My Life as a Volunteer Tax Preparer – Ch. 2.1

Season 2 of My Life as a Volunteer Tax Preparer has officially commenced. For those of you new to Tough Money Love, a brief history: Last year a I signed up to work with the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE).  (More about those programs here.)  In my case, the services were offered through the AARP Tax Aide program. After receiving training and passing three competency exams on tax laws and regulations, I worked one afternoon per week during tax season at a local senior citizens center. Read more

My Tax Season Begins

I haven’t written much and haven’t posted anything in the past few days. Time-hogging projects in my day job have intervened. But that’s what pays the bills so as a personal finance blogger, it would be illogical for me to complain. I’m sure you did just fine without me. Read more

An Early Visit with the Tax Man and Weekend Reading

Yesterday was the deadline to pay estimated federal income taxes. Although I have taxes withheld from my paychecks, we always end up owing money at tax time. Sometimes the amount we owe puts us close to or in the underpayment penalty range. My normal method of solving that problem is to run our basic data through some tax software in early December and then have our accountant withhold extra amounts from my final paychecks. (In some years, that’s been the entire paycheck.) Read more

Annual Financial Performance Review

It’s the beginning of a new year and new decade and therefore time to update the Mr. and Mrs. ToughMoneyLove financial performance metrics. Read more

Another Reason to Dislike Pittsburgh

If you are from one of those cities that dislikes Pittsburgh (any other NFL city, for example), or if you just don’t like rust-belt union cities trying desperately to remake themselves, here is another reason to stay away from Pittsburgh. Read more

The Piggy Bank Mentality – Saving Money Every Day

I remember piggy banks. Not the virtual kind, like Smarty Pig, but the real ones. They were shaped like a pig and rested on your dresser or kitchen counter. Those piggy banks performed an important function beyond storage of loose change. They provided a visual reminder of the need to save – every day. Read more

Quarterly Financial Performance Update

Three quarters of 2009 are in the books. Time to update the Mr. and Mrs. ToughMoneyLove financial performance metrics. I actually review this information at least weekly but no need to bore you with updates that often.  Read more

AARP Wants to Give Everyone a Life Tune-up

You have to give the AARP credit. It is first and foremost a marketing machine. When it began, the AARP focused on actual retirees. Then it expanded its target demographic to the 50 and over crowd. Now it is after everyone, with an entirely new site and collection of online life planning tools. Read more

The One Thing Not to Say After You Pay Your Bills

We all have monthly bills to pay. It can be an emotionally painful ordeal to pay those recurring obligations for months on end. Sometimes we have to reach and stretch to make the money last the full month.

What do you feel and say to yourself after you have paid all of your monthly bills? Read more

What Lessons Have You Learned from the Great Recession?

Many personal finance pundits are now referring to recent economic events as the “Great Recession.” I don’t understand why folks want to use “great” to characterize an economic calamity. “Awful Recession” would be more appropriate. But I digress. Read more

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