Photo of the Week: Guess where we were?!?!

I'll post more photos later.... what a fun weekend in the Windy City! 

Happy Birthday, Daddy-o!

Anyone who knows my dad can attest that he is absolutely the kindest man you'll ever meet & that's not an exaggeration (as if you couldn't tell from this sweet photo of him with his first grandbaby).

Today is his birthday & although we are far far away (sadly), we're sending him our birthday love. Put on your party hat & have a wonderful birthday, Dad. We love you.

(MommaLo also celebrated a birthday last month & I didn't even acknowledge it on the blog! Sorry, Mom! You're pretty fantastic, too & we love/miss you bunches).

You're Gonna Wanna Eat This: Blueberry Chicken Salad

You can tell how much I love this recipe by the fact that I took a big bite before I remembered to grab my camera & take a picture to share with y'all. This photo was actually taken on leftover night, because the first night we ate this for dinner, Matt & I couldn't waste a minute before we dug in.

This is one of my favorite recipes from Momma Mac: Blueberry Chicken Salad. Yum-o. It's the perfect summer salad. Fresh & easy. Doesn't require you to turn on the stove or oven, keeping your kitchen cool in the summer months.... Plus it's good for you! As a side note, Matt & I aren't really wild about salad dressings. We usually eat plain old salads.... however, we both LOVE this dressing. It's light and yummy & really 'makes' the salad.

Here's how you make it.

Momma Mac's Blueberry Chicken Salad

The day before... Matt usually grills up some chicken the night before (4-6 boneless skinless breasts, depending on how many adults you want to feed) & then we refrigerate it overnight. The recipe calls for one whole roasted chicken, but we like the grilled flavor & I'm all for keeping the heat outside of the kitchen in the summer. You could roast, poach or grill your chicken. Whatever your pleasure.

Night of... I like to start with the dressing. Why? Because I hate to do dishes so by starting with the dressing, I can whip it up in a large bowl & then add all of the salad ingredients into that same bowl & toss.

Dressing... Whisk together...

• 2t Dijon mustard (I actually hate mustard, but I love this dressing so I make an exception)
• 2T minced shallot or red onion
• 2T honey
• 3T freshly squeeze lime juice (2 limes would probably be all you need to buy- I always over-do the lime & use 3)
• 1t salt
• 1/2t pepper
• 1T minced fresh rosemary leaves (we grow it in our herb garden!)

Slowly whisk in to make an emulsion:

• 1/4 c. olive oil

Add to the big bowl & toss...

• 1 roasted chicken torn into bite sized pieces (about 6 cups). Like I mentioned above, I use 4-6 grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 per adult serving), cut into bite sized pieces.
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, cut into bite sized pieces (I toss with fresh lemon or lime juice before adding to the bowl if I know that we're going to eat it for a couple of nights to prevent browning)
• 1 1/2 cups green grapes, sliced in 1/2
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh & cleaned (don't use frozen blueberries if you don't want blue chicken. I'm sure it doesn't change the flavor, but it might make you say ewwww)
• 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped  - I used almonds b/c I had them on hand
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese - I used feta b/c I had it on hand*
• *Alternatively, we've marinated the chicken w/ blue cheese vinaigrette before grilling & you still get the blue cheese flavor!

 Best served....

• Over a bed of baby greens with warm bread! 
• I find it better not to toss the greens in the bowl with the fixins because who likes soggy lettuce? Then you can eat it next day & still tastes fresh & delicious!

Look who loves blueberry chicken salad...

(Matt's mouth was full...but he was trying to say "This is great!") 

 Make this for dinner tonight! You won't regret it!

Unexpected Perspective @ Duke Chapel (Photo of the Week)

 

These remind me of my favorite Chacos!

6 years old & still my summertime go-to.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, to all of the women who live out true strength, love & humility day in & day out... especially our moms. We love you (miss you) and celebrate you today!

