February 2014 – Dad's Taxi

February 27, 2014

2013 Tax Time Blues

Not only is this never ending winter not ending, I have to do the taxes for 2013! After my first run at our the taxes for my family, I realized that my tax situation to put it mildly is sad. Turbo Tax says I made too much money (which I didn’t) and the federal and NJ state insists on me paying more to live the sub-standard life of the barely surviving month over month, in the state (NJ) where the standard of living is so high!

I tell you every year taxes get more confusing and the more Turbo Tax gets “easier” to use, I end up paying more. As I do my 2013 taxes for me and my kids, I see more and more that the more you make the more punishment you will have to bear..

I don’t want my readers to think I’m well off. I’m far from well off.

In 2013 I finally became “debt free”.. Yeah! Of course this was not because of my ability to pay bills or pay down debt in a logical and systematic manner. Only with my dad’s passing was I able to gain this status “debt free”. What I couldn’t do when he was alive, I was able to do with the gifts he left for me.

I also refinanced my mortgages to a more efficient low rate 30 year mortgage (since the rates were at their lowest in many many years).

As usual, I’ve strayed way off tangent.. back to my tax time blues..

As every gift has hooks, my gifts had huge hooks. The gifts my dad left me sent me into the supposed status of “not qualified” for the basic deductions of child care credit, tuition credit and others.

I need to closely look at what I did wrong in 2013 by making “too much” and “not paying enough” and make sure I don’t do it again in 2014. I was reading Forbes 2013 tax guide and was getting more and more depressed… but such are the tax laws of this glorious country..

So as I sit here thinking how am I going to come up with the tax bill Uncle Sam wants from me..

The only thing I can really do is say…

Hey it’s only 22 days till spring!
Pitchers and catchers reported for spring training and I actually saw the grass in the front and back of my house..
Spring time is the season for hope and renewal

Oh well. all is well.. Now I just have to finish my taxes and pay the tax man at my door…

How are you doing with your taxes? Having fun yet?

February 13, 2014

Winter of our Discontent – Enough Already

I have not experienced this kind of winter in NJ for years.. With El Nino where each winter was mild for the past few years, this year is wetter and colder than I’ve ever seen. The winter of 2014 in Central NJ has been one storm after another dumping snow and ice and when its not snowing, it’s frigid.

I noticed that this year the weather channel named each storm. Today we are in the middle of Storm Pax. Not sure what that means, but I guess we are on the letter “P” with storms.

I don’t really mind the snow, as long as I have my monster snow thrower to clear the snow, but gosh enough is enough. The kids in NJ are really having fun, as they have now had 4 or 5 snow days.. Of course I look forward to the 4:30 AM call from the Middletown, NJ Board of education to tell me that there is no school today due to ANOTHER Snow Storm!

I have to admit that this town is so wonderful with communications by telephone blasts, email’s and text messages. This township is also amazing with snow plowing.. Even before the snow finishes, the main roads are cleared!

I was just talking to my daughter and she tells me that dad’s taxi is slacking off and not posting enough. Well, things are going on in Dad’s life that really cannot be shared here (for now)….

Whenever it snows, I sit in my semi “man cave” in the back of my house and work.. Yep that’s me, sitting and watching my neighbor’s horses frolicking in the back. This is how boring my life has become.

What dad really needs is a vacation.. A vacation where he can just let loose and chill. Now the question arises, is where do I go?

Since my daughter told me I need to write about more interesting things, I’m going to have to reflect and write about interesting things.

For now, I’m going to watch as much Curling as possible at the Olympics in Sochi. I’ve gotten obsessed at watching the men and women slide the rock down and sweep to get points. I still don’t get the scoring system, but the intensity is worth the wait.. BTW, I found out that Curling has become the latest “must see” sport in the schools. One Child even had her phone confiscated because she was watching Curling in math class! I got a chuckle out of that.

At least it’ll be an interesting spring (when it arrives in the next 35 days!).

Hey, pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training next week, so as a NY Mets fan, the annual rite of hope for my metsies starts anew.

Dad’s life is changing and he’s headed for a hard reset of his life. More on this later in postings when the time is right. For now, Dad has to just get over this endless winter!

February 9, 2014

Endless Winter of 2014 in NJ

I haven’t written much here over the past few weeks, because every time I think of a topic, it snows again. Tonite as I sit here we are getting another few inches of snow.

The one good thing about the snow is that from one of the rooms in my house, I have an amazing view in my backyard. My neighbor has a few horses and the horses just love the snow. Every Time it snows, they are out there frolicking and playing in the snow.