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Severe Body Blow

September 4th, 2006 at 03:25 am

I’ve been assuming that on Minimum Wage I’d have no Federal or State Income tax liability. Wrong. I should have verified much earlier; I checked an online calculator and I believe that my Federal income tax liability would be $569 for a year. I think I won’t owe for State, if include the renters credit which I’ve always gotten, but that doesn’t help me much.

At $569 it would be a tad over $47 a month. However, since I delayed verifying this until I was freakin’ halfway into the Challenge, I have to make up that amount in half the time, so to catch up I need to budget $95 a month.

It should not come as surprise that at $1073 a month, that $95 is going to make a big dent. I’m gonna do my best, and go forward. That sad thing is that this may challenge my Challenge, but real folks working full time in California, where the cost of living is high, would get $1026 a month if they never missed a day of work.

(For those that think public assistance would be available to help, I idly checked and the gross income of $1178 would make the single person earner ineligible for food stamps, as it’s over 130% of the Federal Poverty Level for one of $817. Medical benefits would have a $488 share of cost, meaning that all medical expenses up to $488 every month would have to be paid for by the minimum wage earner. Not real helpful with doctors visits and prescriptions.)

But enough on that digression. As I have stated before that this Challenge is not meant to be a political statement about the Minimum Wage, it’s to exercise my thrift skills and become more grateful. My succinctly stated opinion is that people need to be paid a fair wage and have affordable health care, and that people need to make better spending choices.

Boy, that additional $95 a month is going to be tough. And it’s my fault for not checking. Blech.

6 Responses to “Severe Body Blow”

  1. contrary1 Says:
    1157336985

    I'm very impressed with your attention to detail here.........you continue to be an inspiration!

    Hmmm..... What else is there that you can tighten up? I can't wait to see what you do to cover this new expense! Time to get more than creative, huh?? Smile

  2. Thrifty Ray Says:
    1157338253

    and the tough get tougher... Like Contrary, I am anxious to see how you tackle this obstacle...which I am sure you will, somehow. Thank goodness you caught it when you did...Good luck!

  3. ima saver Says:
    1157382781

    Good luck, I know you can do it!!

  4. baselle Says:
    1157422366

    wait a minute...I ran through this with mimi in O Capitalism, and I just want to make sure your calculation took into account the personal exemption and the standard deduction, and are you head of household?

  5. lrjohnson Says:
    1157505697

    Baselle: I couldn't find the original calculator I used (wiped history and cookies on a routine clean up), but going to the IRS site
    http://www.irs.gov/individuals/page/0,,id=14806,00.html
    and using 1178*12 = 14136 for total gross, I get $568, which is just a dollar less than my original calculator. I only support myself, so I don't think I can be H of H; when I doe a search, I only come up with references to dependants, so I think I need to file as single. If I'm off, let me know; I'd like to be wrong.

  6. baselle Says:
    1157686615

    Gotta assume that the tax calculations on IRS website would be right. Drat!

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