"A woman of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies...She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy...She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:10,20,25-30

Top to Bottom: 

1. Momma Mac & Momma Lo with Matt & Suz - 2007 U of I Graduation
2. Mom & Matt - April 2007
   
3. Mom & Suz - 2006 U of I Graduation
4. Expectant mommy-to-be Katie with Mom & Suz - June 2009
   
5. Little momma Katie with baby Hannah - April 2010
   
6. Grandma Shirlee with Matt & Suz - June 2007
7. Grandma Gerry & Suz - June 2007
8. Margot, Mom, Matt & Suz - April 2007
   
9. New mom Nicole & baby Liam - February 2010

This little brother is a college grad! Congratulations, Mark!

I've been waiting for an excuse to post this photo for awhile. That's my "little" brother Mark with my niece, Hannah (Katie & Matt's little love) on Easter. Aren't they just the cutest?

As of today, my little 'bubs' is a college grad. It's weekends like these that I seriously miss home. I'm absent for both Mother's Day & Mark's graduation from Stetson. What kind of a big sister/loving daughter am I?  I had chance to talk to Mark for all of 30 seconds this morning. It went something like this:

Mark: "What's up, Suz?"
Me: "Did I wake you up?" (Realizing it's before 10am on a Saturday & he may just be sleeping in on his last day as a college kid)
Mark: "Nope. I'm in line about to graduate."
Me: "Well then why in the world did you pick up the phone, you crazy kid? Go graduate!" (Okay, I didn't say that. I told him I loved him & was proud of him & hung up for his sake.)

Truth is. I am proud of him. Really, really proud. There, I said it, Mark. After 22 years of giving you a hard time for being too laid back, acting like you don't care, & pretty much being the polar opposite of your 2 big sisters, which let's face it, is not a crime ... I must admit that you have grown into an incredible man. You did something neither Katie nor I even got close to accomplishing. You juggled school and a full time 'job' as a Division I athlete. And you did a great job at both. You've held fast to your faith and made good decisions ... as far as we know ;) You have purpose & direction for the next phase of your life as you chase your dream of being a coach.You've done well, kid. And I know you have good things ahead of you.

Okay, enough with the mushy gushy stuff... I hope you have a chance to celebrate today! We love you & miss you tons!

Life is Beautiful: Introducing Photo of the Week!

With all of the pennies we've saved grocery shopping using the tips from my last post :), we recently bought ourselves a fancy schmancy DSLR camera. We've visited some amazingly beautiful places & we have some exciting trips ahead of us, so we were in the market for a camera that could capture our adventures & grow with us as we learned & developed as hobby photographers. It was a splurge & something we spent months researching,* but we finally bit the bullet when we realized we needed to give ourselves some time to figure out how to use the thing! Since we have this fun new toy, we want to share some of the images we've captured here on the blog. So be on the look out for our Photo of  the Week.

This week, we actually have 2 photos! You may have noticed the new masthead at the top of the blog. Both the masthead (#1) & the photo above (#2) were captured at the UNC Botanical Gardens. A couple weekends ago, we spent the afternoon at the gardens with our friends Jeff & Melissa. While the boys played giant chess, us ladies put our cameras to work & tried to capture the beautiful Carolina spring day. I don't think the photos do it justice... Spring in Chapel Hill is (well...was) nothing short of spectacular. Too bad it's starting to feel a lot like summer around here...

 

*If you are in the market for a new camera,  check out kenrockwell.com. Probably the most useful/helpful resource out there for unbiased reviews of every kind of camera/lens you could imagine. Also, I owe a big thank you to my uber-creative friend Brittany who answered my endless camera questions & LizFay for giving me a crash course on the Nikon d90 while she was down for her spring break. She didn't know we'd put her to work, but she was a great sport! Thanks friends!

