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.
Severe Body Blow
September 4th, 2006 at 03:25 am
September 4th, 2006 at 03:29 am 1157336985
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??
September 4th, 2006 at 03:50 am 1157338253
September 4th, 2006 at 04:13 pm 1157382781
September 5th, 2006 at 03:12 am 1157422366
September 6th, 2006 at 02:21 am 1157505697
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.
September 8th, 2006 at 04:36 am 1157686615