You need the money now. Why lend it to the government for free?

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How do you go about changing this, my dh already claims 4 on his checks, and mine is zero. I thought I wasn't able to change mine. Please advise if I can be claiming anyone or not.

Federal law says an employee is able to change their withholding anytime they want - as often as they want. Your employer is only slightly inconvenienced but they can't stop you from doing it.

When I was working fulltime, my hubby and I had a hard time getting our withholding to exactly what we wanted it to be so we both declared 'zero-married' then had a specific dollar amount taken out in addition to the standard withholding. It was just easier that way.

BTW, you can claim as many deductions as you want on your WITHHOLDING. When it comes time to file, you have to be honest about your marriage status and number of dependants.

As far as re-amortizing the mortgage is concerned, I figured if paying off the debt was so important it meant reducing the amount contributed to the 401k, then cash flow would be tight enough to re-amortize the mortgage (I didn't recommend refinancing) and perhaps increasing deductibles. I hate to see people lose out on their 401k investment and the beauty of compounding interest unless it is absolutely necessary.

Miracle cloths - are microfiber cleaning clothes. Micro Fiber Miracle Cloth I'm sure they are sold in Canada. I like the really thick ones that are sold in home stores. I use those instead of dish towels in the kitchen. However, I also have a supply of cheapo microfiber cleaning clothes that I use for dusting and cleaning which I found in the auto parts department of most large stores like WalMart.

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"Poor people work for their money. Rich people make their money work for them."

We will probably only have the 401k & college savings reduced for a short time. We are following the steps of the plan for the greater good. Sorry if I sounded like I was disagreeing but it just didn't fit our current plan.

You are right about the taxes. My husband needs to change his witholdings. Our problem is that we pay off the credit card and then 6 months later it creeps up again. Having extra cash flow each month would probably help prevent that.

You've gotten some great suggestions.
Look at your phone/cell phone situation. Are you paying for extras you don't need there?
Consider your local library for movies. THey're not the newest, but they're free.
Try using cash only when you're shopping. If you know you have only a specific amount of dollars in your wallet, you can't spend more than that. Or, trade your cash for gift cards.

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~Jeweled

Yeah we realized we have paid the IRS Way too much already so DH is changing it today so no more is taken out this year it will bring in an extra 50 a week.

Cell phone I have the T-mobile to go deal $0.10 a min for pre paid min. I have had the phone for a month and have only used 25 min so why pay for a plan with more mins that I don't use. My DH is stubborn about having a Home line so at home we don't use the cell and when I am out and about I only use it for quick calls or question.

I agree on the whole using less thing.

Try using only cash for all non-bills a cash budget is not as easy to go over we use cash for eating out most weeks

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

be very careful witholding too little on paychecks. a couple thousand dollars can throw you into a higher tax bracket and you don't want to owe at the end of the year.