But who was that woman who talked about her reproductive cycle? Honestly, if she were as smart as she claimed to be, she wouldn’t have told the dude that she was ready to get her reproduction on. When she was talking to him on the couch I could just feel the uncomfortableness oozing out of the tv. And then she had the balls, obviously not the brains, to go back after being rejected and ask Travis why he didn’t pick her. And then she equates not wanting to reproduce with “playing around”?

When she was talking to the other rejects her comments were like “nothing else is working…i’ve tried internet dating, dating services….i should just join a convent!” Maybe it’s not the men you’re meeting… Hmm…and so you thought going on the Bachelor would just guarantee you a husband? And she went as far to say “why else do people get married? i mean you get married to reproduce!”. Wow. The man who marries this woman is going to be lucky.

But my roommate and I had a good chuckle. I’ll probably keep watching to see who gets picked. I like Susan and Sarah B(the girl he gave the first rose to). It’ll be interesting….

So on my vacation I took a ton of pictures on my new digital camera. I got a Sony DSC-T5 for Xmas. It’s pretty nice. It’s my first digicam so I have no comparison. Anyway, with all the online photo viewing websites I didn’t know which one to choose. My friends use all sorts like sony image station, kodak easy share, etc. I decided on Fotki. They use to charge a fee and limit your storage space but now it’s free to join and they’re offering unlimited photo storage space. And if you want prints it’s only 9 cents for 4×6’s. So cheap! And I like how the website looks. It’s cute. =)

Projected W-2: $47,716.45
Standard Deduction: $ (5,000.00)
Exemption Deduction: $ (3,200.00)
—————————————————-
Taxable Income: $39,516.45
—————————————————-
Tax Liability: $ 6,544
Tax Withheld(projected): $ 7,224
—————————————————-
Overwithheld $ 680

I have about the simplest tax return because I don’t itemize, I don’t have other income such as capital gains/losses, interest income, dividend income, etc., and I don’t qualify for any tax credits. So from this projection I can expect a refund of around $680.

Now let’s say I had withheld exactly my tax liability. If I pro-rate the $680(680/12=57) and use a 4% savings rate, I could’ve earned $17 of interest. I guess it’s not that much, but it’s something.

If you underwithhold you probably have another paycheck or two until the end of the year to withhold some more. You’ll have to fill out another Form W-4 and give it to your HR person.

On this recent trip I made a few hundred bucks. Not bad. But as always, I was thinking, do I have to report this income? My answer is no. I think you can fly under the radar if you just go to Vegas and play a little for fun. Now if you’re a high roller and you win the big bucks(like in the thousands) or you hit the jackpot, then the lovely casinos will probably track your winnings. I’m not sure if they automatically send you a letter detailing your winnings or not, so it might be up to you to request one.

Your gambling winnings should go on Line 21, Other Income(on the 2004 Form 1040). The nice thing is that you can include your gambling losses, to the extent of gambling winnings, as an itemized deductions. I guess this doesn’t help if you don’t itemize. But if you do, include your gambling losses on Form 1040, Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, line 27-Other miscellaneous deductions.

After talking to some blogging friends, I guess the most common way to make money off a blog is through advertising, such as Google AdSense. Now I hear that Google won’t send you a 1099-MISC if you don’t make $600 in a year, but my guess is that if you make $599 off advertising, the IRS would like you to report it nonetheless. So I would keep track of your earnings. Hmmm…I will have to look into this thing they call advertising then.

So then I was thinking, is blogging just a hobby or is it a business? Income from a hobby or a business is considered taxable. For a hobby, deductions are allowed to offset income but never create a loss. But with a business, ordinary and necessary expenses are allowable deductions and can be deducted fully even if they create a loss. This loss can then be used to offset other income earned or be carried-foward or carried-back, depending on the situation.

So to be a business there are certain criteria. You have to be in the activity for the sole purpose of making a profit. You have to spend a considerable amount of time on the activity. Some use 500 hours a year as a standard. You basically have to make it look like you’re in business. Things like separate bank accounts for your business income, be knowledgable about your business, etc. If you think that your blog makes a considerable amount of money and can make it look like a business, then I think there’s a good basis for argument. I wouldn’t be writing this blog if I wasn’t looking to make a little extra dough. I mean, sure I enjoy it, but the number one purpose of it is to make a profit. But be aware that if you end up making your blog a business, then you’ll have to make estimated tax payments and pay self-employment tax.

I think I’m still in the hobby phase of blogging. I do know some people who make a considerable amount just blogging. It’s such an interesting world to me. And I’m glad to be a part of it!