My relatives make 20k a year, and live better lifestyles than me making 100k

[Toureg89]

Don't you think if you chose not to give to charity you'd be able to afford a laptop for yourself?
So you make choices, there is no reason you are getting less than the families making $20,000 a year. Even with all the benefits. I've heard these stories before, nothing is stopping you from taking a pay cut if you are so confident you can qualify for handouts and save money, be better off.

this. if you desire more and better things (might i add, Whole Foods is pretty luxurious of a extra already), you earned your money, spot giving 10% of it away to charity. give 1%, or 5%, or 8%. with an extra 2,000$, (8% instead of 10% of 100K$/year), you can afford to buy a new laptop AND go out to eat.

as a broke person myself who badly mismanaged his income by spending it on unnecessary (everything besides a rifle and a pistol) firearms, i made up by skimping on my laptop, which works, albeit with duct tape, super glu, and ubuntu.

if you desire more, manage you money so that MORE OF IT GOES TO YOU. complaining about something you can't change (tax rates) instead of something you can (how you spend what you are left), although justified, isn't going to help you get what luxuries you want. and fyi, i get my clothes from the thrift store as well.

 

[PaulConventionWV]

yes, but nobody is born with a house. So unless they are inheriting a house, they'll always be paying rent or mortgage, typically 10 years minimum (and that's a VERY conservative estimate, 25 years is realistic)

But you said just for living. If they pay it off, then they are not in debt. I guess if you are given a house then you can avoid that altogether, but I was making the distinction between renting indefinitely and actually building equity as you paid off something that you had claim to. Yes, most people are in debt for finding a place to live at some point in their life unless they have enough money to just pay cash up front for a house, but I really don't see why you thought that was an important point. It's just a part of life.

 

[Johnny Appleseed]

just think how well you could live only making 5k a year

 

[PaulConventionWV]

The guy's not looking for "sympathy." He resents studying, borrowing, and working his butt off so that others can loaf. I'm surprised we're so divided here. I don't think the welfare state has much to fear, with people bickering about so many peripheral issues.

We all know about the welfare state. It's no secret. We're not complaining about the guy thinking he's worse off for having to support others. It's an atrocity that we have to live in a system like that, but if you come on here saying you have it so bad and exaggerating all these things then letting us know that you voluntarily give away some of your money and don't even try to get some of the tax breaks you can, then we're going to say "Dude, why did you just tell us that?"

He's not reporting on the dangers of the welfare state. He IS looking for sympathy. It's pretty obvious because he complains about the things he can't do with his money and goes over all the details of how poor people can do those things without thinking that he could be doing those things if he managed his finances better. We're not going to cry for him just because he gets screwed with taxes. Yeah, most people do and we all know it, but he has no excuse for not living better than he does with that kind of income when many of us, myself included, could probably clean up nicely with that kind of money.

 

[PaulConventionWV]

I agree! I completely understand your frustration at the system. I do agree though that you should be itemizing and taking as many deductions as possible.

What he chooses to spend his money on should be no one's business.

That's just it, though. He CHOSE to come on here and TELL US how he spends his money. That's why we're not going to throw a huge pity party for him just yet.

 

[iGGz]

\/\/O\/\/

 

[moostraks]

We all know about the welfare state. It's no secret. We're not complaining about the guy thinking he's worse off for having to support others. It's an atrocity that we have to live in a system like that, but if you come on here saying you have it so bad and exaggerating all these things then letting us know that you voluntarily give away some of your money and don't even try to get some of the tax breaks you can, then we're going to say "Dude, why did you just tell us that?"

He's not reporting on the dangers of the welfare state. He IS looking for sympathy. It's pretty obvious because he complains about the things he can't do with his money and goes over all the details of how poor people can do those things without thinking that he could be doing those things if he managed his finances better. We're not going to cry for him just because he gets screwed with taxes. Yeah, most people do and we all know it, but he has no excuse for not living better than he does with that kind of income when many of us, myself included, could probably clean up nicely with that kind of money.

I took his posts the same way you did fwiw.

 

[Steven Douglas]

"Tips are gifts and therefore are not taxable."
Olk v. United States, February 18, 1975, Las Vegas, Nevada.

The federal government's response: Pass legislation making gifts taxable - end of discussion.

This is just like HR 1098, the Competing Currencies bill that Ron Paul introduced, as it takes rights and powers we already had by default under the Constitution, but were later eroded, abridged, or taken away entirely by legislation (usually under the widely abused "Commerce" and "Necessary and Proper" clauses, or worse yet - Executive Branch edicts).

Ron Paul's response: Pass legislation that explicitly spells out what was once taken for granted, and didn't need to be:

 

[MelissaWV]

iGGz why the hell is that your sig? :>

I was all set to agree with you, but then that.

