The even randomer thread

[Doohicksie]

Didn't you hear the big news? They dropped the dash from their name!!!

 

Kickin' it old skool, yo.

Some of my clients ask me 'so, how much should extra should I have them deduct from my pay?  I want a big refund' ... I always say ZERO!!  And I am a CPA.

 

How do you underpay?  In Canada if you are an employee you have your employer calculate how much to deduct.  Now, there is a form that all employees fill out and sign which outlines how many credits you qualify for ... kids, school fees etc.  If you do not fill it out accurately you are committing tax fraud.  I always tell my clients to only claim the basic deduction to be safe.

 

The US W4 form isn't that detailed.  It basically asks how many dependents you have, and if you choose you can adjust the amount up as well (I've been 0 dependents for along time and they still never take out enough so I have them take out extra).

[Gramps]

FWIW, overpaying is almost never the right solution; you're giving the government an interest-free loan. Consciously underpaying I think is illegal though, so you're generally best off thinking through your deductions and making your best guess. I've never had to pay a significant amount into taxes on my return, but coming up with a bunch of cash would be scary. Of course, I'm no CPA.

 

They're the all the same, although Costco seems to be a little better about Organic and/or healthy items in terms of food.

 

No, if you're incorporated ( S corp), you'll have to possibly pay an underpayment of estimated tax penalty using Form 2220 meaning most likely you'll own more when you file your return. Even if you end up owing the Feds and you can't pay, the IRS will work with you on a payment plan. My sister has an IRS tax lien of about 9K on which she's paying about $50/month.

 

One thing the IRS does frown on is if you have an incorporated business and you don't pay yourself a salary meaning you've avoided paying Social Security & Medicare taxes. 

Edited February 7, 2018 by Gramps

[Sabres Fan in NS]

On another subject.

 

I have been watching some really good documentaries on the history and break up of Yugoslavia.

 

Started this one today and I am about 30 minutes in.  It is very informative on the history of the region starting with the lead up to WWI.

 

 

Those of you who have been around here may remember that my wife and I have been to Bosnia many times and I have very strong feeling about what happened there in the most recent war and who was mostly responsible.  That really has not and will not change.

 

My eyes have been opened a lot more in regards to the lead up to that war and especially what happened in the region during WWII.  I knew that the Nazis had set up a puppet state in what they called Croatia, which included Bosnia, and occupied what is now Serbia.  What I did not realise was the the Croatian Ustase were very active from about 1930 and were the most loyal and fervent supporters of Hitler outside of Germany.  Their atrocities against primarily, but not exclusively, the Serbs in that area leading up to and especially during WWII made the German Nazis squirm.  Their leader Ante Pavelic made the hard core Nazi leaders look like amateurs.

 

Absolutely horrible and I can understand why the Serbs were so against an independent Croatia after Tito passed away.  That said, I will never accept the actions of the Serbs in Bosnia.

 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled income tax discussion.

[MattPie]

Kickin' it old skool, yo.

 

The US W4 form isn't that detailed.  It basically asks how many dependents you have, and if you choose you can adjust the amount up as well (I've been 0 dependents for along time and they still never take out enough so I have them take out extra).

 

I ran across a calculator checklist somewhere near that form (it might be via the WorkPeople site, look under Pay and Benefits). I think I take something like 5 deductions based on that calculation and essentially get no return now. The big return was fun, but getting an extra 8% or so each check was even better. I should probably run it again; I'm not sure it'll be worth my time to itemize any more with the tax changes (renting: here I come!).

[Taro T]

I was just fiddling around with tax stuff and have about 4k in potential write offs. If they take it. I barely understand this stuff. We've been overpaying taxes this year- weren't sure what was right, hopefully get a bigger refund- better than getting fees. Luckily, d4rk's mom is a CPA and can figure out my crap. Ah, the costs of starting a business...

 

All I can say is that refund better be nice this year, the job I'm still waiting on better happen, or I'm going underwater. Good thing bleach is tasty.

 

Thought all the cool kids were going for Tide Pods nowadays. ;)

 

You might want to stock up now though as some NYS legislators apparently want P&G to make 'em look less appetizing. :wacko:

[Doohicksie]

On another subject.

