Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2011 19:32:59 GMT -5
I changed our witholding last week and we both turned them in last Monday. - I got a raise of $35.70/week after taxes ;D - My wife was able to increase her 401k from 20 to 25% but her check increased by a grand total of $ 0. 15/biweekly ;D ;D Why didn't I do this since last year... stupid me  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 8:40:03 GMT -5
HAHA, I love my wife. I got up this morning and the first thing my wife said to me was: Did you see my paycheck? I said yes. She said: I am upset, the changes did not go thru. You said my paycheck would be more but it's not. I said yes it is (showed her the paystub) you contributing $80 more to your 401K every two weeks but your net remain the same. She looked at me: No you dumdum... I thought you meant more money was going to come to ME! I was looking forward to getting the extra $$$. Got to love my mife. In her mind she would be getting about $100-$120 to spend  |
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Apr 9, 2011 8:49:24 GMT -5
Caw,
Your wife is highly educated isn't she? Like a couple of grad degrees, and what not?
And she is having difficulty understanding elementary math?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 9:03:56 GMT -5
Caw, Your wife is highly educated isn't she? Like a couple of grad degrees, and what not? And she is having difficulty understanding elementary math? She only paid attention to the net and since it was $1,032.41 instead of the regular $1,032.26 she just thought it did not go thru. It was only after I showed her the previous paystub compared to the current one and the different amounts : $323.20 previous check and $404.00 current one that it clicked But she is still pissed at me, all week she was looking forward to getting extra money in her paycheck ;D |
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Apr 9, 2011 9:10:56 GMT -5
I've been railing here for a long time about how uneducated and lost most of the population is here, in spite of the fact, that more people attend college then every before.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 9:39:19 GMT -5
I've been railing here for a long time about how uneducated and lost most of the population is here, in spite of the fact, that more people attend college then every before. I think in her case is just a fact that she is more interested in enjoying her money now instead of waiting 30-40 years! |
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Post by sue on Apr 9, 2011 9:40:31 GMT -5
"In her mind she would be getting about $100-$120 to spend" Tell her she will... eventually.  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 9:44:57 GMT -5
"In her mind she would be getting about $100-$120 to spend" Tell her she will... eventually. LOL But she is already so mad that I am afraid of mentionning that she will eventually get the money in 40 years will not end well  |
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Post by sue on Apr 9, 2011 9:54:17 GMT -5
It sounds like your wife has a bit of... growing up to do? How old are y'all?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 9:55:32 GMT -5
It sounds like your wife has a bit of... growing up to do? How old are y'all? 25 |
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Post by sue on Apr 9, 2011 10:08:18 GMT -5
Eh... give her some time, she'll come around. And every time she whines now, smile and think of it as another "I told you so" in 40 years.  |
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Apr 9, 2011 10:24:23 GMT -5
I think in her case is just a fact that she is more interested in enjoying her money now instead of waiting 30-40 years! Ummm - doesn't that fall under the category of 'uneducated'? |
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Apr 9, 2011 11:32:37 GMT -5
No, it falls under the category of someone like I was before these boards and maturation. At 25 I wanted to take 10k my Dad gave me and go to Bermuda and buy furniture for my house that was just a house with my high school bedroom set in it for furniture. Husband wanted to use it to buy GM stock. Dad convinced me to go along. GM stock lost major value and I never got to Bermuda and only got furniture after my parents downsized and gave us their old stuff.  |
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Apr 9, 2011 11:36:01 GMT -5
GM stock lost major value and I never got to Bermuda So two wrongs really don't make a 'right'?  |
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Apr 9, 2011 11:59:32 GMT -5
I don't think it's a case of not knowing math or not being smart. I think people's thinking gets stuck in a rut. And sometimes that rut is so deep there thinking can't move out of it. Well, moving out of the rut requires effort/thought/re-evaluating/getting new understanding.
I have to 'thank' my mom for making me do my 'taxes' as a teen. Even though it was the EZ form. I'll fess up to not actually wanting to 'understand' the taxes (basically followed the directions and put the numbers thru a calculator to get a 'total') but years later when I was still doing my taxes and it got alittle more complicated (more interest/dividend income, charitable contributions) the really big tax amounts from my W2... I actually started 'thinking' and trying to 'figure it out'.
Many people have NEVER done their taxes themselves. It's some 'magical' thing that happens when they give all their 'paperwork' to someone else who conjures up a 'refund amount'. It's expected to get a refund - it's like getting something from the government for free... I guess.
I think this is the main reason people look at me like I have two heads when I fess up to getting a small refund and attempt to explain it by saying I get bigger paychecks. They don't understand the connection between the taxes they pay each paycheck and the refund check they get in March/April.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Apr 9, 2011 12:06:28 GMT -5
Sigh, maybe 2 lefts do!!! Just indicative of how we were so far apart that there was no compromising. What we should have done was split the money and half he invested and half I got to buy furniture and take that trip to Bermuda. We were very young and somehow compromising wasn't in the cards.