Life for Less: How to feed 2 hungry adults on a meager budget

I know ... I know... It's been ages since I last blogged, but in my defense, life has been crazy. I've been a busy bee at work. Matt's been buried in the books, finishing the last of his pre-reqs for dental school (he took his last final today...yippee!!!). When he's not studying & I'm not working, we've been out & about trying to enjoy the beautiful Carolina spring. Lots of wonderful visitors, baseball games, bike rides, little photo trips, etc. I enjoy blogging, friends, but I will never blog in lieu of work / sleep / or most importantly ... play! I also realize I haven't posted any life for less tips since ... well tax time. Oops.

Now to the important stuff.... I want to introduce you to one of my favorite things. Well, actually 2 of my favorite things:  

Matt put the little red guy in my stocking our first Christmas. He found it at my favorite shop in Oak Park, Papersource. The man knows his wife. I loved being able to keep a checklist of all of our grocery items over the course of the week. Made our weekly trips to Tony's (our favorite grocery store of all time in N. Riverside) so much more....organized & efficient! We were nearing the end of our little All Out Of notepad here in N.C. when I found the yellow What to Eat Knock-Knock pad at Anthropologie! (Sidenote: Sadly, this is pretty much the only item I could afford at Anthropologie. I usually just window-shop). In college, my roommate Jenny had this little piece of planning heaven & I always envied her weekly menus. Imagine my happiness stumbling across one of my favorite things!  Okay, before you tune me out  as a planning weirdo, let me explain myself.

Probably our largest spending category after our monthly rent is our food budget. We live pretty active lifestyles, which lends to pretty healthy appetites. Translation: we eat a lot. If a recipe states meal for 4, I can usually plan on it feeding us for one night. We also like delicious, whole, fresh foods... & the produce & fresh meat/seafood aisles aren't the cheapest destinations in a grocery store (Tony's is the exception). We could easily spend a small fortune on our food budget, so we've had to learn how to reign it in.

Here's what we've learned. It's really just common sense, but when you live by these little spending/budgeting/planning guidelines, you can save big bucks:

1. Plan, plan, plan! When we moved to North Carolina we marveled at the novelty of having a grocery store across the street. We could do little trips throughout the week. That ended when I started evaluating our grocery bills. Wowza. We were buying things we didn't need & our more frequent trips translated to a poorer planning & bigger bills. Meal planning has probably been the most significant way we've taken control of our food spending.... I sit down once a week with our recipe box, laptop (the blog world provides an endless supply of dinner ideas), cookbooks & weekly grocery ads. With the help of my hubs, we plan out our dinner menu for the week, building in leftover nights & planned dinners out (which are few & far between). We've found that we eat better/more creative meals + we stretch our dollar when we put our knock-knock pads to work and plan it out. You won't often find us staring at the fridge/pantry wondering What the heck are we going to eat tonight? 
2. Shop the sales! Duh, right? This really should be a step ahead of #1. If salmon is on sale, you better believe that we're eating fish that week. Pork shoulder....yummy pulled bbq pork. When our favorite granola bars or cereal go on sale, I've been known to stock up. I've found Southern Savers to be a useful online quick check for our local grocery stores sales (if you don't have their weekly flyers or ads on hand). You can also go ca-razy & get into couponing, but I haven't really been able to take advantage of couponing on a consistent basis so I won't comment on that. We don't have a printer at home so I can't print all of the great online coupons, and we don't get the newspaper. When I do get flyers in the mail, I'll clip a few coupons, but I try to stay away from clipping things we'd never buy in the first place. I don't need to spend money on something we wouldn't normally eat or buy.
3. Eat through the pantry! Unless it's an every day kind of food item that you eat through pretty quickly (for us, that would be granola bars, cereal, frozen fruit, or chicken breasts), don't buy unnecessary or excessive quantities of any food item. (EVEN IF THEY'RE ON SALE). Our 'pantry' at our last apartment was one measly drawer and we managed just fine. In fact, we spent less b/c we didn't buy food we didn't plan on eating that week. 
4. Make it yourself! Pre-made anything tends to be a rip-off and it's usually not as good as the real deal. Skip the rotisserie chicken & buy a little fryer at 59c a pound ... Make your own pot pies instead of buying the frozen variety... Make your own mixes (brownies, biscuits)... Chop your vegetables ... The possibilities are endless. When you buy convenience food, you pay a premium. I'm not saying we always start from scratch (in fact tonight we ate one of my favorite recipes ... this fake it, don't make it key lime pie), but when we do, we rarely regret it.
5. Dinners out are for special occasions! We haven't had the luxury of eating out very often. We've made it a habit to reserve dinners out as splurges for special occasions. Why? Because when we've sat down & evaluated our priorities financially, Friday night dinners out didn't make it to the top of the list. We'd rather splurge on a vacation or put those pennies towards paying for school without going into debt (mission accomplished, so far). When we do go out, it's a treat.
6. Pack a lunch! I worked in the big city for two years without ever going out for lunch on my own dime. I probably ate better, more nutritious lunches than my coworkers, & I saved a bundle. Now, I'm not saying you have to be that crazy stringent, but limit yourself. Lunches out cost let's say an average of $6-8 a pop. For a couple, that translates to $80+ a week! That's more nearly 3/4 of our weekly food budget and we haven't even talked breakfast or dinner! My favorite part about #6 is that I'm not the lunch-maker in our household. Matt graciously & faithfully makes my lunches every morning. God bless him.
7. Kick your Starbucks habit! Buying & brewing your own beans saves you big bucks. Amen.