 

I have been watching some really good documentaries on the history and break up of Yugoslavia.

 

Started this one today and I am about 30 minutes in.  It is very informative on the history of the region starting with the lead up to WWI.

 

 

Those of you who have been around here may remember that my wife and I have been to Bosnia many times and I have very strong feeling about what happened there in the most recent war and who was mostly responsible.  That really has not and will not change.

 

My eyes have been opened a lot more in regards to the lead up to that war and especially what happened in the region during WWII.  I knew that the Nazis had set up a puppet state in what they called Croatia, which included Bosnia, and occupied what is now Serbia.  What I did not realise was the the Croatian Ustase were very active from about 1930 and were the most loyal and fervent supporters of Hitler outside of Germany.  Their atrocities against primarily, but not exclusively, the Serbs in that area leading up to and especially during WWII made the German Nazis squirm.  Their leader Ante Pavelic made the hard core Nazi leaders look like amateurs.

 

Absolutely horrible and I can understand why the Serbs were so against an independent Croatia after Tito passed away.  That said, I will never accept the actions of the Serbs in Bosnia.

 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled income tax discussion.

 

I read a book about the Ottoman Empire some years ago and I remember it discussed how the Balkans were essentially at the intersection of the Ottoman, Western Roman and Eastern Orthodox states, and that there was a lot of conquering and re-conquering which led to adjacent villages being fervently Catholic or Orthodox or Muslim. 

 

Coming into the modern era, each group felt they had a valid claim to the land (they'd been there for generations by then) and felt the other groups were violating their space so to speak, which eventually led to the ethnic cleansing and atrocities of the 20th century.

Edited February 7, 2018 by Anordning

[Stoner]

Preach it brother. As Aud would say, wegmans is great for bread and circuses but I can get a cart of groceries for $80 at Aldi vs $250 at wegs.

Do you mean "groceries"? An Aldi's just opened here. Maybe the product line is geared toward my generally poor area, but you can barely find a recognizable name brand product in the store. I'm not brand-conscious, but I would like to have the choice of Jif peanut butter alongside Auntie May's or whatever. The produce is nice though, and easy on the wallet. I'll take a pint of blueberries for $1.50 any day.

[inkman]

Do you mean "groceries"? An Aldi's just opened here. Maybe the product line is geared toward my generally poor area, but you can barely find a recognizable name brand product in the store. I'm not brand-conscious, but I would like to have the choice of Jif peanut butter alongside Auntie May's or whatever. The produce is nice though, and easy on the wallet. I'll take a pint of blueberries for $1.50 any day.

The company I work for makes their pasta sauce, salsa, Alfredo, salsa con queso just off the top of my head. Reggano, casa mamita are just as good as wegmans or frito lay products. Aldi has very high standards for their products. Don't shy away.

 

Also from personal experience, their other items are equally as good.

[Stoner]

The company I work for makes their pasta sauce, salsa, Alfredo, salsa con queso just off the top of my head. Reggano, casa mamita are just as good as wegmans or frito lay products. Aldi has very high standards for their products. Don't shy away.

 

Also from personal experience, their other items are equally as good.

Funny. I just now opened a jar of their Casa Mamita organic black bean salsa. It's very good. I think it'll take a mental adjustment. Given the price points, I just assumed they were lesser products aimed at a certain demographic.

I was just fiddling around with tax stuff and have about 4k in potential write offs. If they take it. I barely understand this stuff. We've been overpaying taxes this year- weren't sure what was right, hopefully get a bigger refund- better than getting fees. Luckily, d4rk's mom is a CPA and can figure out my crap. Ah, the costs of starting a business...

 

All I can say is that refund better be nice this year, the job I'm still waiting on better happen, or I'm going underwater. Good thing bleach is tasty. 

Don't forget your self employed health insurance deduction, on line 29 of your 1040. It reduces your taxable income. You can deduct all of your insurance payments. The policy can be in your name or the name of your business. I'm assuming you're a sole proprietor. You and your business are basically the same entity, so the IRS gives you that little goodie.