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Apr 9, 2011 12:46:36 GMT -5
I think this is the main reason people look at me like I have two heads when I fess up to getting a small refund and attempt to explain it by saying I get bigger paychecks. They don't understand the connection between the taxes they pay each paycheck and the refund check they get in March/April. When income tax was started in 1913, you paid your full tax bill on April 15 - there was no withholding so you had to plan ahead. During World War II, Congress introduced payroll withholding and quarterly tax payments, FDR needed upfront money to pay for the War in 1941-42, so withholding was started. Surprisingly there wasn't much whining, Americans were solidly behind the War effort - we rationed sugar, tires, gasoline, saved newspapers, shaded our headlights, etc - peer pressure caused people to follow the rules. If you were caught cheating - driving around on new tires, burning tractor gas in your car, etc, you were frowned upon by neighbors. But after the war, the 'plan ahead' senses of the American workers seemed to disappear - if we were now given the responsibility to pay our entire tax bill on April 15, can you imagine how many people would fail? |
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lurkyloo
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Post by lurkyloo on Apr 9, 2011 15:56:17 GMT -5
I like to think of getting a refund in the context that we need a motivation/reward for doing our taxes (we have always done our own). Also, I've got no confidence in further fine-tuning. Last year, our first full year with a mortgage, we got $7K back from the feds and $2K back from the state. This year? Looking like $2.5K back from the feds and $4K state. Changes in circumstance were relatively minor--our AGI went up 3-4% and we refinanced; other than that not much changed. I dunno why the discrepancy is so big--maybe having to give back the making work pay credit or something? Blest are those/Whose blood and judgment is so well commingled/That they are not a stop for Fortune's finger/To blow all their during-the-year refund money on clothes instead of index funds  |
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Post by bobbysgirl on Apr 9, 2011 19:26:14 GMT -5
I've been railing here for a long time about how uneducated and lost most of the population is here, in spite of the fact, that more people attend college then every before. When I hired staff I took an air force retiree rather than the 4 year degree people. The paper they graduate with is made out of rock. As in dumber than a box of. The degree just doesn't mean what it use to. Book people have a difficult time transitioning to real life. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 20:17:31 GMT -5
What % is your 401(k) at? Just curious if you don't mind?
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Apr 9, 2011 21:27:06 GMT -5
cawiau--Does your wife get any say in how her paycheck is allocated? I'm the 'cfo' of our house, and while I don't always agree with DH's ideas of handling money I still talk it out with him and we work to compromise. I wouldn't be comfortable telling him to just deal with whatever I thought was best.
(I'm not arguing that saving for retirement was a bad choice, just curious as to what her involvement is).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 21:51:12 GMT -5
That's kind of why i was asking... i mean, you got an extra 35$... and she got to up her 401K... I'm guessing you are already at 25%?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2011 8:04:02 GMT -5
What % is your 401(k) at? Just curious if you don't mind? I am contributing 25% to my 401k. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2011 8:22:15 GMT -5
cawiau--Does your wife get any say in how her paycheck is allocated? I'm the 'cfo' of our house, and while I don't always agree with DH's ideas of handling money I still talk it out with him and we work to compromise. I wouldn't be comfortable telling him to just deal with whatever I thought was best. (I'm not arguing that saving for retirement was a bad choice, just curious as to what her involvement is). I did not tell her to just deal with it... We talked about it, and I told her how it work: we would get more of our money now instead of a big refund. We could this way increase her 401K contributions to 25% without changing her net income. In my case I been contributing 25% for 2 months or so now and it increased my net by $140/monthly. And it is not like I am going to go on a shopping spree with my extra $140/month, it goes into the same account she has access too. I pass everything I do by my wife (even if I am the CFO of our family) and keep her updated on our progress for - debt repayment - savings - retirement She just thought that she would get more money coming directly to her instead of going into her 401K. |
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ilovedolphins
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Post by ilovedolphins on Apr 10, 2011 9:20:06 GMT -5
I changed my withholdings last year after I got back a $1600 refund. This year I got back $400. I would rather have the money now and it goes into a savings account instead of waiting till I get my refund back.
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azphx1972
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Post by azphx1972 on Apr 10, 2011 9:44:47 GMT -5
I agree that this isn't about education. I know some CPAs and math teachers that are absolutely horrible at managing their finances. They know damn well the power of compound interest. It's more a case of the "I have to have this now" versus "I can wait until later" mentality. I don't know why some people seem incapable of altering their thinking to appreciate the virtue of patience, but I'm glad I'm not that way.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Apr 10, 2011 10:57:22 GMT -5
Give wifey your extra $35 and call it a day. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2011 11:07:45 GMT -5
Give wifey your extra $35 and call it a day. LOL, she already forgot all about it And the money goes in our joint checking, so we will both benefit from the extra $35/week. |
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michelyn8
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Post by michelyn8 on Apr 11, 2011 7:09:16 GMT -5
I changed our witholding last week and we both turned them in last Monday. - I got a raise of $35.70/week after taxes ;D - My wife was able to increase her 401k from 20 to 25% but her check increased by a grand total of $ 0. 15/biweekly ;D ;D Why didn't I do this since last year... stupid me This is one of those things that I call the 401k party line. I remember my first 401k presentation and one of the main selling points was that if you put money in your net would increase because your taxable income would be lower. I quickly found out that that is not how it works for everyone. I have never had my net income increase after electing or increasing my 401k contribution. The bottom line all depends on your gross, the number of the withholding you have and your other withholdings - pre and post tax. Getting upset over an assumption like this is just plain ignorance and, Carl, your attitude towards the situation and others you post about sounds more like you like to play passive aggressive games with your wife (keep her upset so you can feel superior) than truly wanting a secure financial future. May not be the case but your age is showing here and if you don't learn some new ways, you may not have a wife when you hit 30. |
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telephus44
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Post by telephus44 on Apr 11, 2011 9:17:58 GMT -5
I'm with michelyn8 on playing passive aggressive with your wife. You claim that you talk things over with your wife, but I suspect that really, she just rolls her eyes, and smiles and nods. I suspect it's one of those unwritten rules you have in your marraige - cawiau will take care of all the money, I don't have to worry about it. So you tell her what forms to fill out and that you'll have more money now, she goes along with it, and doesn't see more money now. You constantly vent on here about how she doesn't see things "the right way." And if you don't figure out how to resolve this, you're going to have more issues than making sure your retirement is funded. It's not all about how your way is right and her way is wrong.
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