security taxes - so that would be about $4,500 less taxes right there. ($60,000 x 7.65%).

    I will run some quick and dirty numbers (though they won't be custom to your situation).

  4. MonkeyMama Says:
    1371839970

    Okay, simple scenario:

    A couple with one child, $60k salary/each, no other income or deductions, no 401k or anything like that...

    Tax on second income: $12,500 Federal income taxes $4,500 social security taxes
    (There may also be state taxes and other tax complexities, for more savings).

    That's $17,000 per year tax savings, or $1,400 per month. I think you could easily round up to $20,000, and say it's costing you $20,000 per year to work (once you include commuting and other costs of working). Of course, your real "cost of working" number could be much bigger than this.

    The tax numbers are generally actually bigger, because the less income you have, the more deductions and credits you generally are eligible for.

    {In my state, you'd also pay another $5,000 state tax for the second income. Which brings the tax rate up to 37% on the second income. Ouch!!}.

    P.S. This is not a dumb question!!!!

  5. guppy Says:
    1371860916

    I understand much of my income goes to taxes, but I guess im missing how much more his take home would be if my income didnt exist. Wed be in a lower tax bracket so that must count for something. Right now he brings in 3k a month so im just wondering if that would go up at all. Sorry to intrude again, youve made very convincing arguments im just wondering how it all would work if I wanted to be home after baby#2 (which has only been talked about so its not like its remotely real yet). Youve made the 1 income lifestyle sound so much less stressful and possible for people who didnt think it was.

  6. MonkeyMama Says:
    1371862811

    Well, it depends how many taxes are being withheld from your check right now. How much is going to Federal income tax withholding?

    Simplistically, if you are paying $6,000 per year in Federal taxes, and your Federal income taxes decrease by $12,500 with the loss of income, then the difference is $6,500 that your spouse is currently paying but will no longer need to pay. Does that make sense?

    I think playing with your actual tax return (maybe try this next year when you do your taxes?) may also be helpful in this scenario. You see that maybe you get a $5k refund with you working, and maybe you get a $11,500 refund without you working. So, you see the difference is $6,500.

    **I have to think about this math a bit - it's getting kind of complicated, and I have to go.**

    I was personally taking home about $2,800 per month before we had our first child, and bumped it up to about $3,400 when my first child was born. I probably could have made that $3,500 or $3,600 when we had our second child (if same salary). The numbers are close enough (if his take-home is $3k), that I share to give you an idea.

  7. MonkeyMama Says:
    1371863057

    P.S. I think it's good to leave a buffer and have some savings, all of the above said. We could very easily live on my $2800/month take-home. BUT, bumping up my paycheck for the tax difference meant we could save and have some buffer too. Which I think does make all the difference for some. If they can wrap their brain around $3400 per month, but can't wrap their brain around surviving on $2800 per month... That is a 20% boost to take-home income.

  8. guppy Says:
    1371927486

    Thanks for taking the time to respond to me. I honestly hadnt taken that into consideration. Of course my husband then brought up that my insurance is excellent and his isnt, so we'd have to allow for a better plan to cover me and my daughter. Most likely it would never happen anyway since I like working too much; I just wish state government had more flexibility and offered part time. Oh well, I can dream. Thanks again for explaining that all to me tho!

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