There you have it folks. The McA's recipe for How to feed two hungry adults on a meager budget. Bon appetit!

oh hi spring.

This little taste of spring (captured on our new camera!) makes 

me want to forget about my annoying allergies & go sit outside.

Blurb. My Creative Outlet.

I am in love Blurb.com. I've used Blurb's free software, Booksmart, to make photo books of several of our adventures: our wedding day, honeymoon in Costa Rica, a crazy camping roadtrip we took out west, our memories from our years in Chicago, and I have another book that's currently in-progress. In these digital days, I miss seeing prints of my photos (plus I'm too impatient to scrapbook), and a Blurb book is the perfect alternative. I will gladly vouch for their claim that their books are "bookstore quality" -- I have not been disappointed yet!

Blurb's Booksmart is user-friendly. It lets you design your own layouts and determine your page count. Blurb has pretty quick turnaround. Their books are reasonably priced (especially when you price out the cost to print all of your photos!). They run periodic specials, so I usually order when I can get a discount or free shipping. Lastly, they have GREAT customer service. I had one issue (color bleed) with a page in a book I ordered recently, and Blurb promptly reprinted and sent me another copy of the book for free! I'm a believer.

Here's a sample of a few of my creations (you can preview the first few pages of each book). Give Blurb a try today!

Matt & Susan June 23, 2007 | BOOK INFO

Costa Rica: a honeymoon in paradise | BOOK INFO

Roadtrip 2008: Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota | BOOK INFO

The Chicago Years 2007-2009 by Matt & Suz McAndrew | BOOK INFO

Preview: lizfay comes for a visit!

On this Easter afternoon, I wanted to share a few snapshots (with our brand-spanking new camera!) of our super fantastic visit with our dear friend, Liz. Liz decided to spend her Spring Break with us in warm / springy North Carolina, and we had a grand time doing lots of touristy things while she was here. Here's a taste of the past few days:

 

I'll write & post more photos later, but right now I need a nap. I'm going to catch some zzzs on our patio & attempt to lose the horrible farmer's tan I managed to get from all of our outdoor adventures. Sweet dreams...

Look who is 6 months old today!

Our niece is six months old today! Uncle Matt & Aunt Suz miss her terribly, but hopefully we'll see her very soon! Here's a look back at the first 6 months of her little life (also, click here to see some awesome photos of Hannah at 1 month, taken by Katie's dear friend & our wedding photographer, Scarlett):

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009 (This photo doesn't look like her! Who are you & what have you done with my niece?)

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

What a happy little lady. Love you, munchkin! Happy 6 month bday!

Today was a good day.

