All I Want for Christmas is...A WDW Vacation!! UPDATE pg 35 - Leaving today!!

[MyMuse]

So I came home from work last night and got the best possible mail of all (nestled between the credit card bill and some junk mail, of course).....

I GOT MY PARK TICKET!

Thanks again everyone for the great dining $$ suggestions. I am going to make some calculations today, and then for budgeting help, I thought I would get a Visa giftcard and every week, load some money onto it from my paychecks. I wonder if you can do that automatically?

Cool for Mickey Mail!

The March trip came with a $200 gift card, so I used that for most of my meals.
For the trip in May, I happened to be in a Disney store and just got a giftcard, placed some money on it and used that for all purchases, including food and merchandise. That way I wasn't taking out my credit cards or handling money all day. Worked great.

Also today, I went to the Disney World website and did my free customizable park maps! This is such a fun thing and I'm glad they offer it!

They should be coming in 2-3 weeks!

I love these as well. Beautiful keepsakes.

 

[Flossbolna]

I GOT MY PARK TICKET!

It's very cute - has Pluto on the front and is purple. Very sweet! I am just so glad to be able to check another item off of my list. Awesome!

Thanks again everyone for the great dining $$ suggestions. I am going to make some calculations today, and then for budgeting help, I thought I would get a Visa giftcard and every week, load some money onto it from my paychecks. I wonder if you can do that automatically? Hmm...something to look into. Anyway, I figured the amount I come up with divided by about 20 weeks will give me the amount I need to put in there each week, so that when we arrive, I will be ready to go for my meals! Sweet!

Have a great day, everyone!

Oh, I would love to have a cute park ticket, too! We always end up doing packages and therefore the room key is my ticket. While that is practical I would love to have a real ticket!!

Have fun doing the budgetting! Allears has info on that holiday surcharge. I think it applies only to buffets, but your travel time will definitely be affected.

And I like the idea of saving a weekly amount for your food! By the way, I am not sure how you are planning to deal with the issue of paying if you are a larger group. But my friend and I found out that if you charge to the room, you can actually pay that off the evening before you check out by various means of payment in the amounts you want. So when we split the cost of meals, we would just charge it to the room, hang on to our receipts and then on the last evening got a print out of all the room charges, did the math on who had to pay how much and then she paid by credit card while I used cash.

 

[ladybugmom]

Whoo hooo for park tickets!!!!

 

[BippityBoo]

Hey! Just catching up about the meal $ thing. To me, that sounds about right for one person. We had the meal plan, but still looked at the prices to see what we would have been speding otherwise. My friend gave me the tip to take your meal $ you budgeted for (the $400) and give it to the CMs downstairs at your Resort. They will put it on your room key and then you can use it freely throughout the park!???? Dont mark my words Abby had the opportunity to save for small things in the park in order to save money on little odds and ends. She suggested it as a good way not to have to worry with cash or credit cards. Hope that helps!

 

[DWGal210]

Cool for Mickey Mail!

The March trip came with a $200 gift card, so I used that for most of my meals.
For the trip in May, I happened to be in a Disney store and just got a giftcard, placed some money on it and used that for all purchases, including food and merchandise. That way I wasn't taking out my credit cards or handling money all day. Worked great.

Awesome idea!

I love these as well. Beautiful keepsakes.

 

[DWGal210]

Oh, I would love to have a cute park ticket, too! We always end up doing packages and therefore the room key is my ticket. While that is practical I would love to have a real ticket!!

Have fun doing the budgetting! Allears has info on that holiday surcharge. I think it applies only to buffets, but your travel time will definitely be affected.

And I like the idea of saving a weekly amount for your food! By the way, I am not sure how you are planning to deal with the issue of paying if you are a larger group. But my friend and I found out that if you charge to the room, you can actually pay that off the evening before you check out by various means of payment in the amounts you want. So when we split the cost of meals, we would just charge it to the room, hang on to our receipts and then on the last evening got a print out of all the room charges, did the math on who had to pay how much and then she paid by credit card while I used cash.

That's a way to do it, as well; I could just work out with my aunt and uncle that if it was easier to pay for the table service meals with 1 ticket, we can settle up at the end of the trip. Something to think about, for sure!

 

[DWGal210]

Whoo hooo for park tickets!!!!

Yea Haw!

Hey! Just catching up about the meal $ thing. To me, that sounds about right for one person. We had the meal plan, but still looked at the prices to see what we would have been speding otherwise. My friend gave me the tip to take your meal $ you budgeted for (the $400) and give it to the CMs downstairs at your Resort. They will put it on your room key and then you can use it freely throughout the park!???? Dont mark my words Abby had the opportunity to save for small things in the park in order to save money on little odds and ends. She suggested it as a good way not to have to worry with cash or credit cards. Hope that helps!

That does help, thank you! Another great idea! I love the Dis.