[ubkev]

Do you mean "groceries"? An Aldi's just opened here. Maybe the product line is geared toward my generally poor area, but you can barely find a recognizable name brand product in the store. I'm not brand-conscious, but I would like to have the choice of Jif peanut butter alongside Auntie May's or whatever. The produce is nice though, and easy on the wallet. I'll take a pint of blueberries for $1.50 any day.

Aldi doesn't really do name brand, per say. I'm not a fan of their sliced bread and I don't particularly like their peanut butter. But their canned veggies are the same as any other canned veggies. Their chicken tastes like chicken and my kid likes their skid row Samoa cookies.

 

My wife categorizes the grocery list into what things are cheapest at which store. She knows how much everything costs, everywhere. Me, I couldn't tell you if a gallon of milk is more or less expensive than a gallon of gas.

Edited February 7, 2018 by ubkev

[darksabre]

The company I work for makes their pasta sauce, salsa, Alfredo, salsa con queso just off the top of my head. Reggano, casa mamita are just as good as wegmans or frito lay products. Aldi has very high standards for their products. Don't shy away.

 

Also from personal experience, their other items are equally as good.

Casa Mamita was my favorite salsa recipe of the various ones we ran.

[inkman]

Casa Mamita was my favorite salsa recipe of the various ones we ran.

It's very good, I actually think they use too many veggies, if thats a thing. Almost double most formulas.

[Doohicksie]

Trust me Doohickie (I assume I don't have to tell you this), if your wife likes the house, especially the kitchen, you're moving.

 

Congrats!!

 

Yeah, we're pulling the trigger.  We sent an email to the realtors this evening to make it happen.  We need to accept the offer on our house and put the offer in on the new house.

 

We've lived here 20 years; this is kind of scary.  I wish I were as confident about this as my wife.  :cry:

[Wyldnwoody44]

I am a 1099 (I think that's what independent contractor is) and I make very stupid large quarterly payments, I have to try and write off everything I can to not get bent over By uncle same, based on my gross. It's just a major headache to know how much I give them, just to give them more at tax time.

[MattPie]

Aldi facts!

- Aldi and Trader Joe's are owned by brothers that decided to split the company; in Germany they two chains are known as Aldi North and Aldi South.

- Aldi does adjust some selection based on the area, but the one near me (in the poorest area of the county) isn't that much different than the one down the street from the gigantic new Whole Foods in Fancytown.

- It's almost all generic brands, but usually not bad. The salmon isn't that good, and on a few occasions I've found expired food on the shelf; you're paying yourself to be vigilant.

[Winston]

Yeah, we're pulling the trigger. We sent an email to the realtors this evening to make it happen. We need to accept the offer on our house and put the offer in on the new house.

 

We've lived here 20 years; this is kind of scary. I wish I were as confident about this as my wife. :cry:

Very cool! Now here’s the important question for you- how are the bike routes near the new home?

[Doohicksie]

Very cool! Now here’s the important question for you- how are the bike routes near the new home?

 

It's within a block of one of my long-used routes, and two blocks from a bike lane that leads right to the river trails.  That's part of the point is to get closer to the places I ride to.  I'll be only a coupla miles from Buffalo Bros, the Bills Backers bar.  Everything's about 4 or 5 miles closer.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Anordning

[Doohicksie]

The new place is at Binyon and Odessa, near the center of the map.  Just west of that is Stadium Drive, a route I've used for years, and just west of that, the split road, is the bike lane on Westcreek Drive which leads to the Trinity Trails to the north (off the screen).  And the little blob in the parking lot near SW Loop 820 and just north of Wooten is a bicycle shop, about a mile and a half from the new place.

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Yeah, we're pulling the trigger.  We sent an email to the realtors this evening to make it happen.  We need to accept the offer on our house and put the offer in on the new house.

 

We've lived here 20 years; this is kind of scary.  I wish I were as confident about this as my wife.  :cry:

 

Congrats!!

 

I was going to post that you should try not to let your fear of stuff get in the way if overall it's a good deal.

 

I have fallen into that myself.  We are in a very nice part of town (Bedford, NS ... if you want to look into it  :flirt: ), but we have always wanted to live a bit further out nearer the open ocean, although we can drive to it in less than 30 minutes in the Legend ...  :flirt: .

