🚀 go-pugleaf

George Grapman wrote:
>
>   That is why I have reverted to the ild fashioned way, having a real
> person do my taxes.
>   I do one on my own, bring it to the person and only request that the
> money he saves me is more than what he charges. Works almost every year.

My mom has a CPA do hers.  One year she did it herself with TT and the
results were almost exactly the same, just a difference in placement of
one income item that didn't make any difference anyway.  Good enough for
me.

I'm still going with Tax Cut next year.

--
Cheers, Bev
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I'm not proud.  We really haven't done everything we could to protect
 our customers.  Our products just aren't engineered for security."
  --Microsoft VP in charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

  That is why I have reverted to the ild fashioned way, having a real
person do my taxes.
  I do one on my own, bring it to the person and only request that the
money he saves me is more than what he charges. Works almost every year.

--
   To reply via e-mail please delete one c from paccbell

  That is why I have reverted to the ild fashioned way, having a real
person do my taxes.
  I do one on my own, bring it to the person and only request that the
money he saves me is more than what he charges. Works almost every year.

--
   To reply via e-mail please delete one c from paccbell

I switched to TaxCut last year...  It is pretty good.  The navigation is
slightly different than TT, but overall, I'm 100% pleased.  I've got a
pretty complex tax return because of rental property and some old investment
"stuff" from previous job's 401K, etc. so TaxCut or an expensive outside
person/firm are necessary.  If "I" can do it in TaxCut, just about anyone
can.

Joe - V#8013 - '86 VN750 - joe @ yunx .com
Northern, NJ
Ask me about "The Ride" on July 31, '04:
http://www.youthelate.com/the_ride.htm

Born once - Die twice.   Born twice - Die only once.  Your choice...


"The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:4078CFB6.79E2FD3B@myrealbox.com...
> Today's rant is about the fact that it printed out more unusable paper
> than submittable/savable forms and that most of those 29 sheets of scrap
> paper contained our names, addresses, SS numbers and/or income,
> requiring me to tear these sheets to bits by hand.  Most aggravating is
> being told that neither my state nor federal estimated tax forms were
> correct and that I should download the updates AND THEN it printed them
> out anyway, but with a big DO NOT SUBMIT notice across the front.
>
> MOREOVER, the first complete set printed out screwy.  I don't know if
> that's win2K's fault or TT's fault, since the only thing I use the
> winmachine for is taxes, but I changed the printer from the actual
> Panasonic model to a generic HP II, which printed OK with a few
> exceptions -- like the second page of the 1040 being printed half and
> half on two pages a couple of times.
>
> The only reason I told it to print the whole set rather than selecting
> individual forms was that it looked like they were going to print one
> sheet for each investment item and I didn't want to waste the paper.
> AARRGGHH!
>
> Where is it written that EACH 540-EST form has to be printed on a SINGLE
> SHEET OF PAPER?  Fortunately they come in the book (the only tax item
> our
> local post office had this year) -- I hope.  I just grabbed a copy a
> couple of weeks ago and haven't even looked at it.
>
> And whenever I asked for help I got an error message.  My guess (no
> explanation was given) is that the 'help' files are on the CD, not the
> HD, but it was easier to just look back at the form (damn, I didn't know
> you got an extra exemption for being 65!) than to go get the CD or try
> to track down the problem.
>
> It may be noted that somebody in the misc.taxes.moderated newsgroup even
> ordered the update disk, but it didn't work.
>
> Yeah, I think Tax Cut gets my buck next year.  Sell Intuit short, it's
> on the skids.
>
> -- 
> Cheers, Bev
> ==============================================================
> "Arguing on the internet is like running a race in the Special
>  Olympics:  even if you win, you're still retarded."

In article <4078DE74.B3178391@myrealbox.com>,
 The Real Bev <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:

> George Grapman wrote:
> >
> >   That is why I have reverted to the ild fashioned way, having a real
> > person do my taxes.
> >   I do one on my own, bring it to the person and only request that the
> > money he saves me is more than what he charges. Works almost every year.
>
> My mom has a CPA do hers.  One year she did it herself with TT and the
> results were almost exactly the same, just a difference in placement of
> one income item that didn't make any difference anyway.  Good enough for
> me.
>
> I'm still going with Tax Cut next year.

Tax Cut prints out some useless paper too. I have used both Turbo Tax
and Tax Cut. I used Tax Cut the past two years, but next year, I will
definitely go back to Turbo Tax. I like the interview style that Turbo
Tax offers a lot more than the way Tax Cut works, plus downloading the
state files was a lot easier with Turbo Tax than it was for Tax Cut.

