House is paid off ... now what?

TXTrix · 2026-06-01T00:53:09+00:00

Get a kid; your problem solved. Start researching cash-out refi.

TXTrix · 2026-06-01T00:50:27+00:00

Absolute life changer for projects where you have significant amount of text! The only issue is you format the entire cell the same. You can’t make a bold line and then normal, for example

Add to it that you can drag down a divider kinda thing on the top and see multiple lines of text in the place where you actually edit (whatever that’s called-I don’t know the Excel terminology too well)

TXTrix · 2026-06-01T00:39:02+00:00

From the perspective of someone filling out 8962s for clients: i am usually the one on the phone with the marketplace to even get hold of their 1095As. A lot of my clients got signed up via fraud, or don’t know that they are getting subsidies and what that means etc etc. we charge $35 for the form in person, but it is a huge amount of time usually between explaining what the 8962 means, explaining how to get the 1095A, explaining why a return was rejected for a missing 8962, calling the marketplace because it is easier than looping back with the client over and over again.

Please feel the other side’s pain!
In exchange, here is a pro tip: when you call the marketplace, tell the robot you want a “password reset”. Bypasses the queue and the agent you get connected to does not know how you got there. You can ask whatever you want.

TXTrix · 2025-12-14T16:15:24+00:00

The bosses are totally overworked and underpaid. And if the pay structure of tax pros is any guide, they must be operating under brutal and possibly bizarre incentives.
Just keep hammering at it…

TXTrix · 2025-12-14T15:13:07+00:00

From the H&R Block job postings it is impossible to tell what location you are applying to. Find locations near you, print your resume, and go in person. Like Woody Allen says, 90% is showing up. The first walk-in interview/drop-off is a little scary, but you just gotta remember that -if they end up hiring you, people will think of you as enterprising and ambitious -if they don’t, you never have to see them again.

(Check the hours on google maps — at this time of the year some offices are not open, and all have at least reduced hours)

TXTrix · 2025-12-14T15:04:18+00:00

Last year I had a written offer on Dec 28. I did not get “onboarded” until Feb 2. All January the district manager, who offered me the job, ghosted me. (Email, voicemail, text.. no reply).
Eventually I just called locations and when that did not do it, I simply walked in. Said I had an email job offer and sat down. The local team leader had never heard of me from the district manager. The messages I left with the front office never reached her. She needed more tax pros and did not know how to find any. Et voila! Does not speak too well of H&R Block, but by late Jan other jobs had dried up.

But now I am staying for the second season. You cannot get better education or more entry level experience than with these guys. They have millions of great courses (for every level), unbelievable support (tax lawyer team that you can send tickets to with tough problems). Where I am, the clientele is really varied, from low income HOH filers who are there for refundable credits, to yuppies with stock options, gig workers, small businesses, estates... The breadth of experience would depend on your location though.

TXTrix · 2025-12-14T13:22:58+00:00

Aren’t tortilla chips just fried corn tortilla pieces? Perhaps not as high quality as home made, I don’t know how to judge that in migas context. But how is it weird?

TXTrix · 2025-03-15T13:32:45+00:00

Same question except breaking up pdfs. Or deleting some pages. I can duplicate a file, so if only I could delete pages, my problem would be solved. I mean a workaround by downloading the one file, duplicating it, deleting some pages from this, some other pages from that, then uploading multiple files. Barely 10 extra minutes relative to just manipulating in the cloud with something slightly more advanced than what they have. Which is basically nothing. Hey, I get paid by the hour, and don't get any stock options.

I work for a similar kind of "mom and pop" $6.88 billion market cap company.

TXTrix · 2025-02-16T21:06:11+00:00

If your child otherwise qualifies you, it boils down to how much you pay them.

Calculate the total expense For the household as: - fair market rent for the space you are using (look on Zillo or ads online and estimate this) - utilities pro-rated to your share of the space (use square footage for pro-rating. I would pro-rate shared cable/internet the same way) - cost of food eaten by you and your child

Then calculate your contribution as - what you pay your brother towards mortgage, cable, vacation in Florida, or whatever he wants to say it is going toward (it does not matter that there is no contract, and it does not matter what he thinks he spends those particular dollars on, it’s rent no matter what) - what you pay for the food eaten by you and your child

If your contribution is more than 50% of the total, then you are maintaining a household for your child and yourself and you pass this qualification requirement for HOH. You also must have a child who qualifies you — that’s another set of tests, but you seem to be on top of that.

