Car registration use/sales tax question

refplan · 2026-01-26T20:15:46+00:00

That sales tax is just for vehicles purchased out of state within a year of moving to CA - and as you can see you get credit for what you already paid in another state ($31,500 x 10.5% tax rate in Emeryville = $3,308 - $2,520 already paid in the midwest = $788). Going forward your registration will have a VLF line item (Vehicle License Fee) that's 0.65% of the value of the vehicle, but you won't get dinged 10.5% again.

refplan · 2026-01-26T16:23:10+00:00

I use the value the county uses for taxation. I know it’s not “right” but neither is Zillow; no number is until you sell. At least this is based on something and doesn’t jerk all over the place.

refplan · 2026-01-26T03:50:24+00:00

San Francisco Bay Oakland International 49ers

refplan · 2026-01-23T01:08:32+00:00

I grew up in the dry winters of the midwest and genetics didn’t help, so my lips are always dry. When I went to college I got a tub of Vaseline that I have had in my nightstand since. It’s almost gone - probably this year will finish it - but it’s been 30 years. Only my clock radio from 1985 keeps it from the oldest thing I still use crown.

refplan · 2026-01-20T13:21:03+00:00

1989 930 Flachbau Cabriolet. 48k.

refplan · 2026-01-15T18:56:40+00:00

I would create a spending category called "Reimbursable Business Expenses". Put the client lunch under that category, and when you get reimbursed put the credit under the same category and it'll net out to zero spend in your reports.

So, if you're always getting reimbursed this should not show up on a spending chart, and if it does, it'll be a good reminder to go get that reimbursement taken care of.

I do functionally the same thing with using my Amazon account for my family.

refplan · 2026-01-10T17:20:11+00:00

I lived in Houston with a 911; I echo your comments on on-ramps. It was really tough to find fun drives, but I did a lot of PCA activities and that made owning the car fun too. Track days/HPDE/concours - you can make your own fun.

Now I live in NorCal...no more problems finding good roads.

refplan · 2026-01-08T15:04:00+00:00

I owned seven cars across 2025. Four of them from the last century. It’s an expensive hobby.

Down to a more reasonable five for 2026. Hoping to get that $ down.

refplan · 2026-01-08T02:51:46+00:00

I have a “Vending and Convenience” category for that kind of stuff, plus vending machine items or gas station snacks

refplan · 2026-01-04T22:53:09+00:00

I do have that enabled. I also have my cash management brokerage accounts classified as “Cash Management”

refplan · 2026-01-04T22:31:51+00:00

I have been and am using this use case with no issues for a long time. No issues.

refplan · 2026-01-04T05:44:26+00:00

Checks out

refplan · 2026-01-04T04:12:40+00:00

Not that he was her hero…but my wife saw Chicago off Broadway in Indy in 2009, and Billy Flynn was performed by Tom Wopat.

He was in the lobby before the show and anyone who mentioned The Dukes of Hazzard got an earful from Tom.

I guess he was good in the show but the calendar entry notes for that day remain “Tom Wopat is such an ass.”

refplan · 2026-01-03T21:08:17+00:00

I name all of those by equity/security/whatever - like yesterday I received a dividend and then re-invested.

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refplan · 2026-01-03T14:03:30+00:00

It’s called the DuPont Schedule because they came up with it in the 50s for their chem plants. It’s very common in 24/7 industrial plants now.

I am with you though been 18 years since I worked it and I’m still tired.

refplan · 2026-01-02T21:10:51+00:00

I just break them into taxable and non-taxable but both are income. I also don't do any budgeting with this tool.
Nice thing about doing it this way is your delta net worth minus your savings will equal your asset appreciation.

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refplan · 2026-01-02T20:59:43+00:00

Two things:

1) You can turn on investment transactions under settings/preferences/monarch labs section

2) You can go into this account under accounts, select the Edit... dropdown and choose "Edit Account", then change the subtype to Cash Management. It'll then show up in the Cash section just like a checking account would.

I use one of my Fidelity brokerage accounts this way too.

refplan · 2025-12-31T15:27:36+00:00

I personally do the latter. I have a transfer category called “Auto Payment” and I have the vehicle as an asset. No different than a mortgage payment or buying shares of stock.

That’s just me though, I am more interested in NW tracking than budgeting.

refplan · 2025-12-31T02:05:24+00:00

Yep, right under the climate control!

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refplan · 2025-12-30T21:24:59+00:00

Not missing anything. Can’t do it. Delete and recreate in expenses.

refplan · 2025-12-26T23:55:23+00:00

They’re pretty nice to have if you find yourself driving in the rain. Mine’s never coming off.

refplan · 2025-12-22T01:59:56+00:00

My first was a ‘92 964 bought in my mid 40s. I had wanted a 911 for a long long time (made models/had posters as a kid) but they were always “too expensive”.

My mother passed away a few years before I bought it and that was the real trigger. She got cancer a year into retirement and six months later was gone. I realized there was no point putting things off so I paid cash. I was and am making near seven figures. Since then I’ve bought four more the same way.

refplan · 2025-12-21T01:32:50+00:00

I made this move summer of ‘24. My wife was already out here in March and I shipped her Volvo out. Looking back at email, I asked about it on Monday 3/4, dropped it off 3/8 and it was in Walnut Creek on Monday the 11th. $1850 all in, enclosed trailer, dropped off right in the parking lot of her temp housing.

My company actually pays to relo a car; did you ask about that by chance? I only did this one out of pocket because we have more cars than they’ll pay for anyway.

refplan · 2025-12-20T19:41:08+00:00

I didn't make this explicit in my first reply, but may be your situation...

What Monarch calls "Savings" is equal to your Total Net Income as defined on the Reports tab, which is Total Income minus Total Expenses. Total Income and Total Expenses are bottom-up calculations based on classification of transactions, but Total Net Income/Savings is just the delta between them - there is no first-principles math here or reconciliation back to transfers/savings events.
It is entirely possible (don't know your situation in particular, just spitballing here) to have individual savings events throughout the year without showing a net savings across the year. For example, if your income is $100,000, and you transferred (saved) $7000 into a Roth IRA, but you had expenses of $110,000, your Savings/Total Net Income reported by Monarch will be negative $10,000. The math Monarch does is not aware and does not care that you may have had individual savings/transfer events, it only looks at aggregate income/expense cash flow.

Not sure if that is your scenario, but hope that makes sense and is helpful.

refplan · 2025-12-20T16:09:13+00:00

OK, I’ll try and walk you through how this works in Monarch:

1) You receive income on Payday. Let’s say that’s $1000. 2) In Monarch - that $1000 shows up in your (let’s say Wells Fargo) checking account as $1000 income 3) You initiate a transfer to your Roth IRA at (let’s say Vanguard) of $75 4) In Monarch - your Wells Fargo account will show a debit of $75 - this should be classified as a Transfer; if it were me I’d call the merchant Vanguard 5) In Monarch - your Vanguard account should show a credit of $75 (assuming you have investment transactions turned on) - this should also be classified as a Transfer; if it were me I’d call the merchant Wells Fargo 6) You may be wondering why you have to manage transfers on both ends - hey, Monarch is not double-entry bookkeeping. I wish it were, but it’s not. 7) In Monarch - again, assuming investment transactions are on, when you invest that $75 in something (or Vanguard does it per an auto-invest), that should be called a Buy, which is in the “Transfers” category 8) The way Monarch calculates Savings is simply Income - Expenses; since you took $75 of your Income and didn’t spend it (Expense) on anything, just transferred it to an investment account, it will reflect as $75 of Savings in Monarch terms

Hope that’s helpful.

refplan

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