"The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:4078CFB6.79E2FD3B@myrealbox.com...
> Today's rant is about the fact that it printed out more unusable paper
> than submittable/savable forms and that most of those 29 sheets of scrap
> paper contained our names, addresses, SS numbers and/or income,
> requiring me to tear these sheets to bits by hand.  Most aggravating is
> being told that neither my state nor federal estimated tax forms were
> correct and that I should download the updates AND THEN it printed them
> out anyway, but with a big DO NOT SUBMIT notice across the front.
<snip problems)
>
> Yeah, I think Tax Cut gets my buck next year.  Sell Intuit short, it's
> on the skids.

Sorry to hear you had so much trouble, especially since you're the person
who prompted me to start using tax prep software in the first place. I agree
TT uses up some paper that's not necessary for my records (I just keep it
all anyway) but other than that I had none of the problems you encountered
and filed my return without a single glitch.

If you want to do some short selling there might be better choices of
companies <g>. Let us know how you like Tax Cut, though.

"The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:4078CFB6.79E2FD3B@myrealbox.com...
> Today's rant is about the fact that it printed out more unusable paper
> than submittable/savable forms and that most of those 29 sheets of scrap
> paper contained our names, addresses, SS numbers and/or income,
> requiring me to tear these sheets to bits by hand.

TT always tends to print too much. Just letting you disable 1040ES foms
(which I never use) would be a big help.

My other big rant about TT is that doing almost anything with an open
return, even just browsing around, seems to set the dirty bit so you get the
"Do you want save changes" on exit (Changes? What changes?) Once the main
interview part has been done at least, I don't want to be told there are
changes unless the actual tax data that the IRS will someday see has
changed.

Chloe wrote:
>
> "The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
> news:4078CFB6.79E2FD3B@myrealbox.com...
> > Today's rant is about the fact that it printed out more unusable paper
> > than submittable/savable forms and that most of those 29 sheets of scrap
> > paper contained our names, addresses, SS numbers and/or income,
> > requiring me to tear these sheets to bits by hand.  Most aggravating is
> > being told that neither my state nor federal estimated tax forms were
> > correct and that I should download the updates AND THEN it printed them
> > out anyway, but with a big DO NOT SUBMIT notice across the front.
> <snip problems)
> >
> > Yeah, I think Tax Cut gets my buck next year.  Sell Intuit short, it's
> > on the skids.
>
> Sorry to hear you had so much trouble, especially since you're the person
> who prompted me to start using tax prep software in the first place. I agree
> TT uses up some paper that's not necessary for my records (I just keep it
> all anyway) but other than that I had none of the problems you encountered
> and filed my return without a single glitch.
>
> If you want to do some short selling there might be better choices of
> companies <g>. Let us know how you like Tax Cut, though.

Microsoft might be a good choice...

I used Tax Cut last year.  It seemed klunkier (that's the word that
comes to mind, no specific problem implied) thatn TT, but it worked OK.
What's a nuisance is having to fight the program, and I just don't
remember the methods from one year to the next.  It's probably safer to
go the 'interview' route, so I do that, but the 'interviewer' asks so
many irrelevant questions that it gets annoying after a while.  This
goes for both TT and TC.  It's worse for California because California
gives a lot of crap credits that you have to keep answering 'no' about,
and the location of the 'no' button changes with each page.

I don't like having to fill in a separate form for each investment when
all it needs is a single line.  I don't like having to connect the
winmachine to the net just because the program thinks that something as
irrelevant as the format of the quarterly estimate inclusion slips is
wrong (the feds should be glad they don't just get a post-it note with
your SS numbers and the amount on it, which is really all they need!).
I don't like hearing that the update CD (which probably costs money)
doesn't actually update the program.

But what I really don't want to do is actually read about the latest tax
rules because it always makes me angry.

--
Cheers,
Bev
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
If he had any brains, he'd take them out and play with them.

SpammersDie wrote:
>
> "The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
> news:4078CFB6.79E2FD3B@myrealbox.com...
> > Today's rant is about the fact that it printed out more unusable paper
> > than submittable/savable forms and that most of those 29 sheets of scrap
> > paper contained our names, addresses, SS numbers and/or income,
> > requiring me to tear these sheets to bits by hand.
>
> TT always tends to print too much. Just letting you disable 1040ES foms
> (which I never use) would be a big help.

The feds kindly send me pre-printed ES slips, so I don't need those.  I
do like having the California ES slips printed out, otherwise I have to
fill them in by hand.

> My other big rant about TT is that doing almost anything with an open
> return, even just browsing around, seems to set the dirty bit so you get the
> "Do you want save changes" on exit (Changes? What changes?) Once the main
> interview part has been done at least, I don't want to be told there are
> changes unless the actual tax data that the IRS will someday see has
> changed.

I can live with that.  It's not as annoying as the "Don't touch the
stove, it's hot!" warnings that my grandmother always gave me, even when
I had my own kids to yell at.

