The HAPPY Act may bring tax credits for our four-legged friends

Missy Woodward interviews US Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-MI, who has introduced the HAPPY Act to provide a $3500 tax credit for pet and veterinary care. HR 3501, or the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act, would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a deduction of up to $3500 a year for qualified pet care expenses. Qualified expenses would be amounts paid in connection with providing care (including veterinary care) for a qualified pet other than any expense in connection with the acquisition of the qualified pet. The pet must be a legally owned, domesticated, live animal. Animals used in research or business would not qualify for the deduction. The HAPPY Act may be welcome news to cat owners. The ASPCA estimates yearly expenses for one cat at nearly $700, and if the cat is a senior, has any health problems, or suffers an injury, the cost could be much higher. Individuals involved in animal rescue could benefit greatly by these allowable expense deductions as medical care is very costly and this could aid in the rescue of more animals from our nation’s overcrowded shelters. Individuals concerned about adopting animals during these difficult economic times could then move forward and save a life due to this tax break on qualified pet care. A win-win for humans and animals. The bill is currently with the House Ways and Means Committee. To further support this bill, please write your Congressman and urge them to co-sponsor / support the bill.

I've added a tracker to the side bar of my blog which updates on the status of the bill. You can also find out the exact details of the bill by following the link...its a very quick read and not confusing. The bill has been around for a while now, I'm just hoping that this actually passes instead of getting passed over and seen as unimportant. The only help we can offer is to contact our Representatives...so here are a few links for you:


Senator Dianne Feinstein (Democrat • California • 4th Term • Sworn In 1992)

Official website: http://feinstein.senate.gov/

Address:
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Phone: 202-224-3841
Fax: 202-228-3954

Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat • California • 8th Term • Sworn In 1983)

Official website: http://boxer.senate.gov

Address:
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Phone: 202-224-3553
Fax: 202-224-0454

You can find other Representatives by following this link.

New Years Resolutions

I know that a lot of people feel New Years Resolutions are crap...no one ever fulfills them, but how many people post them on the internet for the whole world to see? (Don't answer that). But I do have quite a few things I want to accomplish this year, and this is the perfect place to write them all down, and maybe remind myself of the direction I want to go this year.

I want a positive Net Worth (I don't want my current positive net worth to sink into a negative)

I think I will be able to easily accomplish this, but I will also need to change my lifestyle even more now. I have been receiving GI Bill payments for going to college, but those are coming to an end in February. It is a significant amount of money that I will no longer be receiving. Also, I will not be accepting my total payout on Unsubsidized Grad Loans, meaning another $4,000 I will not be taking (but also, I will not need to pay out). Also, I will be paying for my summer classes out of pocket. Lastly, I am expecting quite a few medical bills (Dental work and possible Lasik surgery), but I am hoping starting a flexible spending account to offset the cost and spread out the payments. I actually expect my net worth to drop this year, but I am hoping with some sound investment, I will make it out okay.

I want to learn one song on the piano and one song on the guitar

This is a personal goal of mine. I have a piano in my living room that's not getting any love. I have two guitars, one of which was a gift from last year, that has never been tuned. I miss my music. I need to make time in my life for this.

I want to walk my dogs every morning, and spend time training them every night

This is for their health and well being as well as mine. I know this will make them happier dogs, and it will help with my next goal.

I want to loose 20 lbs

Everyone seems to think I don't need to loose any weight (I'm a size 8, btw) and they are kinda right. I don't need to loose this weight, I want to. And maybe, once I loose 10 lbs I will like what I see and stop there. To do this, I plan on eating healthier, making my own lunches and dinners as often as possible (this will help save money too!). As far as a plan for eating, I am considering becoming a vegetarian for health reasons. I don't know that it would help, or just give me too many restrictions causing a melt down on my part, so right now its just a consideration.

I will clean up my home office and spare bedroom

I moved in one year ago and these rooms are still a mess. I would love to have my office all cleaned up and organized. The same goes for the spare bedroom. In order to accomplish both of these, I will need to buy some organizational items, such as shelves or bookcases. This will be a cost that I don't really want to incur, so for the next few months I will be searching the garage sales for some great deals.

I want to be a better law school student

Okay, so this isn't something with an easy fix. I actually don't really know how to be a better student. I've been checking out StudyHacks, and Tim Ferriss' blog (author of The 4-Hour Workweek) and I am hoping to start in a new direction this year.

These aren't really Resolutions, more of a list of things I would like to accomplish:

• Complete the backyard (including sod in the spring @ $1,000)
• Paint the bathroom
• Learn some Spanish (thanks to Rosetta Stone)

More on how to accomplish these goals in a later post....

Cutting out the Coffee Cravings – How I cut down on those delicious but overpriced lattes

The simplest answer would have been – just stop going to Starbucks... but I couldn’t do it. Every time I skipped Starbucks before class I feel prey to the vending machine…with its tiny over-priced vanilla cappuccinos and the $1 bag of M&Ms. It was terrible, and not only for my waistline.

So I came to a resolve, if I couldn’t stay away, I had to spend less. And I did! I never thought I would become a tea drinker, but it happened. I went cold turkey. Well, not really…I drink black tea and green tea, both of which have caffeine. I get my fix, at a lower price point and calorie content…it’s a win-win-win for me!