• Matt turned 25.
• He opened his presents (finally)!
• He bought me a present...beautiful tulips!
• ....to celebrate 1,000 days of marriage!
• (He stumbled across an online date countdown calculator)
• March Madness began! 
• We found out that Carson & Nicole will be living 2 hrs away!
• We went for a run, so that we could....
• Eat baby back ribs from the barby!
• & carrot cake! Yum!
• YAY for a great day!
• (Sorry for the overuse of exclamation points. I'm just that happy!)

The countdown....to presents

 T minus 70 minutes to Matt's 25th Birthday! And we're staying up late tonight, kids. Because when the clock strikes midnight, we are celebrating. You see, Matt & I have different philosophies about present opening. He prefers to open them as they arrive. Can't handle letting them sit there, staring at him. I on the other hand, like the anticipation. Makes the birthday a little more fun. This year, Matt decided to wait it out. It's killing him. I can't say he totally resisted the temptation; he did open one present, some sweet Carolina blue shades. Well, the wait is almost over, at midnight, Matt is officially 25 years old! If you're reading this today (March 18th), please send the hubs some birthday wishes. I love him tons & think he's pretty fantastic. (Oh & today is Baby Liam's 1 month birthday! We wanted to send him some love, too!)

Everything You Never Knew About St. Patrick's Day

I've lived in the "South" for a mere 6 months & I'm slowly starting to notice subtle & not-so-subtle differences between Northern & Southern customs (ignore the fact that I lived in Florida which is a hybrid state, if you ask me). Exhibit A: St. Patrick's Day. I don't think Southerners give a crap...

I learned a few things in my 6 years in the great state of Illinois:
   (1) There are a lot of Irish people in Chicago.
   (2) There are even more Chicagoans who wish they were Irish.
   (3) Alot of Chicagoans/suburban kids go to U of I.
   (4) Therefore, there are also a lot of wannabe-Mcs* in Central Illinois.
   (5) These folks love St. Patrick's Day.
 *I think I can say that, especially since I'm married "Mc."  If I just crossed the line & use a totally inappropriate racial slur, I plead ignorance!

All I really know about St. Patrick's Day is that it's an excuse for Chicagoans to drink green beer (I approve) and dye the Chicago River green. If you've never seen this before, please click on this link. For you southerners, yes, it's freaky-deaky real. Seen it with my own two eyes.

Since Matt is legitimately Irish (or at least 1/2), I invited him to contribute a guest column on the blog. I promised I'd make him corn beef & cabbage in return. Here's everything you never knew about St. Patrick's Day. Settle in folks, you're in for a history lesson, a la Matt McA:

I am about 50% Irish... and Susan is Irish via marriage, so here are some interesting facts about St. Patrick and his holiday.

1. Born Maewyn Succat in Britain around 385 A.D., St. Patrick was kidnapped by pirates at the age of 16 and sold to Ireland as a slave.  He turned to Christianity as a solace during his 6 years as a slave. He escaped slavery and went to Gaul (France) where he changed his name to Patrick and studied in the monastery under St. Germain.

2. St. Patrick's color is actually blue (as seen above).  Green became associated with St. Patrick's Day in the 19th Century.  Green, according to Irish legend is worn by fairies, leprechauns,  and immortals.

3. Up until the 1970s, pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick's Day because it was a religious holiday.

4. St. Patrick's Day began in America in 1737 in Boston.

5. March 17th is supposedly the day St. Patrick died.  Nothing is known about the cause of his death.  His burial site is not known due to great anxiety of people of the Middle Ages to possess the bodies and relics of saints. 

6. St. Patrick is Nigeria's patron saint, since that country was evangelized by missionaries from Ireland.

7. St. Patrick never drove snakes out of Ireland.  This was a metaphor for all of the pagans he converted to Christianity.  He is said to have rid the land of snakes by ringing his bell from the top of Croagh Patrick, a 2500 feet tall mountain.At this site, however, there exists an ancient church, and at the base of the mountain is a natural spring known as Patrick's well or Tobair Padraig where St. Patrick baptized the first Irish converts.