I couldn't find a 'recalculate' button when I wanted to make sure that a
particular entry did or did not change my tax liability, so I added in a
spurious amount elsewhere and watched for a change in the little 'tax
due' entry down at the bottom right.  Nuisance.  They used to have one,
I think.

--
Cheers,
Bev
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
If he had any brains, he'd take them out and play with them.

Gini wrote:

> I decided to try Tax Cut last year after using TT for a few years.
> I hated the format of Tax Cut. Tossed it out and got TT anyway.
> My biggest complaint about TT is all the ads it puts in the
> program.

I didn't even notice.  With practice, ALL ads become invisible.

--
Cheers,
Bev
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Marketing Professional's Motto:  "We don't screw the customers.  All
we're doing is holding them down while the salespeople screw them."
                                                          -- Scott Adams

The Real Bev <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message news:<4078DE74.B3178391@myrealbox.com>...
> George Grapman wrote:
> >
> >   That is why I have reverted to the ild fashioned way, having a real
> > person do my taxes.
> >   I do one on my own, bring it to the person and only request that the
> > money he saves me is more than what he charges. Works almost every year.
>
> My mom has a CPA do hers.  One year she did it herself with TT and the
> results were almost exactly the same, just a difference in placement of
> one income item that didn't make any difference anyway.  Good enough for
> me.
>
> I'm still going with Tax Cut next year.

I use TaxAct, and I'm reasonably happy with it - but next year, I'm
getting a CPA to do it.  Taxes get really weird when you're
self-employed.

LM

"The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:4078DE74.B3178391@myrealbox.com...
> George Grapman wrote:
> >
> >   That is why I have reverted to the ild fashioned way, having a real
> > person do my taxes.
> >   I do one on my own, bring it to the person and only request that the
> > money he saves me is more than what he charges. Works almost every year.
>
> My mom has a CPA do hers.  One year she did it herself with TT and the
> results were almost exactly the same, just a difference in placement of
> one income item that didn't make any difference anyway.  Good enough for
> me.
>
> I'm still going with Tax Cut next year.
===
I decided to try Tax Cut last year after using TT for a few years.
I hated the format of Tax Cut. Tossed it out and got TT anyway.
My biggest complaint about TT is all the ads it puts in the
program.
===
>
> --
> Cheers, Bev
> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "I'm not proud.  We really haven't done everything we could to protect
>  our customers.  Our products just aren't engineered for security."
>   --Microsoft VP in charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

Larisa wrote:

> I use TaxAct, and I'm reasonably happy with it - but next year, I'm
> getting a CPA to do it.  Taxes get really weird when you're
> self-employed.

Just make sure he saves you at least as much as he costs.  I wouldn't
have thought that music lessons were that complex -- just more
record-keeping and trying to figure out what ELSE you can legitimately
deduct besides mileage.

--
Cheers,
Bev
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Why put fault tolerance in the OS, when it's already built
 into the User?"             -- Steve Shaw, regarding Win95

The Real Bev wrote:

> Yeah, I think Tax Cut gets my buck next year.  Sell Intuit short, it's
> on the skids.
>
If you are a rebate-hater, pay close attention to the "deluxe" version with
Free* state return and Free* e-filing

*after rebate.

The whole point of these is to make things easier, and rebates are a step in
the wrong direction.

>the first complete set printed out screwy
>Sell Intuit short, it's on the skids.
> The Real Bev

I find it incredible that anyone would use TurboTax
after Intuit's copy-protection-scheme-writes-to-the-boot-sector fiasco.

Once a skunk shows you his stripes, you know what he is.

"The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:407A05D5.568C640F@myrealbox.com...
> Larisa wrote:
>
> > I use TaxAct, and I'm reasonably happy with it - but next year, I'm
> > getting a CPA to do it.  Taxes get really weird when you're
> > self-employed.
>
> Just make sure he saves you at least as much as he costs.  I wouldn't
> have thought that music lessons were that complex -- just more
> record-keeping and trying to figure out what ELSE you can legitimately
> deduct besides mileage.

mebbe larissa could buy an H2, and deduct all of it. coulda held the classes
in her old condo, and deducted the mortgage too :)

Mark Barrett wrote:
>
> The Real Bev <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:
> > Today's rant is about the fact that it printed out more unusable paper
> > than submittable/savable forms and that most of those 29 sheets of scrap
> > paper contained our names, addresses, SS numbers and/or income,
> > requiring me to tear these sheets to bits by hand.  Most aggravating is
> > being told that neither my state nor federal estimated tax forms were
> > correct and that I should download the updates AND THEN it printed them
> > out anyway, but with a big DO NOT SUBMIT notice across the front.
>
>      I'm not sure if this is a new feature but TT now prints to a
> pdf file - a feature I've taken advantage of this year.  Now I print only
> what I want from the .pdf file.  This feature also allows me to take the
> file to work and use a better printer than I have at home.
> Mark

How big is the file?  (Yeah, I know, dependent on how complex your form
is.)  I find pdf files annoying so it didn't occur to me to actually do
that, but maybe it's a good idea...