 

[onlyrp]

But arent cash gifts taxable? Albiet at different rate than income?

char·i·ty /ˈCHaritē/
Noun:
The voluntary giving of help, typically money, to those in need.
Help or money given in this way.

----

With the extremely low wages that waiters/waitresses make, I consider them in need of addition money. They need tips.

Tipping isn't a payment for services rendered. My bill is what I pay for services rendered.

Show me documentation that states it needs to be unearned. I guess since the IRS says you can't claim it, then it isn't so?

What about for business expenses where tips can be deducted?

I honestly don't care either way, but I do disagree with the IRS.

And tips shouldn't be taxed in the first place because they aren't payment for services rendered.

 

[iGGz]

\/\/O\/\/

 

[John F Kennedy III]

Yeah, I used to think the same thing. It's amazing how your expenses adjust to fit your income.

10 years ago, I only made 1/4 of what I do now, but I had just about the same possessions. Of course, now I have a family that I'm supporting. Trust me, if you go from making $25K to $100K, you won't even notice it. You'll be just as strapped as ever.

That's crazy. It has to be the added dependants plus higher tax bracket, right?

 

[MelissaWV]

That's crazy. It has to be the added dependants plus higher tax bracket, right?

That, and the fact that most parents will suddenly buy their kids literally hundreds of dollars worth of crap in order to be just "average" parents. Gimme, gimme, gimme. Most elementary-aged kids I come into contact with have televisions in their rooms, and cellphones once they are young teens. All of these things for them, but no jobs.

 

[AceNZ]

char·i·ty /ˈCHaritē/
Noun:
The voluntary giving of help, typically money, to those in need.
Help or money given in this way.

----

With the extremely low wages that waiters/waitresses make, I consider them in need of addition money. They need tips.

WHY do you think wait-staff are paid low wages? It's because they are told to expect to earn part of what their take-home in the form of tips.

How do you know they actually NEED those extra earnings? Maybe they're working for fun, and living in a plush home with the parents or living off of a trust fund. Maybe they're a co-owner of the restaurant. Working as wait-staff by itself does not indicate need, any more than working in any other profession does.

Tipping isn't a payment for services rendered. My bill is what I pay for services rendered.

Relatively little of what you pay in your bill goes to the wait-staff. The supposed purpose of a semi-optional tip (tips aren't truly 100% optional) is to encourage better service: worker harder/better and earn more; treat me better, and earn more. It's not if you need more, earn more. In the thousands of times I've eaten out, I've never spoken with a waitress about how much she needs.

Show me documentation that states it needs to be unearned.

The key is in the word GIVE in the definition. Charity is a gift, which means no strings attached, which means unearned.

 

[carclinic]

Yeah, I used to think the same thing. It's amazing how your expenses adjust to fit your income.

10 years ago, I only made 1/4 of what I do now, but I had just about the same possessions. Of course, now I have a family that I'm supporting. Trust me, if you go from making $25K to $100K, you won't even notice it. You'll be just as strapped as ever.

I make $35,000 a year and thank God I am over paying my mortage and my car is paid off, and no student loan debt anymore. I think it is mainly lifestyle that determines these things. Then again, I owe the government money for taxes because I own a business.

 

[onlyrp]

I make $35,000 a year and thank God I am over paying my mortage and my car is paid off, and no student loan debt anymore. I think it is mainly lifestyle that determines these things. Then again, I owe the government money for taxes because I own a business.

Good to hear. Everybody owes the government taxes unless they're disabled or dirt poor. What kind of business do you run?

 

[carclinic]

Good to hear. Everybody owes the government taxes unless they're disabled or dirt poor. What kind of business do you run?

Auto repair. Car Clinic is the company and hence the username, I had another handle here until I was banned for making a joke about Huntsman's daughters.

God has been very good to me, but due to the unknown nature of business (after all cars have to break, I can't just break them!) I have anxiety like anyone. I live a very simple lifestyle though. I don't have TV or internet at home, sorta to motivate me to stay at work lol.

 

[iGGz]

\/\/O\/\/

 

[tbone717]

I am coming in late here, so I do not know if it has been mentioned, but it is very advisable for most people to find a way to incorporate. Corporations buy things, then pay taxes on their profits. Individuals pay taxes on their income and they buy things with the money left over. There is a huge tax advantage for those that can incorporate and have a good tax lawyer that knows the system. A friend of mine owns a bar/restaurant and is incorporated. All of his possessions (car, computers, home, furnishings, etc) are owned by the corporation, he is a low paid employee. We are in the process of setting this up for ourselves this year, and I think we will wind up living a lot better.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Tipping is charity, it's completely voluntary too.

"tip" means "to improve service". It's not charity-it's appreciation for good service and incentive for improved service in the future. (aka, a gratuity)