8. The shamrock, which was also called the "seamroy" by the Celts, was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring. According to legend, St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity ( God exists as three persons--father, son, and the Holy Spirit) to the Irish.

Life for Less: Love Chile. Love Haiti.

Quick update re: Charitable Contributions for Chilean Earthquake Relief (from The Hill 3/10/2010):

"The House approved legislation that allows individuals to claim donations for earthquake relief to Chile on their 2009 tax return. Normally, these contributions would be claimed on the 2010 return since they were paid this year.The measure also extends donations to victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Donations made prior to Apr. 15 for either cause can be deducted on 2009 tax returns."

{Show some love to our brothers & sisters in Chile/Haiti}

Surprise!

We had a baby.......................

No, not that kind (don't get ahead of yourself, friends)!!!

We prefer baby steps (plant, pet then person) This kind:

He's a cute little guy:

The Felkels gave us one of their spider babies about two years ago.

& it grew into a healthy big spider plant that Matt & I have managed

to keep alive and even transport states away to a new home in N.C.

We've had these babies before & we've always managed to kill them.

I blame it on the Internet. Strangers gave me bad advice. Is there any-

one reading this with a green thumb? How can we keep this little guy

alive? I'm afraid to cut 'em off life support. What should we do!?!?!?

(I just showed Matt this post & he scolded me. Told me I shouldn't
cry wolf. Forgive me, but I had to get your attention somehow!)

Life for Less: Suggestions?

I have lots of ideas for my life for less series, but since I'm writing this for my friends & I hope that my little bit of experience in this area can help a 20something handle their personal finances with confidence, I'd love to hear if any of y'all have any specific topics in mind. I can't promise that I'll get to it right away or that I'd have the requisite expertise to field your specific question, but I'll do my darndest (this blogging thing takes a lot of time!). If you have a suggestion at any time.... put it in the comments! And follow me if you'd to come along for the ride as this series evolves. I can't promise to be all business ... you'll still get a healthy dose of just plain life with Matt & Suz, too!

Life for Less: Taxes, Part Deux (In English, please?)

Matt gives me a hard time for speaking almost entirely in acronyms. It's true, I'm cursed. In fact, I'd say all CPAs (that's Certified Public Accountants, for those of you who've been looking at my profile & thinking to yourself, huh?!) have a tendency to abuse acronyms.

Can you blame me? After graduating from UofI with a BA in Accy and MST, I passed the CPA exam &  started my career at PwC, in the PCS group. I saved all of my work in DMS, complied with our QRM policies, squeezed in L&E & met my PC&D goals. Eventually I moved to the PFS group where I learned a whole new slew of acronyms..... and I've been consistently speaking in letters ever since.

When I start talking taxes, I effortlessly shift into accountant-speak and sometimes forget that not everyone is wired like me. In fact, most people aren't.

So I'm going to break down some basic terms (& acronyms!) you should be familiar with when filing your tax return. For those of you about to tune out since you pay someone to prepare your returns or use a software, I would urge you to read this quick overview since you dang well should understand what you're signing. Lastly, I want to assure you that it's okay to be a little clueless the first time you expose yourself to personal financial / tax matters. In all fairness, I frequently call my dad with questions about my own taxes / personal finances. He's a smart dude, loves me & is more than willing to help me make sense of the things I don't understand:

 Thanks, Dad!

Let's start at the top of a 1040 and work our way down with some key terms: 

Filing Status: Are you single? MFJ (married filing jointly)? MFS (married filing separately)? Head of household? Qualifying widow(er)? Quick tip: your filing status is determined by your status on the last day of the tax year. That means if you're a calendar year taxpayer and you got married in 2009, you would file either MFJ or MFS. See definitions of the different statuses in these instructions.

