marriage & child in 2014 -- when to adjust withholding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you said just the opposite, but we never changed our withholding when we were married or had kids, and I prefer it this way. I like getting a refund - find it much easier to save that way. It's like money im never knew I had, and never miss.

dumb

It works for me, and I'm pretty happy with my financial position right now, so I respectfully disagree. If I had an extra $500 each month, I'd likely spend it or think I could buy a new car I didn't really need, or whatever.

Why don't you just have that $500 automatically deposited into a savings or mutual fund account? It wouldn't be sitting there tempting you and you'd earn interest on that money all year long.....

[Anonymous]

Trust me, you will need every penny the first years until preschool. Don't plan on saving.

[Anonymous]

DH makes a lot more than me, so when we got married we owed a TON, almost 10k more. We also have a house with a 3k mortgage, which is enough deductions I think. I have to withhold several hundred dollars a paycheck and I'm hoping it's enough. If not the IRS wants me to start filing quarterly which I think is ridiculous. I wish my work could see how much my DH makes and adjust automatically.

I feel penalized by being married!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you said just the opposite, but we never changed our withholding when we were married or had kids, and I prefer it this way. I like getting a refund - find it much easier to save that way. It's like money im never knew I had, and never miss.

dumb

It works for me, and I'm pretty happy with my financial position right now, so I respectfully disagree. If I had an extra $500 each month, I'd likely spend it or think I could buy a new car I didn't really need, or whatever.

Why don't you just have that $500 automatically deposited into a savings or mutual fund account? It wouldn't be sitting there tempting you and you'd earn interest on that money all year long.....

This poster obviously knows him or herself and the way they spend money. If keeping it in the government bank account instead of their own ensures it will be there - there's really very little downside to that. If you could throw it in a savings account and make 5%, it's a different story. But as it stands, I think this makes sense for a lot of people.

[Anonymous]

22:46 - I posted that she could be Head of Household if they're still filing singly. I understood from her post that she is not married yet. I file head of household because I am a single mom with primary (more than 51%) custody, and I get the child deduction/exemption.

Also, while giving the government an interest-free loan could be considered "dumb" by some, my combined checking and liquid savings literally make about $0.15/month in interest. I'm not that concerned about the government having a few months worth of that, and I've found that getting $1,000 back is more noticeable than an extra $40 in each paycheck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you said just the opposite, but we never changed our withholding when we were married or had kids, and I prefer it this way. I like getting a refund - find it much easier to save that way. It's like money im never knew I had, and never miss.

dumb

It works for me, and I'm pretty happy with my financial position right now, so I respectfully disagree. If I had an extra $500 each month, I'd likely spend it or think I could buy a new car I didn't really need, or whatever.

Why don't you just have that $500 automatically deposited into a savings or mutual fund account? It wouldn't be sitting there tempting you and you'd earn interest on that money all year long.....

This poster obviously knows him or herself and the way they spend money. If keeping it in the government bank account instead of their own ensures it will be there - there's really very little downside to that. If you could throw it in a savings account and make 5%, it's a different story. But as it stands, I think this makes sense for a lot of people.

I agree. When savings account actually earned interest there might be something to argue about, but that's not the case these days, and in any case behavior is more important than theory.

[Anonymous]

It's sad when the government takes half your money and wants to take more when you get married. At least we aren't as bad as france where they want to take 75%.