Last weekend I finally bit the bullet and paid taxes…twice. First I had to pay additional money for 2009 (more on this lesson learned later). Then I had to pay quarterly estimates on 2010 self employment income. Needless to say, it put me in a pretty foul mood. But, I did learn a couple lessons to carry forward to this tax year.
Since starting my side hustle here at Frugal Dad (and the occasional freelance writing gigs), I’ve been setting aside about a quarter of my income to pay taxes. Unfortunately, without any extra deductions (we just recently bought our home) or credits, saving 25% of my side income was not enough to cover self employment taxes. From now on, I’ll be saving one-third of my income and making higher quarterly estimates.
Enough about taxes, let’s move on to a more positive subject.
The Frugal Roundup
Paying Off Your Student Loans While Carrying a Mortgage. This is a guest post from Green Panda Treehouse. They make some great points on why it may be beneficial to save up for a house while paying off student loans. Personally, I would pay off the loans first. (@The Digerati Life)
Struggling With Time Debt. A lot of us have (or had) debt at one point. What about your time? Do you need to declare bankruptcy on your schedule? (@Get Rich Slowly)
26 Life Lessons I’ve Learned in 26 Years of Living. Baker provides some wisdom from his life. (@Man Vs Debt)
Why Do We Work So Much? Here is an excellent post by a rather new blog. (@Pop Economics)
Best of the Rest