Exemptions:  Exemptions are reductions of your income for you & your dependents. For 2009, you may claim exemptions of $3,650 for yourself, your spouse (if you file a joint return) and any of your dependents. I get quite annoyed when I see babies with t-shirts like this. Children don't give you an extra deduction they generate a dependency exemption. Here's an example: Matt & I are married and file a joint return. We get 2 exemptions of $3,650 each for a total of $7,300. $7,300 of our income is exempt from tax. 

Gross Income: I hope this is pretty straightforward. Your gross income is the sum of any income you've earned that's subject to tax. Duh, right? I should note that some income isn't subject to federal income tax (like interest from municipal bonds) but those exceptions are few & far between. 

Above the Line Deductions: Deductions are typically expenses that you've incurred that the IRS allows you to deduct from your income. "Above the line" deductions can be taken regardless of whether you choose to itemize or take the standard deduction (more on that later). Examples include student loan interest, contributions to a health savings account or a traditional IRA, moving expenses, educator expenses, etc. 

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI): This is your gross income minus any above the line deductions. This is "the line" that the deductions are above. 

Below the Line Deductions: Here's where you have a decision to make as a taxpayer.... You may either take the standard deduction or itemize your deductions, whichever is bigger! 

Standard Deduction: This is where your filing status comes into play. Your standard deduction is determined by your filing status. For 2009, standard deductions are $5700 for single of MFS, $11,400 for MFJ. 

Itemized Deductions: You may choose to itemize your deductions instead of taking the standard deduction. You'd only want to itemize if the sum of your Schedule A deductions exceeds your standard deduction for your filing status. Generally speaking, itemized deductions include: medical and dental expenses in excess of 7.5% of your AGI, state & local income taxes, real estate taxes, home mortgage interest, investment interest, charitable contributions, certain job expenses & miscellaneous deductions in excess of 2% of your AGI, etc. Here's my rule of thumb, if you own a home, there's a good chance your itemized deductions will exceed your standard deduction, but for most 20somethings who are not homeowners, the standard deduction is typically the way to go. 

Taxable Income (TI): Adjusted gross income minus your exemptions and either your standard or itemized deduction. 

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT): Just in case you haven't paid enough tax already, you may also be subject to the alternative minimum tax. This tax was intended to capture high-income taxpayers from benefiting from loopholes in the tax code and paying less tax than the government thought they should. Problem is, due to inflation, many middle income taxpayers are now subject to AMT. AMT has it's own set of rules and, quite frankly, is pretty darn confusing. For that reason, I'm not going to use this blog to try to explain it. Read this if your interest is piqued. You may be exempt from AMT all together. 

Credits:Whereas credits & exemptions reduce your INCOME, credits reduce your TAX dollar-for-dollar. Examples of some federal tax credits are the child tax credit, education credits, retirement savers credit, making work pay credit, etc...

Pop Quiz! If my taxable income is $100,000 (wishful thinking) and I'm taxed at a 10% rate (again, unrealistic), what is more valuable -- a credit or a deduction of $1,000?

• If I have a $1,000 deduction, my income would be reduced to $99,000. At a 10% rate, I'd pay $9,900 in taxes.
• If instead I have a $1,000 credit,  my income would remain $100,000. At a 10% rate, my tax would be $10,000. I could then take my $1,000 credit, reducing my tax liability to $9,000.
• Which would you rather have? A $1k deduction or credit? The credit, of course! In this scenario I'd pay $900 less in taxes!

Here's a recap of the simplified individual tax formula. Forget what something means? Refer to your handy-dandy definitions above:

Gross Income
Less     Above the Line Deductions
Equals Adjusted Gross Income
Less    Standard Deduction or Itemized Deduction
Less     Personal & Dependency Exemptions
Equals Taxable Income
Times   Tax Rate
Equals  Tax
Plus      Alternative Minimum Tax
Less     Credits
Equals Tax Payable or Refund

Clear as mud? Great.

Sorry.... My anal retentive side is telling me this is necessary: Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, I inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this blog is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter that is contained in this document.

Life for Less: As promised...let's talk taxes!

Last week we finally finished & mailed out our state taxes. By "we" I mean I finished our taxes & Matt took them to the post office. Marriage, it's a team effort. 

