The Congress just anounced that the tax refund/rebate (or whatever they call it) will be about $1,200 for a married couple. Just the right amount for a quality Bass. How much is the New American Standard? Is it enough for a nice used Lull? I can't wait, I want my check now!
Rocky

I saw the new American Standard P-Bass the other night. That was $1099.

...and will probably be f-all for a single white male.

You can pick up a new Stingray for that much. Solid basses, those.

That's the ticket -- get out there and spend that rebate and stimulate the economy!

Just for your information:

Income phase outs are in effect this time around, unlike the $300 check we saw about 6 years ago.

If you file a Single return and you have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or more, no money for you.

If you file a Married return and you have an adjusted gross income of $150,000 or more, no money for you.

Yea. No money for me.

You're a stimulate the economy.

No bass for me. Don't tease me.

Haha, I like how the wife's spending interests aren't being equated into your tax return at all.

See, Rocky, the key to the statement is married couple. That involves the spouse, which means it would be easier to pull teeth on a chicken than getting permission to spend 'our' money on something like that for 'just me and not everyone'. I used to go off the premise that forgiveness was easier to get than permission, but that isn't true either.

I hope they send the check soon. I also have 4 kids, so that's $300 per kid, which is.... taking off shoes to count.... $1200 more for my family. Woo hoo!

Buy american. I humbly suggest G&L.

D*** you Lug! I said, "Don't tease me."

I think I'll just scrape under the wire based on 2007 income. 2008 income... no extra cash for me.

Really, it sounds like BS; unfairly taxing the middle class.

Well see things on the bright side of life, my other half is self employed and January 31st is the date to pay the taxes Lovely just after christmas and new year.

Self-employed citizens on this side of the pond get completely hosed in general, David.

By the way, the checks are scheduled for May 2008 at this point.

I am curious, are they going to work off of the 2006 or 2007 return?? I hope 2007 because I might get something back if they go off the 2006, I'm screwed, as usual.
Rocky

2007

Damn.

Refund? What refund? I actually have to pay more money

Well, having less than $75K income last year means getting a refund, I'm all set. I brought home less than half of that...

If it makes you feel any better, Picker, I am the government's favorite person to tax. I make less than $100K a year and I'm single. If I didn't own my house I'd be paying thousands at tax time.. Mercifully the house offsets the evil taxes and I wind up getting a decent refund. It still pains me to look at what I get paid vs. what I actually take home. I honestly don't look at it anymore because its all done electronically.

I'll see nothing from this most recent tax break/refund. The heartless bastards.

The present taxing system puts all the power in the politions hands to manipulate the economy and peoples lives. It gives them power which they must have to make their cold blood flow through their veins. A simple Federal sales tax, collected by the states, alongside the state sales tax seems too simple and makes too much sense. Granted it would put millions of people out of business who make their living trying to keep us out of Federal prison for screwing up on our taxes. It would also cause a serious recession because when the average citizen went to buy something and he was faced with paying 25% sales tax on the item, he would say to himself, ya know, I really don't need that thing that bad.
Rocky

Rocky, there are two big problems with a federal sales tax.

First, as you alluded to, it stymies spending and promotes savings. No postwar administration or congress has wanted this to happen. Negative savings has been all the rage, like a national Ponzi scheme.

Second, while it would initially do away with all the other taxes, they would eventually creep back in. The state would also never allow it to happen.

The current tax structure is extremely complicated, but it could work. In my opinion, the problem doesn't lie with the taxation, it is the size and spending of the government. No one wants to deal with a correction for the US economy, and since we are surrounded by career politicians, no one will give us the dose of hard medicine. What congress or president wants to be the one to see the Dow dip to 9,000 or 10,000 with 12% unemployment? I pay a lot in taxes, and it is not the amount of tax that gets me angry, it is the way it is spent. I use to volunteer to prepare tax returns for low-income families until I got fed up with it, but that's a whole different rant that probably doesn't belong here.

Eventually it'll break on its own, and like hot potato, whoever is holding the spud at the time takes the blame.

Add self employed and not paying any quarterlies.
I do the only thing that makes sense. CHEAT!!
I still get killed though.

It is criminal what they do to the self-employed. I am convinced if people knew what they were getting into, no one would own a small business.

Just FYI, be careful. The IRS's new algorithms are nasty and they really do not care about "materiality" anymore. They will go after anyone.

