Huzzah higher education!
About a week ago I started on my taxes, and I was all bummed out because I owed around $150. Last year I got a refund, my withholding didn't change (though I did get a raise), so I was kind of ticked off that I owed money.
Then I received my 1098-T from Austin Comm College, where I'm taking my event planning classes. Even though technically I'm on a tuition payment plan and still owe tuition, they gave me a credit for the entire amount - a little under $500. My tax liability is now a whopping $34!! I can handle that. ^.^
Also on the subject of money, I've been reading about personal finance for a year now, getting this book and that book and reading about a squillion articles on how to get started, what the terms mean, why you should invest, etc etc etc. But I've been hemming and hawing this whole time, just reading more and learning more without actually doing anything. I've finally decided that some action, even if it's not the best choice, is better than no action!
I think that I'm also going to open an investment account with Vanguard here in a few months. To open an account you have to have a minimum of $3000 to invest, which I should have very shortly. I've got $2000 sitting in CDs to earn a little interest while I gather the funds, and once I set the account up I'll have a small amount deducted from my bank account every month. I decided to do this because I finally realized that focusing on paying down my 2.85% student loans was not giving me the best ROI. I intend to buy some index funds, and even if they return a modest 8% it's still considerably more than what I pay in interest on my loans.
Too bad I didn't figure this out a year and a half ago! I sort of threw money away by focusing so heavily on my loans. I probably could have paid the minimum on the loans, invested aan equivalent amount every month, and in 5 years or less sold the funds to pay off the rest of my loans if I felt compelled to do so. Ah, well... live and learn.
~Katt
Then I received my 1098-T from Austin Comm College, where I'm taking my event planning classes. Even though technically I'm on a tuition payment plan and still owe tuition, they gave me a credit for the entire amount - a little under $500. My tax liability is now a whopping $34!! I can handle that. ^.^
Also on the subject of money, I've been reading about personal finance for a year now, getting this book and that book and reading about a squillion articles on how to get started, what the terms mean, why you should invest, etc etc etc. But I've been hemming and hawing this whole time, just reading more and learning more without actually doing anything. I've finally decided that some action, even if it's not the best choice, is better than no action!
I think that I'm also going to open an investment account with Vanguard here in a few months. To open an account you have to have a minimum of $3000 to invest, which I should have very shortly. I've got $2000 sitting in CDs to earn a little interest while I gather the funds, and once I set the account up I'll have a small amount deducted from my bank account every month. I decided to do this because I finally realized that focusing on paying down my 2.85% student loans was not giving me the best ROI. I intend to buy some index funds, and even if they return a modest 8% it's still considerably more than what I pay in interest on my loans.
Too bad I didn't figure this out a year and a half ago! I sort of threw money away by focusing so heavily on my loans. I probably could have paid the minimum on the loans, invested aan equivalent amount every month, and in 5 years or less sold the funds to pay off the rest of my loans if I felt compelled to do so. Ah, well... live and learn.
~Katt