MeredithRX

You're exactly right.

I wish I had some magic wand for these situations, at least to knock some good sense into our exes, but it just doesn't happen. I have complete empathy for you though. I deal with this daily with my ex and his refusal to provide anything for our kids financially. But, at the end of the day, like you say - it's the kids that suffer or are affected if things are withheld. And that's just not acceptable. So, I (like you) continue to pay and will continue to pay for my kids. I know it, and I accept it, but it's just so frustrating. I'm really sorry you're dealing with it. Vent away. It's hard to understand why all people don't feel the same sense of responsibility toward their children. I certainly wish they did.

I'm so sorry! I remember when my ex-husband was diagnosed with Type II DM. It was definitely a lot of new things to adjust to at once. It'll get easier, and less scary, and less stressful as you go on.

Not to mention, not to sound callous, but most people don't take 30 days out of town consecutively for a death in the family.... I'm glad you got a date settled. Fingers crossed!

I'm so sorry to hear this! I think it's hard for those of us who aren't dealing with PTSD on a daily basis to understand what a huge problem this really is! I'm praying for his family and for your DH.

That's so scary! I'm so thankful that you are all ok!

I agree! That is next on my list to do for my book. I have all pertinent papers together in a fire box, but I need to organize them better. Right now my box filing leaves a lot to be desired.

I feel officially grown up. I finally quit procrastinating and got my will printed, signed, and notarized. I never did this when I was married or when I started having kids. Now, all of a sudden, I felt like I really needed to finally follow through. So, there we are. Copies are made and I need to put the original away. I can't believe that took me 15 years...

Can't wait to hear your goals for next year! (There's a huge sale tomorrow only on Rock N Roll races... In case you already had 2016 race goals in the works and there is something you were interested in. )

Looks great! I'm too chicken so far to repaint my cabinets, but I'm getting closer and closer to jumping in. *laugh* Great job!

Well, the majority of the problem is that my ex didn't work, so my income married was the same as my income as head of household. I was in a lower tax bracket married with my income than I am HOH with that same income. Additionally, I didn't have ex's medical expenses to use as deductions. I am only allowed to claim 2 of my 3 children as dependents per the divorce settlement (he wanted one so he could be HOH too). But I make too much to get a credit for them anyway. My childcare expenses were all over the place last year. There were no reportable expenses (different caregivers, all under the table, etc...). Not the best way, but the reality at the time. And, because of the money issues, I couldn't afford my own medical treatments, so I skipped them. That left me with fewer medical expenses to deduct as well... Anyway, it just snowballed. We'll see what happens!

I may end up doing that. I do have the 2015 Program already. I was fooling around with it last night but every other screen still says it's not ready.

OK, I am going to admit, I am irrationally nervous about doing taxes this year. In past years, I never had a problem with it. I plugged in the numbers and always ALWAYS ended up with somewhat of a refund. Even years where I was aiming to break even. Things were good. Then I got divorced. And last year, for the first time, I owed. And I owed big. And there really weren't significant changes besides going from Married to Head of Household. I was devastated and it wiped out my savings. This year, I'm nervous because I really don't have a good idea of what to expect. Things are so different this year. I did change my w-4 slightly, but also have had extra taxes taken out of each check because of our babysitter and her taxes. I'm nervous about what the "Nanny Tax" will do. I've also had tons of medical expenses. I generally do every year, but this is the first year I've maxed out HSA contributions and dispersements. I don't know. I just don't know what to expect. The prospect of another "Suprise! You owe $3K when you thought you'd get a refund!" year just makes me sick to my stomach... Thanks for letting me ramble....

I bit the bullet and texted my contact today accepting the new side-job. I'm still on the fence about whether it will be more hassle than anything else, but my gut was telling me that I needed to get in the door before someone else took my spot. *laugh* So, I guess we'll see! It's a little out of my comfort zone because I'm not really familiar with what I'm supposed to be doing, but after a month or two that'll be a non-issue, right? Wish me luck. They're supposed to be emailing me payroll information today.

No, there are no consequences. I checked it out thoroughly before hitting "pause". They are my loans but the remaining balance is low. Everything is paid up on the loans until Jan 2018 I believe, so there are few repercussions for waiting until then to restart. But, obviously the intention is to start it back up ASAP. Since the balance is low now they are in the BS2 line-up. I'll restart them and hit them hard when I get there.