I am 69 years old, I have, over the last 48 years been self employed, a small business owner. Most of my employees have been at, or slightly above, minimum wage earners. I have always claimed that employers pay all of the taxes because the average worker is only interested in his "Net take-home pay" That is what he works for and has little knowledge of the taxes he is actually paying. The employer hires him for his net amount therefore pays all taxes. I think it would be wonderful if all Americans really understood how much goes to taxes. I think the Federal/State sales tax would wake up the public and outrage them, maybe to the point of demanding and reducing the size of government and their drunken spending.
Rocky

Thanks. I honestly have never seen anyone get audited but I don't imagine it's pretty.
I will go a long way to keep from running payments through my bank and keep my jobs small enough to not often warrent a form from the customer. I realize that they write off home improvements but have a hard time believing the IRS would come after poe lil' ole me.
That and I write off everything!! The good thing is where I live mileage is a huge deduction and I track every tool no matter how small.
I recommend self employment. It forces thought and organization and responsability and promotes good fishing! kl

Well, I'm getting $600...if the student loan folks don't get it first...

Think one of those X2 Wireless systems just might be in my future...

We'll get $1800 and it's all going against debt, which won't do crap for the national economy. But it will be good for mine!

You should flag about $200 of that for a decent recording interface.

+1

The house is a great tax shelter

Not happening.. Once we're out of debt, THEN I can worry about getting a better audio interface, with cash.. I'm done with borrowing money. They can keep it..

You aren't very American. Having huge unmanagable debt is the American Way(tm). At least that's what credit card companies would like you to believe.

I tried it their way.. It sucks.. I'm over it.. Nothing is worth going into debt for.. I have 1 credit card and a car left to pay off.. Then never again..

Funny thing is I've never had my credit get hosed or anything, I just got quite sick of working day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, and not having crap but $40,000 in debt (not counting the house!) to show for it.. I sat down one day and calculated that we were paying 40% of our yearly take home pay in interest alone.. Just interest! Not principle, all interest.. If I had invested everything I've paid out over the last 10 years, instead of throwing it into an interest black hole, I could almost retire, right now, at 36!! I could have worked to about 45 and retired a millionaire.. Instead, I have another 20+ years of working, just to dig out of the hole and start investing, so I can do then what I should have been doing now..

Any young people reading this forum, I'm telling you now.. NOTHING IS WORTH GOING INTO DEBT FOR!! If you don't have the cash for it, don't buy it. Period.. I'll buy my cars with cash from now on. I'll die owning the house I own right now.. etc..

We've been pretty lucky with credit (though not so great with taxes..). Some years back when we were running more lean we built up a few thousand in credit card debt that took us a while to work off. The Minister Of Finance was not happy, and we worked that down and stopped paying interest on cards.

Today we owe on the house (though not much at this point) and will do loans for cars at times. Other than that, we use the credit cards for the points and pay it off each month. If we need something bigger (we thought we might need to finance some furniture), we do home equity.

Tom

One BIG problem with credit cards is, they tend to make us buy things that we would not pay cash for. It is kind of like Monopoly. It took me many, many years to come to the decision to not buy ANYTHING on credit. My wife and I have been debt free for a couple of years now. It is wonderful, I wish we would have learned our lesson 40 years ago. Yea for Dave Ramsey !
Rocky

We have 2 incomes and 3 kids. I'll be happy to put whatever Uncle Sam sends us back into the US economy.

Or would a Markbass purchase be stimulating the Italian economy?

Agreed!!!
Haven't had a credit card for 3 years. I will occasionally due the installment plan and I do have an A.R. at Lowes but that's it!!

Isn't it amazing the things people try to sell you?

I think I'm going to owe a bunch this year. My self-employment income went up and I forgot to raise the amount of estimated tax that I sent in.

I'll buy gear anyway. It's deductible so I'm not really spending the money, right?

Right !

Credit card interest SUCKS OUT LOUD. My wife is learning that the hard way. She was not brought up in a credit-savvy home, so it's been a hard lesson for her to understand how much it is killing us to have that debt. I was, but I blew off alot of it as my parents being tightwads. All I know is we will not ever have this kind of credit card debt again.

Our economy is largely in this position because there is so much consumer debt. What floors me is how many people don't realize what credit costs. I am 30, and so many people my age, who are married and earn less than $100K a year by a long shot, have so much debt. They get their 'dream' house, on an 'interest only' mortgage, they each have a $35K SUV, and all kinds of toys like ski-doo's and ATVs, and they don't know how much they owe. The only answer they give is 'It costs XXX dollars a month'. All they know is the monthly payment. And they don't understand why things implode on them and they have nothing to show for it.

I know I have learned my lesson, and my wife has, too. If we want it, save the money and pay CASH.

And.... if the husband or wife can't work for 3-4 months, they are bankrupt and loose their house and cars. Most retailers, make more profit from their financing than from the products they sell. Everyone is trying to live like "Mr.& Mrs. Jones" and they don't realize that "Mr.& Mrs.Jones" are broke.
Rocky

Hmmm. I think this cash might go towards either an EBS 1x12" or a 2x12". I think I have enough basses for now.

What is it that you like about EBS?

The neodynium drivers are attractive since they make the cabinet so light. And the tone that I got from that 1x12" cab paired with an Eden head (I already own one) was just fantastic. Plus I felt like I was able to dial in any tone that I wanted.

