Send me on the right path

[rvenom]

Hello all,

Im kind of new to the site but not really new. I mainly read some of the posts I see here but never really respond to any. This time i'm in a bit of a pickle see I have a question and don't know who to talk too and I would appreciate your opinion.
I recently got engaged and I am currently working on reducing my debt which is around 18k . Im currently starting the snowball debt reduction plan which seem to be working, altho sometimes I get distracted sometimes and fall of the road which is mainly cause of stress if you understand what I mean but this does not happen often. My question is would anyone recommend me increasing my dependent amount with HR at work in order or me to receive more cash on my check by paying less taxes. See I understand I will received it back at the end of the year but honestly I can use this cash now to pay off my stuff. We both have no kids but I figure since a little more than half he year is over well I should not be affected that mush later on.

Other info if it helps, I'm 35 and we live together and pay rent which is pretty high @ 1,305 a month, I own my car but she has a new lease that she got into last year. We do not combine our bills or cash at all, its almost like we are room mates the way its all handled. We do split everything down the middle, but not her lease or her bills.

Thanks

[krantcents]

I keep my withholding to a minimum, but I want the money during the year to use effectively. If you can do that, go ahead and lower the withholding. Remember, the prudent level to reduce it to is a small refund. If I were you I would set up an automatic payment with those funds so you do not spend it. Good luck.

[woodie96]

I agree with the first reply. Change you withholdings down to where you get a minimal refund. There is no reason to give the government an interest free loan on your money for the year. You can put it to better use than the government can.

[bjl584]

Change your withholding to receive a minimal refund. This advice applies whether you have debt to pay down or whether you are debt free. Getting a large refund doesn't usually make good financial sense.

[rvenom]

Great and thank you for your response, as a matter of fact I have an appointment with HR tomorrow to work on this I will keep you posted.

[Student Loan Settlement]

you can use your exemptions for both federal and state, at the end of the year go to your accountant, and see what can be written off. If you're filling as single, consider changing your status to head of the house hold, that will reduce the overall amount due to uncle sam.

[jpg7n16]

The advice above about changing your withholdings will def help. Use this calculator to figure out what to change it to.

IRS Withholding Calculator


As far as the occasional falling off the wagon, that's actually completely normal. It's perfectly normal to splurge here or there - just don't do it too often. Get back on course, pay down some more debt, and maybe 'reward' yourself with a small splurge every time a card is paid off.

As long as you keep at it and don't let a few small mistakes stop you completely, you'll find yourself out of debt in no time.

Just keep jumping back on the wagon

[artwest]

Did you get a tax refund last year?

If you did, I suggest you adjust your withholdings to where your refund should be less than $200.