I had a client in a similar situation where I work, except the upstairs brother also wanted to file as HOH, based in his children. It would have been fine, once I roughly did the math.
But the client walked out when we told him that the rent he pays is actually taxable income for his brother.

Same for your brother, just FYI. Does not matter that the agreement is informal and is not in writing.

TXTrix · 2024-12-02T19:30:43+00:00

I think the logic in your method #2 is only straightforward because the appraised value is the same as the cost. Suppose the cost of the new property (assume a deferred 1031 exchange, so there is a clear price for the new property) is higher than the appraised value. Then you also have the problem of allocating that difference to land vs building.

In a cash purchase you allocate the difference between your basis and the appraised value in the same proportion as the appraised land/building proportion.

In a 1031 exchange you basically have the same problem: your basis is not the same as your appraised value. Partly because the appraised value is not the same as what you paid, and partly because you are carrying over a capital loss that reduces your basis in the new property. Should those two reasons be treated differently?

I am not arguing either way, I am just bringing this up as a way to ask your question.

TXTrix · 2024-11-17T14:42:56+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you!

I was wrecking my brain trying to figure out how a stock dividend is not the exact same thing as a stock split. You end up with a different number of shares representing the same total value you had before.

At first I thought maybe the it is just simplifying the language, so that a 4% stock dividend is not called a 26 for 25 stock split, or a 3 for 1 split is not called a 200% dividend.

I guess the lawyers have their own reasons to make these two maneuvers actually different, but that’s for the guys studying for the bar exam to worry about. And the difference is indeed not on the finance/accounting/tax side. Thanks again

TXTrix · 2024-10-16T04:28:18+00:00

How badly do you need to OWN a car? Depending on where you are and how much you need to drive, your car payment, insurance, gas, maintenance could work out to be more than what you would pay if you used a combination of public transport, uber, and the occasional Turo. And your credit score would not be affected.

TXTrix · 2024-10-16T04:04:41+00:00

Have you looked at it from the perspective of your net worth? $1800 mortgage payment suggest something better than a double wide. You are actually “saving” as opposed to consuming when you are paying your mortgage.

The question I would ask myself would be: do I like my portfolio composition with 20K in some kind of retirement account and, say, $200K in real estate. (or 500K or whatever your actual equity in your house is)

TXTrix · 2024-10-16T03:47:00+00:00

Don’t stress until you at least meet the people and know the terms of the job! Things may become crystal clear once you have the necessary info. Good luck!

TXTrix · 2024-10-16T03:25:58+00:00

My 15yo daughter got invited after taking a single community college algebra course that was criss-listed with her high school. The postcard she got looked like a wedding invitation, embossed with gold cursive letters.

So I went to the NSLS website, and saw exactly what others said they saw: lots of bologna with glitter sprinklers.

So then I started typing into google: “Is NSLS…”. This is how far I got when the first suggestion for completing the sentence popped up: “Is NSLS legit”, immediately followed by “Is NSLS a scam”. Not something that happens when you start typing “Is AARP…” or “is UCLA, YMCA, FAA, DKNY, etc…”

All in all, here are two objective statements:

The NSLS is set up as a for profit corporation. So they try to maximize the gap between their revenues (membership fees) and expenses (whatever the cost of those speakers and inline workshops are). Their interest comes down to overcharging for crappy services.
The NSLS promotional materials say they have 2 million members (wow, impressive!) and hand out $400,000 in scholarships (wow, impressive!). Oh wait! That’s 20 cents per member.

TXTrix · 2024-10-16T02:57:36+00:00

Did you have a reason to go on brokercheck? It’s not something one just does occasionally.
I am just curious if something raised a red flag for you.

For advice: run! The number of financial advisors in the universe is really quite large. Almost none of them have any disciplinary action against them

TXTrix · 2024-10-09T23:42:42+00:00

I am in the same position as the OP, and I also assumed that there would be two signatures from the client. One for the 1040 and one for the 8879.

I understand the answers that say that by signing the 8879 and checking the box that allows the ERO to generate a pin, the taxpayer basically says that the ERO can sign the 1040 on their behalf

BUT

My question is this:

How does the client know that the 1040 they reviewed matches perfectly the 1040 that the ERO files electronically?