I'm at the point where I'm going to start paring down my rigs. Right now I have a Trace Elliot 1x15" combo, an SWR SM-400 head, an Eden WT-500 head, an Eden D-210 XLT cabinet and an SWR Triad II cabinet. If I can sell off some of that gear to the point where I only have two heads, and maybe three cabs (a 1x12", a 2x12" and a 2x10"), I think it will be a much more versatile setup that will serve me in a number of roles. I can mix and match that setup for home, small gigs, bigger gigs, recording, etc.

If you already have a good bass and you are gigging use the gig money for a new bass. Buy the wife something or split the return in half this will keep her off your back and who knows she might just buy something sexy to wear for you and offer a few special favors to you. Anyway spliting the money is the right thing to do. ( I know I'm henpecked <whipped>) But when she is happy I am happy.

No comments please

Dave Ramsey keeps me honest. We don't really follow his plan, but we're pretty much in scorched earth mode when it comes to money, and listening to him from time to time helps to make me feel less alone in that.. We're basically in the middle of "live like no one else so that later we can live like no one else".. As he puts it..

????? I did not know that that is possible.

About debt, interest payments, and the like: +1 for the pay-as-you-go ideal. On Dec 31st of 2007 I paid off my mortgage! Bragging? Oh, yes I am!

Credit card and banking industry: Oh, that's a sore point with me. First, the banks figured out that by increasing interest rates and a myriad of fees for people that in the past couldn't qualify for a credit card, they could make much more money in the long run in spite of the increased defaults. Then, they treated these credit cards like a drug dealer giving out that "first taste" (Those who've seen a college campus on the first week of the semester know what I'm talking about). Then, they used their profits to pay a crew of lobbyists in Washington to change the bankruptcy laws. Wow! That's as evil as the tobacco industry. I know; buyer beware. What's that Latin phrase? But it's still evil to take it that next notch by changing the bankruptcy laws. Most credit card bankruptcies are related to health care costs.

Me? I charge most things, then pay it off in full each month, and pocket the "cash back" reward. But that even gives me grief, since the merchant who took the card pays about 2% of gross to the credit card companies, so has to raise prices by 2% to compensate. So, I do pay cash when I'm dealing with a small merchant.

You're a small merchant

You're a caveat emptor.

Congrats. Get that credit card & car paid off.

Unless of course.....



If this is your current debt... or if your current debt is even a quarter of this you need to sell that Smith bass. You can save up for another one later, the $2500-4000 will go a long way in getting you closer to being "not broke".

That was the figure when we started on our scorched earth plan.. It's been greatly diminished from that figure..

I'm not selling the Smith.. Getting $3k for it now only to pay out $6000 to replace it later doesn't make any sense, and it would be like selling one of my kids.. Not happening..

I have the finances laid out over the next 2 years.. By the end of next year we'll be down to the house, with money in the bank to handle servicing/replacing vehicles, and the house will be paid off 7 years after that..

"Not Broke" is a state I won't achieve until I'm set to retire, but once we're down to the house we're taking about $10k in cash and blowing it on toys/restaurants/5 string smith fretless, etc.. After that, it's broke again until we're ready to retire..

In the spirt of supporting the American economy,this looks like a good idea for a purchase with my tax refund. Funny, both are the same color (Pacific BlueBurst), but the one with the rosewood board looks brighter in the sun. The body looks like waves in the ocean, I can get lost for days in that transparent goodness.

I was in Stingray5-mode at GC today and am really digging the maple boards now. Decisions, decisions


Oh wait...am I allowed to get a blue bass? I thought we already hit our 1-blue-bass quota

Combo amp. Small one - probably one of those little SWR Workingman combos. Just something to use onstage.

The rest? $150 to pay off the last credit card, $450 to knock down some old medical debts that still haunt me.

I did most of my debt servicing with my tax refund this year (you guys will hate me, with my kiddo deduction, filing single, I got back $4500)

Well all the tax return $$ is going for family needs.

However, this year I told my wife that my yearly profit sharing check is mine!

So, I've been contemplating two different options:

Ergo 5 string EUB
or
Carvin B5 (or possibly LB75)

I have always been interested in having an EUB. I played DB in high school orchestra and really enjoyed it but I will never be able to afford a read DB of any quality.

Conversely, I have always wanted a Carvin bass for two reasons, I've been drooling on their catalogs since I was in junior high school and always appreciated the fact that they offer lefthanded instruments with almost all the same options as righthanded ones. And most importantly, all the ones I've seen have been well built and sound really good.

The new project I am involved in will necessitate extensive use of 5 string and I have only one in my stable. I would like another with different tonal characteristics than my Schecter which, being primarily mohogany, has a nice dark, growly sound.

(as if I really need to convince myself to get another bass! )

Decisions, decisions!