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well, the standard deduction adds up to $11,400 between myself and my wife.
now, other than mortgage interest, what is deductible?
Yes, I'm well aware of that the standard deduction is for a married couple, in terms other things that are deductible, there are numerous things, see Schedule A:
For example, if you live under a bridge you avoid property taxes, upkeep, utility costs, insurance costs, and much more. If you insist on luxuries like indoor living, running water and a sit-down toilet it's gonna cost you much more citizen.
What I'm getting at with that bit of absurdity (hopefully) is that we live in a society where you can work all your life, pay your societal dues, and still not be able to make it in retirement because of property taxes, insurance costs etc. Old people lose their homes because they can't pay the ever increasing property taxes on the roof over their head. Many, many working people live paycheck to paycheck all of their lives and never have an opportunity to "get ahead" or accumulate any wealth. They also typically go through several job changes and costly re-locations in their careers. I won't even start on the high rate of financially devastating divorces that are common these days...
Old people lose their homes because they can't pay the ever increasing property taxes on the roof over their head.
In NJ, you lock in your real estate taxes when you get old. My parents are paying less than half of what I pay in real estate taxes, but their home is worth almost 3 times as much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bideshi
Many, many working people live paycheck to paycheck all of their lives and never have an opportunity to "get ahead" or accumulate any wealth.
The question are which of these people took the easy path versus the challenging path. There's a correlation between risk and reward.
There's a lot of people who just go to college and go on to work entry level at companies. Ofcourse these folks are shooting themselves in the foot by entering a path with low probability of financial independence. It's even worse for those who never go to college.
I wish there was more emphasis on this in highschool. In your 20s is the ideal time to take the risks since responsibility is often limited and there's enough time to rinse, repeat and recover.
I wish there was more emphasis on this in highschool. In your 20s is the ideal time to take the risks since responsibility is often limited and there's enough time to rinse, repeat and recover.
In my 20s no one could imagine that health insurance would even be needed, never mind be as much or more than a mortgage payment (most people didn't have those either in those days...). It's impossible to prepare for a future you can't foresee. Young people responsibly preparing today for the future will almost certainly be faced with a different future than the one they are preparing for.
There were other types of businesses in the Detroit area as well, the decline in the auto industry was just the catalyst. Detroit wasn't the only high growth city in that era to decline. People living in Detroit, Pittsburgh, etc during their growth era would say the same things you are saying about NYC....
The point is, is that Detroit's downfall and Pittsburgh's too were both driven the collapse of industry not the collapse of the Real Estate market like you are suggesting in NYC>
In my 20s no one could imagine that health insurance would even be needed, never mind be as much or more than a mortgage payment (most people didn't have those either in those days...). It's impossible to prepare for a future you can't foresee. Young people responsibly preparing today for the future will almost certainly be faced with a different future than the one they are preparing for.
It was different back in the day. My dad, for example, had the opportunity to work at the same bank on wallstreet for 20 years. That's unheard of nowadays. He was offered early retirement w/ full pension and health for life at 45 after working only 20 years. He took it and started a business since he didn't have to worry about retirement and health insurance anymore. If it were that easy today, I'd choose to work for someone else. The issue right now is that working for someone else is a raw deal.
There's a lot of people who just go to college and go on to work entry level at companies. Ofcourse these folks are shooting themselves in the foot by entering a path with low probability of financial independence. It's even worse for those who never go to college.
I wish there was more emphasis on this in highschool. In your 20s is the ideal time to take the risks since responsibility is often limited and there's enough time to rinse, repeat and recover.
Tell that to the reverend, firefighter, teacher, police officer, etc. I guess they're being irresponsible working in a field to serve others instead of themselves since they are counting on pensions in retirement since they don't qualify for 401k programs.
I am a proponent of personal financial responsibility and sound financial management. However, not everyone is in a position to take control of how they are paid. Many public employees make significantly less than $100k and obviously pay considerably more than you do in taxes yet they're currently the scapegoats for the budget problems.
It was different back in the day. My dad, for example, had the opportunity to work at the same bank on wallstreet for 20 years. That's unheard of nowadays. He was offered early retirement w/ full pension and health for life at 45 after working only 20 years. He took it and started a business since he didn't have to worry about retirement and health insurance anymore. If it were that easy today, I'd choose to work for someone else. The issue right now is that working for someone else is a raw deal.
I guess dad was a pretty good resource and safety net for you.
Also, to say it again, I have private insurance and my premium is $140/month, if you want to include HSA contributions then its around $300/month, dramatically lower than $1,000. I'm also paying 30% more on my premiums due to a pre-existing condition.
What company and what plan?
Your premium would be based on a lot of factors that are not clear here. Age, a myriad of deductibles, yearly and lifetime maximums. Out-of packet maximums, HMO, PPO, 70, 80 or 90% coverage, choice of health care providers, co-pays?
I have a "premium" group policy with my company - family coverage - and my monthly contribution, over and above what my employer pays is $300. To get similar "private" coverage it would cost approximately $800-1000 a month.
I've looked at the lesser plans offered, where my contribution would be $120 a month. The companies contribution remains the same, so a similar plan would cost $600-800 a month. The downside is if there is an unexpected event, such as has happened at least twice in the last 4 years, I could be out of pocket quite a bit more due to higher co-pays and lower payout percentages.
Unfortunately, I think that a lot of folks are going to have to take on much more risk (less advantageous coverage limits) to maintain at least a semblance of (catastrophic) coverage going forward.
Yes, I'm well aware of that the standard deduction is for a married couple, in terms other things that are deductible, there are numerous things, see Schedule A:
i'm actually just short of triple the standard. my apologies. i didn't do my own taxes last year or this year because i bought a house in 2010, but in time to get the homebuyers' credit for 2009. so i wanted to make sure i didn't miss anything so i'm using my friend's dad who does personal income taxes, just to be sure. I'm perfectly capable of plugging the numbers into the schedules, and understand the tax code fairly well, but just am not that confident i'll think of every deduction i may qualify for. so sad to admit this year, i got my results, and have been too busy to really comb through the details. but i just looked at it because of your question.
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