--
Cheers,
Bev
------------------------------------------------------
"Don't bother looking for that key.  There is no Esc."
                                          -- M. Tabnik

"JeffM" <jeffm_@email.com> wrote in message
news:f8b945bc.0404120215.6e7e74@posting.google.com...
> >the first complete set printed out screwy
> >Sell Intuit short, it's on the skids.
> > The Real Bev
>
> I find it incredible that anyone would use TurboTax
> after Intuit's copy-protection-scheme-writes-to-the-boot-sector fiasco.
>
> Once a skunk shows you his stripes, you know what he is.

Ever heard that other old-timey expression about cutting off your nose to
spite your face? I'll keep right on using TT until I start to have an actual
problem with it. It means a lot more to me to get my taxes done in a quick,
easy, accurate fashion than to try to belatedly punish Intuit for something
they obviously already figured out was a mistake.

The Real Bev <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:
> Today's rant is about the fact that it printed out more unusable paper
> than submittable/savable forms and that most of those 29 sheets of scrap
> paper contained our names, addresses, SS numbers and/or income,
> requiring me to tear these sheets to bits by hand.  Most aggravating is
> being told that neither my state nor federal estimated tax forms were
> correct and that I should download the updates AND THEN it printed them
> out anyway, but with a big DO NOT SUBMIT notice across the front.


     I'm not sure if this is a new feature but TT now prints to a
pdf file - a feature I've taken advantage of this year.  Now I print only
what I want from the .pdf file.  This feature also allows me to take the
file to work and use a better printer than I have at home.
Mark

In article <Flwec.20997$ng1.3392@fe2.columbus.rr.com>,
justsayno@spam.com says...

> Ever heard that other old-timey expression about cutting off your nose to
> spite your face? I'll keep right on using TT until I start to have an actual
> problem with it. It means a lot more to me to get my taxes done in a quick,
> easy, accurate fashion than to try to belatedly punish Intuit for something
> they obviously already figured out was a mistake.
>
>
>
I prefer the expression, "Once bitten, twice shy." I'm not giving
Intuit another chance to mess up my computer. Once was enough.

I used TaxBrain this year. It's just as easy as TT, but the
software is all online, you don't even have to download it. Doesn't
cost any more, either. Their Q&A system is also much more
responsive than TT's. I'm talking waiting five minutes for an email
rather than holding for an hour while they forward your call to
Bombay or wherever.

Nothing wrong with choosing the superior product or service. That's
how capitalism is supposed to work, after all.

Rosie Grant

David Johnson wrote:
>
> The Real Bev wrote:
>
> > Yeah, I think Tax Cut gets my buck next year.  Sell Intuit short, it's
> > on the skids.
> >
> If you are a rebate-hater, pay close attention to the "deluxe" version with
> Free* state return and Free* e-filing
>
> *after rebate.

That's what I bought.  I assume the rebates are on the way.  Dropped
retirms amd estimated tax payments in the mailbox today.  I like
canceled checks.  The Feds (or the state, who can remember?) once failed
to credit me for a quarterly payment.  A copy of my canceled check
accompanying my return did the trick.

> The whole point of these is to make things easier, and rebates are a step in
> the wrong direction.

I hate rebates, but I hate spending more money more.

--
Cheers,
Bev
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Why put fault tolerance in the OS, when it's already built
 into the User?"             -- Steve Shaw, regarding Win95

"mike" <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<cBqec.16417$wP1.36300@attbi_s54>...
> "The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
> news:407A05D5.568C640F@myrealbox.com...
> > Larisa wrote:
> >
> > > I use TaxAct, and I'm reasonably happy with it - but next year, I'm
> > > getting a CPA to do it.  Taxes get really weird when you're
> > > self-employed.
> >
> > Just make sure he saves you at least as much as he costs.  I wouldn't
> > have thought that music lessons were that complex -- just more
> > record-keeping and trying to figure out what ELSE you can legitimately
> > deduct besides mileage.
>
> mebbe larissa could buy an H2, and deduct all of it. coulda held the classes
> in her old condo, and deducted the mortgage too :)

I did - at least, the fraction of it that was legitimately used for
piano lessons.  Also deducted the piano rental.

The thing is, I think I am strikingly clueless about taxes - for
example, I had no idea that one could deduct restaurant meals while
out on business, so I tossed all those receipts.  Result - lost money.
 I have a feeling I'm not deducting anywhere near what I could be, so
even a one-time visit to a CPA would be good.