 

[DWGal210]

So this is not a trip update, but if you are watching Good Morning America tomorrow, my town, Cedar Falls, Iowa, is going to be featured! I guess they are doing a story about our bike trails and how they are recognized around the country, but also about the flooding and tornados the area had last year and how we're come back. They said in our paper today that they are wanting people to go to our downtown area in the early AM and make a crowd. I'll be at work but I'll be watching on TV!

 

[Charleston Princess]

That is so neat, Katie! I will make a note to turn on GMA tomorrow morning to watch!

 

[DWGal210]

That is so neat, Katie! I will make a note to turn on GMA tomorrow morning to watch!

Thanks! I saw my sister on TV!! She was standing to the right side of Sam Champion - she was just out of the camera line when they were talking to the chef from a restaurant in our downtown. So exciting our little town was on national TV!

 

[DWGal210]

Ugh...so I need a hug.

I posted this on the Budget board too to get some input....

Today in the mail, I get a letter that tells me I owe $897 to the IRS from my 2007 return. According to them, what my emlpoyer reported and what I reported are off about $3,100. Thus they are saying I owe the feds more $$.

I am going to look at my W2 tonight and double check the numbers - - I am mystified by this. I used Turbo Tax and it was super easy; I had 1 income and a few dividends but nothing fancy (didn't buy a home, didn't have a child, not massive amounts of deductions) so I was very taken aback. The thing is, the numbers are not even close - - at first I wondered if it was a keystroke error when I filed online, but the numbers are not close - $XX,399 and $XX,562 or something close to that.

Luckily at the time, I was employed at my family's business and so I can double-check the numbers with my father and what he has, but I am looking to get this resolved quickly.

I guess my question is - has anyone dealt with the IRS for a matter like this? Were they easy or hard to work with? I will be shocked if this is my error so I am anticipating that I can contest it and have proof that it was not my error. I have until Aug. 16th to get in touch with them and say that I am either paying or disputing.

I am just festering about this.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh, Katie! What a headache! I hope you get it all figured out soon!

 

[Flossbolna]

I am sorry, I know nothing about the IRS obviously! But I hope everything can be sorted out!!

 

[DWGal210]

Oh, Katie! What a headache! I hope you get it all figured out soon!

Thank you, Jackie - I do too!

I am sorry, I know nothing about the IRS obviously! But I hope everything can be sorted out!!

Thank you Magdalena! I appreciate the kind thoughts!

 

[DWGal210]

Well, this update is not going to be so rosy and fun...

As you might have read a few posts earlier, I got a lovely letter from the IRS on Friday, stating that I owe them $900. Apparently what I reported as income and what my employer reported was off about $3K (how you get $900 of taxes out of $3,000 is beyond me since I was for sure not in that high of a tax bracket, but that is a separate issue.). My dad and mom came over yesterday afternoon and took my 07 return and the IRS letter with them, and my dad is going to help me by taking it over to their accountant. We THINK what happened is that I neglected to add in the $3K that was contributed to my HSA account, and that I could have added it into my income and then also deducted it so I would have come out OK, but he is going to check. I am just sick to my stomach because I don't know what I am going to do about paying this off. My parents very generously have said they will loan me the money and I can pay them off (vs paying off the IRS in installments and having to pay interest) but the whole thing has kind of put a damper on my weekend.

I am also looking at switching positions at my current job - it will be a good move for me, as it's something that interests me much more than what I am doing now. But in the meantime, and IF I can move over there, (which will be at least a month) business is slow and so paychecks are small. I'm part salary / part commission and for the last few months, it's not been great.

Sorry for the pity party. I already have my park ticket and plane ticket, so they only other expenses are food and souvenirs, but with 5 months left, I am starting to worry about how I will make those expenses. I am getting anxious and nervous about $$$, which I HATE feeling that way.

Just needed to vent to my friends. Hopefully I can have a more uplifting update in the next few days! Take care, everyone!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh, Katie! I hope everything gets better for you very soon!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Oh nooo, I just read about your troubles with the IRS, I hope you are able to get everything worked out to your advantage...
Maybe all will turn around with your new job! Sending some pixie dust your way!

 

[ladybugmom]

Katie--I'm sooo very sorry!! I'm praying things work out quickly for you!!! (((HUGS)))

 

[Flossbolna]

Just needed to vent to my friends. Hopefully I can have a more uplifting update in the next few days! Take care, everyone!

I hope everything can be sorted out!!

 

[DWGal210]

Oh, Katie! I hope everything gets better for you very soon!

Oh nooo, I just read about your troubles with the IRS, I hope you are able to get everything worked out to your advantage...
Maybe all will turn around with your new job! Sending some pixie dust your way!

Katie--I'm sooo very sorry!! I'm praying things work out quickly for you!!! (((HUGS)))

I hope everything can be sorted out!!

Thank you everyone for the nice thoughts - I really appreciate it!

I talked to my dad last night and.....it looks like I will owe $0 to the IRS! It looks like what I didn't do was add my HSA contributions to my income, but on another line of my return, I could have deducted that same amount, so it's getting taken care of. Whew! I am very relieved. Today is so far a much better day - thank you everyone for the hugs, that means a lot to me!