I started by taking coffee out of the morning equation. For me, it was simply not brewing my daily coffee. Instead, I stocked my desk with tea bags and Splenda. The water cooler has a hot water tap which means….instant caffeine fix, at $0.30 a cup. Once I became accustom to the difference, then the transition at Starbucks was simple. I order a Venti Green Tea now. Instead of $4.00 I pay $1.85 ($2.30 if it’s iced).

The best part? Once I drink the tea, I add more water and microwave until hot and it’s like getting another 20 oz’s for free.

Net Worth - December 2009

Assets   $ Diff % Diff Cash $19,677 - - Stocks $3,402 - - Bonds $0 - - Annuities $0 - - Retirement $1,338 - - Home $135,000 - - Other Real Estate $0 - - Cars $4,665 - - Personal Property $0 - - Other $42 - - Total Assets $164,124 - -

Debts   $ Diff % Diff Home Mortgage(s) $133,749 - - Other Mortgage(s) $0 - - Student Loans $20,500 - - Credit Card $995 - - Car Loans $0 - - Other $0 - - Total Debts $155,244 - -   Net Worth $8,880 - -

Yay! My net worth is UP! 

Not much of a change, but I fell off the spending wagon too, I think I've spent about $400 on my pets between this month and last!!! (They are worth it, I swear)

Oh...and as for my obvious absence from blogging....I'M BACK! 

Thanks for your continued support :)

Rock Climbing = Stress Relief

Talk about random! I decided that I need to be more active, get some more exercise and meet new people…and I am so tired of the boring gym.

My solution: rock climbing!

I found an indoor wall 3 miles from my house, open in the evenings until late…and I couldn’t be happier. I was scared walking in. I didn’t know what I was walking in to. I didn’t call; I was just going to look around. Two minutes later I was in a harness going over safety with another girl who just randomly happened to be a newbie too. I couldn’t have picked a better time to show up.

We spent about an hour scaling three or four walls and trying to stay away from the big group of people on the difficult walls while we learned the ropes. I was glowing after the first wall, and still truly excited even on the last wall. I knew I had to take it easy though, if I didn’t I would wake up in a world of pain, so an hour was all I attempted, and I totaled maybe five short climbs.

And I am going back….very soon!

Dog Training - Day 1 - Teaching how to Teach

The first thing that was stressed to us is actually to make the dogs feel comfortable with the space they are training in. Surprisingly, this is done by having the dogs potty (yes, I said potty!) in the training area (the front lawn, in case you were wondering). To continue working on their “confidence” my homework for the week is to get them to potty in strange places and on the leash.

We also worked on getting the dogs to sit instead of jump on us. We have to actually entice them to jump on us, and when they sit they get treated. Eventually it will work into a treat only if they sit with no jumping before they sit. We also worked on the down and sit commands, and on how to break a dog of its ‘fixation’ by using touch (cats are usually fixations).

Apparently there are three ‘stages’ to dog training (I call them stages at least): teach, train and proof, and proof is using training in real world situations. The first stage, teach, will last a few more weeks, probably into week 5 or so.

I am still not impressed by the dog trainer’s professionalism. He was 40 minutes late starting the session...But, it really seems like he knows what he is talking about, we completed two hours of ‘teaching’, and he is fair. See, the last time we tried an expensive dog trainer, we were not prepared for the extent of training necessary. We didn’t have the time and we didn’t realize the commitment needed. My mother and I dropped close to $800 on that training, and after the first session asked to put training on hold so we could better prepare.

By the time we called back, many months later, we were told that we were too late, our money was non refundable, and even though we only had one lesson they would not continue training or give us our money back. The worst part was being told this was in the contract we signed. Sadly, I spoke with the trainer who had no problem putting our training hold back then, but that trainer was no longer with the company, which sounds like the real problem with the refund.

Total Cost: $87 per session ($350 for two dogs, four-two-hour-long sessions)

Benefits:
- I can control Nickel when he revs up to attack another dog; I know how to correct this
- I know how to use a corrective touch

Homework:
- Potty in strange places
- Sit opposed to Jump
- Down to Stand to Down (looks like doggy yoga)

Still leaking money....

I realized last month that my biggest spending leak is in food. Okay…so maybe I’ve known for a while that this was a problem, whatever, at least I’m doing something about it. Right? So instead of just idly tracking this budget and watching it as it crosses over into the red each month, I decided to try going cash only for food expenses. This actually worked, for the first few weeks….and then I realized my trips through drive thru windows went up. I guess this had an opposite effect on me, when I have cash I want to spend it.

So, now I am trying to reign in this spending with new rules…no more drive thru windows. If I have to get out of my car then there is less of a chance I will stop for fast food, and more of a chance I will run into a grocery store instead. At least that’s what I am hoping. I will still try using cash only and see how it works out.

My budget for food is still really high. I need to lower that number as well...but that will come later, one step at a time for now.

But then again, maybe I am going about this all wrong. Can I really modify my behavior by enacting rules against myself? What do you think?