LM

> I have used both Turbo Tax
> and Tax Cut. I used Tax Cut the past two years, but next year, I will
> definitely go back to Turbo Tax. I like the interview style that Turbo
> Tax offers a lot more than the way Tax Cut works,

I tried Tax Cut for the first time last year after I was screwed over by the
Turbo Tax installation fiasco (don't get me started).  I actually liked
it...  it also has an interview style, but it blends the interview in with
showing the form itself being filled out which I liked.  Turbo Tax likes to
just ask the questions and totally hide the forms from you.  I like how Tax
Cut lets you see the form getting filled out as it's interviewing you. It's
like having a tax guy asking you questions and you get to see him writing
down your answers - you get to see why he asked the question, and you get to
double check his work as he goes along.

>  plus downloading the
> state files was a lot easier with Turbo Tax than it was for Tax Cut.

Some states have free online filing now.  My state's online system
(Pennsylvania) is a breeze to use and I'd therefore never pay for any state
software anymore.

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 21:55:18 -0700, The Real Bev
<bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:

>Yeah, I think Tax Cut gets my buck next year.  Sell Intuit short, it's
>on the skids.

Funny, my DW was just ranting about Tax Cut.  Our taxes this year are
a bit more complicated than usual, since we sold a rental property in
2003.  Apparently, when Tax Cut imports depreciation information from
previous returns, it doesn't import _all_ the pertinent data, so she
has to go back,  look it up and enter the missing stuff manually.
PITA.  (Bless her for taking on the task in the first place, though.
:-)

Probably not something the average taxpayer has to deal with, but
there it is.

Dennis (evil)
--
The honest man is the one who realizes that he cannot
consume more, in his lifetime, than he produces.

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 22:58:12 -0700, The Real Bev
<bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:

>George Grapman wrote:
>>
>>   That is why I have reverted to the ild fashioned way, having a real
>> person do my taxes.
>>   I do one on my own, bring it to the person and only request that the
>> money he saves me is more than what he charges. Works almost every year.
>
>My mom has a CPA do hers.  One year she did it herself with TT and the
>results were almost exactly the same, just a difference in placement of
>one income item that didn't make any difference anyway.  Good enough for
>me.

Twice, we have taken our taxes to accountants (two different ones)
when something new and complicated has been added to our tax
situation.  Each time, we used the professionally prepared return as a
guide to do our own taxes the next year.  This required stepping
through the example to understand how to apply it to the new return.
Both times, in doing this we discovered errors that amounted to
several hundred dollars in excess taxes that we paid when the
professional did the return.

We will avoid making the same mistake a third time.

Dennis (evil)
--
The honest man is the one who realizes that he cannot
consume more, in his lifetime, than he produces.

Dennis wrote:
>
> On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 21:55:18 -0700, The Real Bev
> <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:
>
> >Yeah, I think Tax Cut gets my buck next year.  Sell Intuit short, it's
> >on the skids.
>
> Funny, my DW was just ranting about Tax Cut.  Our taxes this year are
> a bit more complicated than usual, since we sold a rental property in
> 2003.  Apparently, when Tax Cut imports depreciation information from
> previous returns, it doesn't import _all_ the pertinent data, so she
> has to go back,  look it up and enter the missing stuff manually.
> PITA.  (Bless her for taking on the task in the first place, though.
> :-)
>
> Probably not something the average taxpayer has to deal with, but
> there it is.

When I had a multi-year succession of Turbo Tax entries I still had to
enter the various investment 1099s by hand.  If it had just sucked in
the names and ignored the amounts it would have been much nicer.  I
really HATE the one-page-per-line-item feature of these programs.  I
know, you can just pull up the form and insert it by hand, but I seem to
remember that there was something semi-hazardous about doing that.

--
Cheers,
Bev
66666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666
Vampireware;  n, a project capable of sucking the lifeblood
out of anyone unfortunate enough to be assigned to it,
which never actually sees the light of day, but nonetheless
refuses to die.                              -- Trygve Lode

On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 15:01:22 -0700, The Real Bev
<bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:

>Here's a valuable product for somebody to start selling:  A harmless
>chemical that dissolves paper when mixed with water in a large
>Rubbermaid container and ends up being fertilizer when you're all done.
>Wouldn't it be cool to just mix up a vat of stuff, dump all your
>confidential papers in, stir for a while and then pour it around your
>rosebushes?

After they've been shredded, some papers can be added to a composter.

David Johnson wrote:
>
> The Real Bev wrote:
>
> > I hate rebates, but I hate spending more money more.
>
> The whole concept irritates the hell out of me, and I refuse to consider the
> rebate amount when I make a purchase decision, because I know I'm not
> likely to jump through the rebate hoops.