 

Anyway, over the years my wife has found several great options that I thought were 'too much $'.  Well, we have not found anything suitable for a while now and all those homes that I thought were too much $ at around $350 - $400,000 are now going for $1 million +.

 

A move can be overwhelming, especially at our ages, but try to have fun, or something.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Sabersfläkt i NS

[Winston]

It's within a block of one of my long-used routes, and two blocks from a bike lane that leads right to the river trails.  That's part of the point is to get closer to the places I ride to.  I'll be only a coupla miles from Buffalo Bros, the Bills Backers bar.  Everything's about 4 or 5 miles closer.

Fantastic! Moving a couple years ago really threw off my biking. I had so many favorite routes in Amherst. But I never got familiar enough with the routes around downtown Columbus. Where I lived was such a busy part of town, limited bike lanes, blind corners, street parking which means no shoulder, crazy college kids driving on their phones or worse... I had a couple miles of pure fear before I could hit any safe paths.

 

But I moved in September and now I'm in the 'burbs. There's a trail that picks up right in my condo community. Where you live matters so much for biking. Sounds like you're even better off than before! Very happy to hear that.

[Doohicksie]

Fantastic! Moving a couple years ago really threw off my biking. I had so many favorite routes in Amherst. But I never got familiar enough with the routes around downtown Columbus. Where I lived was such a busy part of town, limited bike lanes, blind corners, street parking which means no shoulder, crazy college kids driving on their phones or worse... I had a couple miles of pure fear before I could hit any safe paths.

 

But I moved in September and now I'm in the 'burbs. There's a trail that picks up right in my condo community. Where you live matters so much for biking. Sounds like you're even better off than before! Very happy to hear that.

 

If you were still in downtown Columbus I was going to refer you to a guy lives car-free in the downtown area.  He's a mechanic at one of the bike shops.  He could have helped you out.

 

Downtown Fort Worth is actually one of the bike friendliest parts of town.  Most of the streets in the downtown core are one way, and there are bus lanes on the main drags that they designated as Bus-Bike Lanes some years ago.  I was skeptical about sharing a lane with buses, but the drivers who drive the downtown routes are very good about not crowding cyclists.

 

I've mentioned this before, but if you want to learn more about riding in traffic, CommuteOrlando is one of the best sources of information I've found.  Orlando is one of the most bike-hostile cities around, and the people who created that site developed a whole bunch of techniques for riding in traffic and documented them on the site.  They're actually a bit more VC* than I am, but they have a lot of good tools for coping with traffic you can put in your mental toolbox.

 

*VC = Vehicular Cyclist- they regard bicycles as full vehicles on the roads and "drive" their bikes as such.  As intimidating as you think that might be, it actually works.

[Doohicksie]

Anyway, over the years my wife has found several great options that I thought were 'too much $'.  Well, we have not found anything suitable for a while now and all those homes that I thought were too much $ at around $350 - $400,000 are now going for $1 million +.

 

That's where I ended up.  We're selling our old house which is 1/3 larger than the new house (we want to downsize) for less than the new house.  The new house is extensively renovated and overpriced compared to the neighborhood (the flipper put much more money than he expected into this one), but the house has been completely re-done:  Full exterior from roof to the ground is new except for the brickwork which was repaired where there some loose bricks; new electrical, new plumbing, new AC.  The hardwood floors have been refinished and wet areas have new tile.  Kitchen completely redone.  So it's overpriced compared to comps, but it's still a good value, considering if we stayed put we'd be spending a bunch of money to do all that kind of stuff to our old house. 

 

And a guy I work with pointed out that while it's a bit overpriced now, the price we paid will be in the middle of the pack in a couple years.  Fort Worth is a growing community and older (quality) homes are in high demand.  Neighborhoods that I would have considered undesirable barrios are appreciating by leaps and bounds.  And that's the problem with comps right now:  A comp that's 6 months old is ancient in this market. 

 

A move can be overwhelming, especially at our ages, but try to have fun, or something.

 

Or something.  Once I'm settled in I'll be fine.

 

My biggest fear is that some show-stopper item is found in the new house and we end up in a game of musical chairs with nowhere to sit (live) when the music stops.  I don' wanna be homeless.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Anordning

[josie]

Aldi facts!

