The vaguest outlines of a plan are starting to come together.
The whole thing is quite nebulous, you understand. In many ways our situation has not substantially changed from the beginning of the year.
But taxes are done - and with taxes done, certain questions and thoughts start to arise. Such as if I cannot get a deduction for parts of my home loan, why am I paying them? Or more fundamentally, if I pay a certain amount of my income if I make over a certain amount of money, why am I striving to make more money?
This sort of thing is dangerous, you understand. Potentially revolutionary in one's own life.
No, we are not at the place that we could take a large hit to our income simply to avoid taxes (although having done my in-laws taxes, the number is much higher than I would have thought). But it is certainly a thing which can start to be looked at.
A house payment is the largest thing, of course, If I had that money back a year alone, let alone what we pay in other debt at the moment, where would we really be? Add ways to cut down on other parts of life - debt of course, but food and utilities come to mind - and we are talking about a very great change indeed.
We are not there. We are nowhere near there. But we are almost at an inflection point, if only we cna see it through.
Indeed; many people in America are blind to the fact that our standard of living has been slipping, while our tax burden has been increasing. No one seems to see the correlation. As for "Or more fundamentally, if I pay a certain amount of my income if I make over a certain amount of money, why am I striving to make more money?;" this has been the credo of welfare bums and illegal immigrants forever! They know that if they don't work, their kids will go to college at taxpayer expense. These people are destitute on paper, but work under the table. Many of these people; especially the illegals, drive brand new cars and live in houses they own; all paid for in cash! These people are winning. We're losing. Maybe we need to play by the same rules...
ReplyDeletePete, I wish more people asked good questions. I wished someone would sincerely ask the candidates "what compelling reason is there to work for beyond the minimum amount that can be taxed?"
DeleteBut that comes at a price, a price I suspect many are not willing to pay. Part of it is managing one's wants and desires to what one can afford (I say this as someone who has made these mistakes). The other comes from a willingness to do more for one's self. That comes to saving money of course, but it also comes with a mindset of doing rather than consuming.
I really believe that a life independent and below the radar is still possible. I see examples of it every day here on the Internet. People do it legally as well (a problem with under the table is that you expose yourself to legalities, something which is not at all a smart idea.) The question is if we can inspire and impart that ethic to others.