I guess I jump too easily.  The after-rebate prices are generally so
much better than non-rebate prices that I hold my nose and fill in the
forms.

> I wind up buying less because of
> them--If something is $50 after rebate, it fixes the price in my head as
> "worth about $50" and I have a hard time spending much more than that.

Not so.  I don't think we've bought a hard drive for a long time that
didn't involve a rebate.  Lifetime supply of free CD blanks through
rebates.  Pretty soon DVD blanks will go the same way.  Then, of course,
there will be much better hardware and media and everything I have will
be obsolete.

> OTOH, I'm not the kind of consumer they want to market computer stuff to,
> since I just upgraded to a 500MHz system, and that was only because it was
> nearly free.

Good luck with the home gym!

--
Cheers,
Bev
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Of course SoCal has four seasons:
Earthquake, Mudslide, Brushfire, and Riot

The Real Bev wrote:

> I hate rebates, but I hate spending more money more.

The whole concept irritates the hell out of me, and I refuse to consider the
rebate amount when I make a purchase decision, because I know I'm not
likely to jump through the rebate hoops.  I wind up buying less because of
them--If something is $50 after rebate, it fixes the price in my head as
"worth about $50" and I have a hard time spending much more than that.

OTOH, I'm not the kind of consumer they want to market computer stuff to,
since I just upgraded to a 500MHz system, and that was only because it was
nearly free.

The Real Bev <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message news:<4078CFB6.79E2FD3B@myrealbox.com>...

> Yeah, I think Tax Cut gets my buck next year.  Sell Intuit short, it's
> on the skids.

My turbo tax rant for the day:

I just rec'd a letter from the IRS yesterday regarding my 2002 taxes.
It's not a big deal - just have to submit an amended schedule B - but
I fault TT for the screw-up. Apparently when I followed the interview,
it didn't ask me about CD gains/losses, or it asked me in such a way
that I didn't understand the question. Since they were zero, there's
no tax liability here; it's just a hassle because I realized that I
also left this info out of my 2003 taxes, which I had already filed.
Come to think of it, I probably reported it wrong on my 2000 and 2001
returns, too.

Luckily my dad was here when I got the letter, which freaked me out.
He figured out the error right away because he had the *exact same*
error last year - also due to Turbo Tax!!! He has stopped using it.
Finally got fed up and took his taxes to an accountant this year.

So be cautious if you've got a CD that matured and then was
reinvested. I had properly reported the investment interest, but my
brokerage reported the gross proceeds from the CD itself. If you're
using TT, I'm still not all that clear where in the interview you
actually have to enter in this info. All I know is if you don't, you
might get an IRS letter too.

jen

shinypenny wrote:
>
> The Real Bev <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:
>
> > Yeah, I think Tax Cut gets my buck next year.  Sell Intuit short, it's
> > on the skids.
>
> My turbo tax rant for the day:
>
> I just rec'd a letter from the IRS yesterday regarding my 2002 taxes.
> It's not a big deal - just have to submit an amended schedule B - but
> I fault TT for the screw-up. Apparently when I followed the interview,
> it didn't ask me about CD gains/losses, or it asked me in such a way
> that I didn't understand the question. Since they were zero, there's
> no tax liability here; it's just a hassle because I realized that I
> also left this info out of my 2003 taxes, which I had already filed.
> Come to think of it, I probably reported it wrong on my 2000 and 2001
> returns, too.
>
> Luckily my dad was here when I got the letter, which freaked me out.
> He figured out the error right away because he had the *exact same*
> error last year - also due to Turbo Tax!!! He has stopped using it.
> Finally got fed up and took his taxes to an accountant this year.
>
> So be cautious if you've got a CD that matured and then was
> reinvested. I had properly reported the investment interest, but my
> brokerage reported the gross proceeds from the CD itself. If you're
> using TT, I'm still not all that clear where in the interview you
> actually have to enter in this info. All I know is if you don't, you
> might get an IRS letter too.

That happened to me last year or the year before.  I had just entered
the "gross proceeds" as straight income and got The Letter.  Send them
back a letter explaining the CD thing and got back a letter saying
thanks you, ma'am, you're off the hook.  I took the time to do it right
this year.

With the voluminous amounts of paper the brokerages spit out, you'd
think that they'd put in an entry for the purchase date and price paid
so I wouldn't have to shovel tons of shit to try and find the original
stuff.  I keep it all, but that's stupid.  Still, it's easier than
tearing it up.

Here's a valuable product for somebody to start selling:  A harmless
chemical that dissolves paper when mixed with water in a large
Rubbermaid container and ends up being fertilizer when you're all done.
Wouldn't it be cool to just mix up a vat of stuff, dump all your
confidential papers in, stir for a while and then pour it around your
rosebushes?