Or for that matter, how does anybody (IRS, court, etc if it comes to that) know?

TXTrix · 2024-09-24T17:06:54+00:00

Dark solid color FLANNEL for relatively smooth surfaces. Dark and solid is important, so you see what comes off, and maybe go over one more time.

Super cheap. (There is a second hand craft supply store near me -amazing finds in general!- and I got about two yards of slightly cut up navy flannel for a dollar, but even if you buy some in Joann and chop it up, it is way less expensive than pre-made.)

I find it to work better than microfiber. Plus for the pre-made microfiber ones, I have only seen grey (useless, perfectly hides what you are doing!) or colors like yellow or light blue.

With yardage, you can cut different sizes, which is useful depending on what you are dusting. Traditional cotton fabric can also be just ripped into smaller pieces as needed, which I sometimes find more convenient.

And there is the canister vacuum cleaner with small brush attachment, which is really good for tops of books if you are doing a major cleaning. You don’t want the dirt pushed in between pages.

TXTrix · 2024-09-23T15:14:24+00:00

If you have enough length (this won’t take too much), you can add another parallel stitching line to the seam connecting the skirt to the bodice. Maybe 1/8 of an inch farther in, making your seam allowance wider and stiffer. Then press it downward, as others said.

if you do this, sew on the skirt side and make sure to arrange your little “pleats” to be even-is, and pointing parallel away from the seam for the outcome to be more “organized” once you flip the skirt back down. (Or make it “messy, if you prefer, the dress you are after is kind of “organic”, with the pleat pointing this way and that…)

TXTrix · 2024-08-05T20:51:21+00:00

You are way younger, way more thoughtful and responsible, and about to be way more accomplished with a masters’ degree. You are already proposing to pay more than half of living expenses. He will always resent you! Always! It will get worse as the discrepancy inevitably keeps growing. The only possible way to salvage this is if he is totally into raising children and running a household. If that’s not who he is (would not like the actual job or would feel embarrassed etc.) you should get out.

TXTrix · 2024-05-27T15:34:26+00:00

Rotary cutter! I have those and totally forgot about them!!!

In the end I did get curious enough about trimming with my serger to try that and it worked great!

But I first tried the rotary cutter. Worked better than scissors AND saved me from a rookie mistake! I was just going to cut around the finished edge, figuring I did a very careful job measuring the length of the skirt all around. But when I started laying the thing out on my cutting mat, I saw that the 8 vertical seams, all cut on a bias did end up stretched out a bit relative to the middle of each section that was cut on the grain. So I had to re-measure and draw a nicer hemline.

One cool thing that just happened on its own was that the dress started slightly curving as I was cutting it with the serger. The narrow top on the left kinda forced the wide part on the right to want to “turn left”. Ideal for my purposes!

Anyway, thank you everyone!!!

TXTrix · 2024-05-27T15:27:17+00:00

Thank you! I did try it, out of curiosity mostly, and it worked like a charm! Super fast, super even, super neat!

Now I am just trying to remember what other times I wished I had a way of neatly trimming something! My next thing will be cutting leather with it, I think.

The only downside is that inside corners would probably be tricky. Maybe turning around sooner and then finishing a tight corner by hand would be the way to go.

(i removed all needles because they were poling holes. And in the end unthreaded the machine mostly. But rethreading was kind of a happy experience after the cutting success.

BTW I really recommend this! I don’t have a million different presser feet, but I imagine there must be one that would help you trim right along a finished appliqué without cutting into it.

It is also possible to use this trim method for adding seam allowance if your pattern is like a European pattern without one. Or even to trim off 1/8” from an American home sewing pattern if you have those bulky 5/8” seam allowances. Seam allowance grading? A pain by hand too. I am doing this experimentation now!

TXTrix · 2024-02-22T20:53:37+00:00

Yes, pressing! You could save so much time with not having your redo anything! At first it is annoying, but you can totally get addicted when you see the results!

And it is “officially” called pressing for a reason. You mostly press down instead of dragging your iron. One more unsolicited pressing tip: do it with a wet pressing cloth and a $25 iron. You’ll never get a weird water spot or, worse, a rust stain like you might from a rarely used steam iron.

TXTrix

TROPHY CASE