- Aldi and Trader Joe's are owned by brothers that decided to split the company; in Germany they two chains are known as Aldi North and Aldi South.

- Aldi does adjust some selection based on the area, but the one near me (in the poorest area of the county) isn't that much different than the one down the street from the gigantic new Whole Foods in Fancytown.

- It's almost all generic brands, but usually not bad. The salmon isn't that good, and on a few occasions I've found expired food on the shelf; you're paying yourself to be vigilant.

Reminds me of Adidas and Puma- brothers who split company. Adolf "Adi" Dassler and Rudolf "Ruda" Dassler (fun fact- both were part of the Nazi party- Rudolf being more into it than Adi). Puma was first called Ruda... Adi Das... Ruda Das...but Puma worked better. My father worked for Adidas for a few years- he now insists on saying it "correctly" (AHdeeDAHS instead of aDEEdahs) which is pretty cringy in public. But all the free stuff we got from Adidas and Salomon was pretty neat... 

 

Them Germans. 

[ubkev]

Reminds me of Adidas and Puma- brothers who split company. Adolf "Adi" Dassler and Rudolf "Ruda" Dassler (fun fact- both were part of the Nazi party- Rudolf being more into it than Adi). Puma was first called Ruda... Adi Das... Ruda Das...but Puma worked better. My father worked for Adidas for a few years- he now insists on saying it "correctly" (AHdeeDAHS instead of aDEEdahs) which is pretty cringy in public. But all the free stuff we got from Adidas and Salomon was pretty neat...

 

Them Germans.

My 2 favorite shoes and my 2nd favorite skis. All from one family. Go figure.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

 

I read a book about the Ottoman Empire some years ago and I remember it discussed how the Balkans were essentially at the intersection of the Ottoman, Western Roman and Eastern Orthodox states, and that there was a lot of conquering and re-conquering which led to adjacent villages being fervently Catholic or Orthodox or Muslim. 

 

Coming into the modern era, each group felt they had a valid claim to the land (they'd been there for generations by then) and felt the other groups were violating their space so to speak, which eventually led to the ethnic cleansing and atrocities of the 20th century.

 

You are correct.  That part of the world has always had significance since about the year 1,000 when it started to become very strategic for trade.

 

At some point the Russian slavs moved in and influenced the area with the Eastern Orthodox Christianity after the first Protestant split with Rome.  The Greeks adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity at some point, but went through their own split with that church.

 

The first Southern Slavs (Yugoslavs) were Eastern Orthodox and dominated the area for quite some time.  Once Islam, which was spreading in the time of Muhammad (PBUH) and the initial years after him, not by the sword, but by trade and politics, was embraced by the Ottoman Turks the spread was more by conquest.  The Ottomans saw the importance of the area as they spread West after they took over Constantinople (Istanbul) and moved into the Balkans ... especially what was until recently Yugoslavia.

 

Fierce battles were waged in the area culminating in Kosovo Field.  The leaders of both armies were killed, but the Serb (Prince Lazar) is viewed by by Serbs as a martyr and Saint.  The birthplace of Serbia is considered to be Kosovo and that area is bound to be the root of any future problems, especially now that it is independent of Serbia (it was until recently a province within Serbia).  Kosovo over the years has become predominantly Muslim with people from neighbouring Albania moving into the region.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kosovo

 

The Ottoman Turks left the area in the 1800's when the Austro-Hungarians moved in.  The Serbs generally had a better view of the Austo-Hungarians (not by much, though) since they were, at least, Christians (Catholics).  The hard line Serbs did not and some plotted an assassination.  One finally succeeded in 1914 on a bridge in Sarajevo and not long after the world went to war.  Many became Catholic (the Croats).  Many Serbs and Croats still refer to the Muslims in Bosnia, who are Slavs that adopted Islam, as Turks in a derogatory manner.  There are very few Turks in Bosnia.

 

I already posted about what horrors happened in the area during WWII.  The horrors of the wars that followed Tito's death are also well documented.

 

So, the region has been a powder keg for a very long time.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Sabersfläkt i NS