--
Cheers,
Bev
---------------------------------------------------------
If I know that chaining yourself to a dead cow is stupid,
how come Carly makes so much more money than I do?

.@. wrote:
>
> On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 15:01:22 -0700, The Real Bev
> <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:
>
> >Here's a valuable product for somebody to start selling:  A harmless
> >chemical that dissolves paper when mixed with water in a large
> >Rubbermaid container and ends up being fertilizer when you're all done.
> >Wouldn't it be cool to just mix up a vat of stuff, dump all your
> >confidential papers in, stir for a while and then pour it around your
> >rosebushes?
>
> After they've been shredded, some papers can be added to a composter.

Yeah, but I've got bales of stuff to shred (no, I'm not exaggerating)
and I'm not willing to feed it in 3 sheets at a time or pay the price
for an industrial shredder.  Moreover, I don't do compost.

Don't you think there's a market for what I want?  My mom would love it
too.  Who wouldn't?

--
Cheers,
Bev
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-SAVE GAS, FART IN A JAR

"The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message news:407E16F0.EAF2F8F@myrealbox.com...
>
> Yeah, but I've got bales of stuff to shred (no, I'm not exaggerating)
> and I'm not willing to feed it in 3 sheets at a time or pay the price
> for an industrial shredder.  Moreover, I don't do compost.

Maybe you can improvise.
A radial arm saw with a dado blade should shred a bale nicely.
Or run over it repeatedly with the lawnmower in an enclosed area.
Or let it soak in a gallon of gasoline before lighting it.

Don

The Real Bev <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message news:<407DB4B2.E29444A2@myrealbox.com>...

> That happened to me last year or the year before.  I had just entered
> the "gross proceeds" as straight income and got The Letter.  Send them
> back a letter explaining the CD thing and got back a letter saying
> thanks you, ma'am, you're off the hook.  I took the time to do it right
> this year.

Did they make you file an amended return? Or was the letter sufficient?

> With the voluminous amounts of paper the brokerages spit out, you'd
> think that they'd put in an entry for the purchase date and price paid
> so I wouldn't have to shovel tons of shit to try and find the original
> stuff.  I keep it all, but that's stupid.  Still, it's easier than
> tearing it up.
>
> Here's a valuable product for somebody to start selling:  A harmless
> chemical that dissolves paper when mixed with water in a large
> Rubbermaid container and ends up being fertilizer when you're all done.
> Wouldn't it be cool to just mix up a vat of stuff, dump all your
> confidential papers in, stir for a while and then pour it around your
> rosebushes?


Love it!

jen

Don K wrote:
>
> "The Real Bev" <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message news:407E16F0.EAF2F8F@myrealbox.com...
> >
> > Yeah, but I've got bales of stuff to shred (no, I'm not exaggerating)
> > and I'm not willing to feed it in 3 sheets at a time or pay the price
> > for an industrial shredder.  Moreover, I don't do compost.
>
> Maybe you can improvise.
> A radial arm saw with a dado blade should shred a bale nicely.
> Or run over it repeatedly with the lawnmower in an enclosed area.
> Or let it soak in a gallon of gasoline before lighting it.

All excellent suggestions, please accept my sincere thanks for your
help.

--
Cheers,
Bev
---------------------------------------------------
Don't you just KNOW that there is more than one
Sierra Club member who is absolutely sure that the
dinosaurs died out because of something humans did?

shinypenny wrote:
>
> The Real Bev <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote in message news:<407DB4B2.E29444A2@myrealbox.com>...
>
> > That happened to me last year or the year before.  I had just entered
> > the "gross proceeds" as straight income and got The Letter.  Send them
> > back a letter explaining the CD thing and got back a letter saying
> > thanks you, ma'am, you're off the hook.  I took the time to do it right
> > this year.
>
> Did they make you file an amended return? Or was the letter sufficient?

The letter was sufficient since only the details changed, not the tax
owed.  I've got a couple of things like that over the years, with the
letter being sufficient.  Sometimes I owed more money, but there was
never a need to file an amended return.

> > With the voluminous amounts of paper the brokerages spit out, you'd
> > think that they'd put in an entry for the purchase date and price paid
> > so I wouldn't have to shovel tons of shit to try and find the original
> > stuff.  I keep it all, but that's stupid.  Still, it's easier than
> > tearing it up.
> >
> > Here's a valuable product for somebody to start selling:  A harmless
> > chemical that dissolves paper when mixed with water in a large
> > Rubbermaid container and ends up being fertilizer when you're all done.
> > Wouldn't it be cool to just mix up a vat of stuff, dump all your
> > confidential papers in, stir for a while and then pour it around your
> > rosebushes?
>
> Love it!
>
> jen

--
Cheers,
Bev
---------------------------------------------------
Don't you just KNOW that there is more than one
Sierra Club member who is absolutely sure that the
dinosaurs died out because of something humans did?

