Sleepingbooty
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2008
- Messages
- 1,902
Chapter 9: Cuz I'm the Decider!
Ive been waiting to make a decision on which resort to book until I did our taxes. We usually pay for the bulk of our trip out of our tax return, so I wanted to know what I was working with. I know, a lot of people say you should adjust your withholding so that you dont get a return at all, the rationale being that you are giving the government an interest free loan. Ive thought about that, but we are only talking about a few thousand we wouldnt earn much interest on that. And besides, if that money came home spread out throughout the year, I doubt Id be earning any interest on it anyway. Id be spending it, and have nothing to show for it. So, we like to do it this way.
Id finally received all of the paperwork in the mail, so I set aside Monday to work on it. I love Turbo Tax. It actually makes it fun to do your taxes. Yes, Im a dork. By late afternoon, I had everything finished, but it just didnt look right. We were getting back quite a bit more than last year. I looked at everything again, and I found an error on a 1099 we received from the Housing Authority. We own a rental house, and our tenant receives Section 8 assistance. She actually gets the entire amount of her rent paid for by them, so its not hard to figure out the amount we received from them. The amount on the 1099 was less than half of what we received. Im not sure how they made that mistake, but I called and left a message in their accounting department. Of course, no one has called me back yet. I went ahead and changed my Turbo Tax entry to the correct amount. I guess Ill have to wait to get a corrected 1099 in the mail before I can file, but at least I know what well be getting.
Of course, changing that amount lowered the amount of our return quite a bit, but, drumroll please its still enough to cover the Wilderness Lodge option! Hold on, not so fast. Scott and I had a date night over the weekend (went to the Container Store, nice dinner, then the Apple Store. Sexy date night, huh?). We discussed our different resort options. He said he was leaning towards staying at a moderate and flying (rather than Wilderness Lodge and driving). I asked if that was just an inclination or a strong preference . Apparently its a strong preference. He really doesnt want to drive. Okay fine, I can live with that. Lately I've been trying to give up some control. I can be a bit of a control freak, and I know that can't be fun to live with. So in the interest of familial harmony, I'm trying to let my dear husband take the reigns. Occasionally. Like, actually cede to his wishes once in a while (whereas my usual modus operandi is to just make him THINK he's making decisions, while I'm subtly steering him towards my choice). How long will this last? I don't know. We'll see how the ADR selection process goes.
So after some more discussion, we both seemed to be leaning towards Caribbean Beach Resort. Weve never stayed there, and if we were able to add it to our list, well have stayed at all the moderates, All-Star Movies, and Pop Century. As much as I loved both of the Port Orleans resorts, it would be very tempting just to stay there again, but it would also be exciting to try something new.
So after I finished the taxes and told Scott how much wed be getting back, he was very impressed. I asked him if we should reconsider our resort options, since our return was larger than anticipated. He gave me that look you give your teenager when they ask if they can stay out past curfew. Yeah, I knew I was pushing it. And when it comes down to it, I guess Id rather save the money too. Hopefully by next school year, I will be working full time, and the vacation budget will be much more elastic. For now, we are perfectly happy staying at the moderates. Heck, we had a great time at Pop last spring. So, CBR it is! Ill talk to my parents this week and we can coordinate our booking. They really enjoyed having connected rooms last time, so I imagine its best to book together if we want to request that? Anyone have any tips on CBR? Best non-preferred building to request?
Click here for Ch.10: More Background Fluff
Ive been waiting to make a decision on which resort to book until I did our taxes. We usually pay for the bulk of our trip out of our tax return, so I wanted to know what I was working with. I know, a lot of people say you should adjust your withholding so that you dont get a return at all, the rationale being that you are giving the government an interest free loan. Ive thought about that, but we are only talking about a few thousand we wouldnt earn much interest on that. And besides, if that money came home spread out throughout the year, I doubt Id be earning any interest on it anyway. Id be spending it, and have nothing to show for it. So, we like to do it this way.
Id finally received all of the paperwork in the mail, so I set aside Monday to work on it. I love Turbo Tax. It actually makes it fun to do your taxes. Yes, Im a dork. By late afternoon, I had everything finished, but it just didnt look right. We were getting back quite a bit more than last year. I looked at everything again, and I found an error on a 1099 we received from the Housing Authority. We own a rental house, and our tenant receives Section 8 assistance. She actually gets the entire amount of her rent paid for by them, so its not hard to figure out the amount we received from them. The amount on the 1099 was less than half of what we received. Im not sure how they made that mistake, but I called and left a message in their accounting department. Of course, no one has called me back yet. I went ahead and changed my Turbo Tax entry to the correct amount. I guess Ill have to wait to get a corrected 1099 in the mail before I can file, but at least I know what well be getting.
Of course, changing that amount lowered the amount of our return quite a bit, but, drumroll please its still enough to cover the Wilderness Lodge option! Hold on, not so fast. Scott and I had a date night over the weekend (went to the Container Store, nice dinner, then the Apple Store. Sexy date night, huh?). We discussed our different resort options. He said he was leaning towards staying at a moderate and flying (rather than Wilderness Lodge and driving). I asked if that was just an inclination or a strong preference . Apparently its a strong preference. He really doesnt want to drive. Okay fine, I can live with that. Lately I've been trying to give up some control. I can be a bit of a control freak, and I know that can't be fun to live with. So in the interest of familial harmony, I'm trying to let my dear husband take the reigns. Occasionally. Like, actually cede to his wishes once in a while (whereas my usual modus operandi is to just make him THINK he's making decisions, while I'm subtly steering him towards my choice). How long will this last? I don't know. We'll see how the ADR selection process goes.
So after some more discussion, we both seemed to be leaning towards Caribbean Beach Resort. Weve never stayed there, and if we were able to add it to our list, well have stayed at all the moderates, All-Star Movies, and Pop Century. As much as I loved both of the Port Orleans resorts, it would be very tempting just to stay there again, but it would also be exciting to try something new.
So after I finished the taxes and told Scott how much wed be getting back, he was very impressed. I asked him if we should reconsider our resort options, since our return was larger than anticipated. He gave me that look you give your teenager when they ask if they can stay out past curfew. Yeah, I knew I was pushing it. And when it comes down to it, I guess Id rather save the money too. Hopefully by next school year, I will be working full time, and the vacation budget will be much more elastic. For now, we are perfectly happy staying at the moderates. Heck, we had a great time at Pop last spring. So, CBR it is! Ill talk to my parents this week and we can coordinate our booking. They really enjoyed having connected rooms last time, so I imagine its best to book together if we want to request that? Anyone have any tips on CBR? Best non-preferred building to request?
Click here for Ch.10: More Background Fluff
The "you're pushing your luck" look! 
I know that one!
I did all this research on where the best non-preferred rooms are at CBR and for the life of me I can't remember now. I think it was Jamaica? Aruba? I'm no help here. What I can help with though is with the resort bus routes. It took me forever to find this so here you are:
I'm shooting for my 1000th. Might take a while longer...
Congrats on your decision! (and hey--I'd LOVE to go on a date with my hubby to the Container Store & Apple Store!! 
)