I'm secretly enjoying tax season this year. My days of churning & burning through tax returns are over, and this year, I got to just focus on ours! Instead of waiting until the last minute to rush through our returns, I took my time, did them by hand (gotta keep that brain sharp!), and had everything in the mail before March 1st.

I've found some great links to excellent taxpayer information & have listed those at the bottom of the post, however, I'm going to try to briefly hit some highlights for the 20somethings in 2 sentences or less. Ready for rapid fire tax tidbits? Here we go:

Teacher Classroom Expense Deduction: For all of my teacher friends out there, don't forget to deduct up to $250 ($500 for you married teachers) of qualified education expenses. Read the fine print on page 30 of the IRS's Form 1040 Instructions.

Student Loan Interest Deduction: Paid interest on those student loans? Deduct your student loan interest on page one of your federal return. Refer to Publication 970, page 41, to calculate your deduction.

Moving Expense Deduction: Did you move over 50 miles for a new job? (We did!) You can deduct the reasonable expenses of moving your household goods & personal effects & of traveling from your old home to your new home. See Form 3903.

Haiti Charitable Contributions: If you itemize your deductions on Schedule A (instead of taking the standard deduction), you may deduct certain cash contributions for Haiti relief on your 2009 return. Instead of waiting to file your 2010 tax return to take these deductions (which must have been made between 1/11/2010 & 3/1/2010), you can take them in 2009. See page 1 of the1040 Instructions for more info.

Making Work Pay Credit: I like how the IRS puts it: "It pays to work. You may be able to take this credit if you have earned income from work." Pay attention, working friends! If you have earned income in 2009, you may be able to take a credit of up to $400 ($800 for married couples). Note that if you received this credit through a reduction in your federal withholding, you still must file Schedule M to benefit! Read the instructions for the how-to.

Education Credits: There have been some changes to education credits. The American Opportunity Tax Credit replaced the Hope Scholarship Credit. You can now take this credit (up to $2500/student) for the first 4 years of undergrad (instead only the first 2 years). For those of us still in school or still financing school for someone that falls out of that category, you can still claim the Lifetime Learning Credit (up to $2k). Pub 970 is your source for all things education. Note that you can also take a deduction, subject to limitations, for tuition & fees but in my experience this is rarely more tax advantageous than taking a credit. Read the instructions & run the numbers.

First Time Homebuyer Credit: If you bought a house, I hope you've heard of this credit by now. If not, brush up on the incredible tax incentive in store! Enough said.

NC Credit for Charitable Contributions: Thank you, State of North Carolina. Despite your ridiculously high state income taxes (I've somehow managed to move to progressively higher tax states. Florida 0%. Illinois 3%. NC 6-7%!), you throw a bone to those of us who don't itemize for federal purposes & thus don't get any federal benefit for charitable contributions. If you live in NC, you claimed the standard deduction on your fed return, & you've made cash charitable contributions in 2009, you may be able to claim a tax credit for charitable contributions on your NC return. I won't bore you with the calculation, but I did want to bring it to your attention. The NC Instructions (page 14) go into more detail. Also, see page 12 of the instructions if you claimed an education credit on your federal return. You may be able to deduct your tuition for NC purposes.

Helpful Links:

• IRS.gov Download forms, instructions, publications...Good stuff.
• The AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) has an excellent consumer education site called 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy. No matter what stage of life you're in, 360 will help you make sound financial decisions. Speaking of sound planning....check out tax tips from the AICPA:
• (360 Degrees of Financial Literacy) Tax Planning for your 2009 Return ....much more comprehensive than my quick tips
• (360 Degrees of Financial Literacy) 360 Tax Tips on YouTube ... straight from the AICPA's top dogs.

Other Matters:

• Haven't tackled your return yet? Leave it up to a professional. Visit your local CPA!
• Sorry.... My anal retentive side is telling me this is necessary: Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, I inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this blog is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter that is contained in this document.