>>Once a skunk shows you his stripes, you know what he is.
>> JeffM
>
>Ever heard that other old-timey expression
>about cutting off your nose to spite your face?
>I'll keep right on using TT until I...have an actual problem with it.
>It means a lot more to me to get my taxes done
>in a quick, easy, accurate fashion
> Chloe
>
...except that you don't know what crap they'll pull next,
leaving you high and dry at your most vulnerable point.
The only advantage of paying a company again every year for the same
service
is continutiy of service (e.g. backwards compatability).
Intuit constantly moves the goal lines.

>than to try to belatedly punish Intuit
>for something they obviously already figured out was a mistake.
>
Not so obvious.  You missed my skunk metaphor.
I was refering to a *PATTERN* of unscrupulous business practices.
This was not the 1st time and it won't be the last.
Why people leave themselves to be caught in a squeeze
when the writing is on the wall, I'll never understand.
Why they would subsidize the efforts to defraud them is truly bizarre.
http://216.239.53.104/search?qÊche:jKPU4I2JsAwJ:weblog.infoworld.com/foster/2004/03/02.html+force-*-*-*-*-*-*-version
won't-*-supported even-*-*-*-*-*-2004 by-*-TurboTax

BTW, there are alternatives from vendors who are not evil.

The Real Bev <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:

[snip]

>Here's a valuable product for somebody to start selling:  A harmless
>chemical that dissolves paper when mixed with water in a large
>Rubbermaid container and ends up being fertilizer when you're all done.
>Wouldn't it be cool to just mix up a vat of stuff, dump all your
>confidential papers in, stir for a while and then pour it around your
>rosebushes?

     It would add new life to the expression "sub rosa".

sincerelky,

Gene Wirchenko

Computerese Irregular Verb Conjugation:
     I have preferences.
     You have biases.
     He/She has prejudices.

On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 22:00:32 -0700, The Real Bev
<bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:

>.@. wrote:
>> After they've been shredded, some papers can be added to a composter.
>
>Yeah, but I've got bales of stuff to shred (no, I'm not exaggerating)
>and I'm not willing to feed it in 3 sheets at a time or pay the price
>for an industrial shredder.  Moreover, I don't do compost.

Do you know anyone who works in an office that uses one of the
commercial services for shredding?  If so, ask them if you could add
your stuff to their shredding bin.

>Don't you think there's a market for what I want?  My mom would love it
>too.  Who wouldn't?

There's a market for almost anything (remember the square egg maker?),
the real question is "would chemicals be cheaper/faster/simpler" to
use instead of a shredder.

Cheaper - You have to keep buying more chemicals, whereas a shredder
will probably last for years).

Faster -

, Simpler - not

.@. wrote:
>
> On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 22:00:32 -0700, The Real Bev
> <bashley@myrealbox.com> wrote:
>
> >.@. wrote:
> >> After they've been shredded, some papers can be added to a composter.
> >
> >Yeah, but I've got bales of stuff to shred (no, I'm not exaggerating)
> >and I'm not willing to feed it in 3 sheets at a time or pay the price
> >for an industrial shredder.  Moreover, I don't do compost.
>
> Do you know anyone who works in an office that uses one of the
> commercial services for shredding?  If so, ask them if you could add
> your stuff to their shredding bin.

Good idea.  Unfortunately, I don't.  I should check out the shredding
services...

> >Don't you think there's a market for what I want?  My mom would love it
> >too.  Who wouldn't?
>
> There's a market for almost anything (remember the square egg maker?),

I had one.  Didn't it sound cute?  Worthless, but it was only a dime or
a quarter at a yard sale.  One good thing about yard sales is you get to
try 'as seen on TV' stuff virtually cost-free.  So far none of it has
been worth even a quarter.

> the real question is "would chemicals be cheaper/faster/simpler" to
> use instead of a shredder.
>
> Cheaper - You have to keep buying more chemicals, whereas a shredder
> will probably last for years).

Doesn't matter how long the shredder lasts before it burns, no sane
person will feed in thousands of sheets of paper three at a time,
especially if you have to remove the staples first.  Even using an
office-type shredder is a pain.  When I was temping, the company I was
working for was moving.  My job was to feed their old checks through the
shredder.  I had to keep pushing the strips down into the plastic bag by
hand and nobody (including me) thought about protective gloves.  Not
pleasant.

> Faster -

A goat would probably be faster and would fertilize the lawn.

> , Simpler - not

What could be simpler than stirring up a vat of plant food and dumping
it out on the grass?  Hey, this is MY fantasy, remember?

--
Cheers,
Bev
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rule 18:  Always tip your hat before striking a lady.