Enter: H&R Block Online

When we left the tax preparer’s office, the first thought we both had is that we could probably do our own taxes way better than that person could. We started searching for options and we came across H&R Block Online.

Now, I was a little bit nervous at first. The last thing I wanted was for the IRS to come knocking on the door saying we messed something up. Y’all know that I have to research everything. So I read about 1,000 reviews and figured out H&R Block was probably going to be the best choice.

The Options Grow With You

Everyone knows that I hate anything that is one-size-fits-all so I appreciate the fact that H&R Block has multiple options to fit your specific tax situation. We were actually able to use the free version of their software that first year because our taxes were extremely simple.

However, as our tax situation changed over time, so did our needs. It’s weird but I felt comfortable coming back, time after time, to do my own taxes because of how easy the whole process is.

Here’s a list of the different options you can choose from:

• H&R Block Free Online
  • This option is designed for people with less complex filing situations, including people who have w-2 income, kids and rent, as well as students and first-time filers.
• H&R Block Deluxe Online
  • This option is designed for homeowners, people who’ve made charitable donations and those with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
• H&R Block Premium Online
  • Designed for freelancers, contractors, investors and rental property owners; includes all Deluxe features as well as the ability to import expenses from expense-tracking apps.
• H&R Block Self Employed Online
  • Perfect for self-employed individuals and small business owners with a home office and/or employees; includes all Premium features as well as an improved guided Schedule C interview to ensure a better experience for complex clients.

We used the Self Employed version of their software last year because I did a lot of freelance work for Doordash, various acting jobs and we made a little bit of money from Pennies to Wealth.

During the process, H&R Block’s software literally walks you step by step through the process of doing your taxes on your own. They tell you which blocks to copy numbers from and which forms you should have to find your necessary information.

There’s no way that we could have figured any of this out without them holding our hands through the experience.

No Surprises

H&R Block’s “No Surprise Guarantee*” really satisfies my need for transparency. While you’re filling out your taxes, you get constant updates as you go.

If you add information to an area that will cause an increase in your package price, you get an alert. You also have a tab on the side the constantly updates your tax refund as you enter your information.

I always plan on a very small refund or paying just a little in taxes (the government won’t get a free loan from me) so I love watching this number update to see whether or not I calculated correctly.

Help When You Need It

This year, I’m most excited about using H&R Block’s Online Assist while I do my taxes. This tool allows you to live-chat with highly trained H&R Block tax experts, IRS agents or CPAs.

I want to consult the experts this time around so that they can make sure I get EVERY tax break I can from all of the changes that happened in 2019!

Do It Yourself This Year

I believe doing your taxes with H&R Block is extremely easy. As a gift for the PTW Family, H&R Block has given me a special link to share with you. This link will let you take 25% off all of their software options! Go save your coins fam!

Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever done your own taxes or if you plan to for the first time this year!

$tay Wealthy Fam,
— Dannie

* Receive 20% off next year’s tax preparation if we fail to provide any of the 4 benefits included in our “No Surprise Guarantee” (Upfront Transparent Pricing, Transparent Process, Free Audit Assistance, and Free Midyear Tax Check-In).  Limitations apply.  Description of benefits and details at hrblock.com/guarantees.

Getting Started

Before creating a monthly budget, I used the free annual spreadsheet to plan out my year. Seeing everything all on one page is super helpful in analyzing how my cashflow changes throughout the year. Doing this helps me be proactive instead of reactive towards irregular expenses that I know are on the way.

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A post shared by Pennies to Wealth – Dannie (@penniestowealth) on Jan 18, 2020 at 3:39pm PST

Fixed Expenses

This was the category that gave me the most anxiety due to the exorbitant cost of living in the bay area. Since I do not have any family or friends here, living alone was my only option (I refuse to live with strangers or somewhere unsafe, sorry not sorry). Other than my rent costs, everything else is pretty normal for me.

I currently only pay half of my Geico and Tmobile. Webpass (internet) was paid in full when I had it activated at a cost of $504 or $42 a month/12 months.

Like I mentioned in my previous blog, I did receive two months’ free rent as well as $1k off of the third month which helped me tremendously during my transition to the bay. My effective rent will be about ~$2300 for the duration of my lease, which is a big reason why I decided on my place.

However, I’ll begin paying full rent in April 2019 so the budget below reflects that change. I’m still waiting on my water/trash bill so it will stay at $0 for now. I have no clue why it’s taking them so long!

Variable Expenses

To figure out my spending amounts, I simply divided most of my previous joint costs in half. If you’re looking for more ideas on how to determine your budget percentages, go here.

This category can differ from month to month based on my needs and spending requirements. I tend to also track travel and unplanned expenses in this category as well just for simplicity purposes. I don’t budget a specific amount for the last 4 expenses unless I have something coming up.

• Groceries = food and drink
• Home expenses = house crap (toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc)
• Spending = fun money (eating out, entertainment, shopping, etc).
• Laser = laser hair removal (legs), used Groupon for other areas
• Giving = I keep private
• Fastrak = tolls

Savings

To be honest with y’all, these are just estimates. I’ve been hoarding money the past few months in checking accounts but I do plan on sending a majority of those funds to my emergency fund, IRA and sinking pot (general savings).

About my 401k, my employer does offer a match so I will be contributing 6% of my pay after I take care of my emergency fund and other obligations.

Debt

For debt, my house will be put on the market this month and hopefully sold by March/April. There is equity within the home so this will be mostly a positive financial transaction for us. Right now, I plan to use the money to just save and invest (boring yet effective).

Regrettably, I bought an Acura RDX and sunk a lot of cash into that purchase. I will be selling the SUV and buying a smaller car soon. I may or may not use an auto loan for the purchase and I’m still running the numbers and weighing the pros and cons of that decision. Honestly, I just never want to have so much cash tied up ever again because as you can see, life happens.

Tracking Expenses

I track my expenses using Goodbudget (GB) and my monthly budgeting spreadsheet. I also use my AMEX Gold card for all expenses unless I’m forced to use Visa by the merchant. Using my AMEX helps me keep my credit active, gives me rewards and lets me track my spending if I forget to input things in GB.

Here are my variable expenses shown as digital envelopes in the Goodbudget app.

Simplicity is Key

So that is my budget Wealthy Fam! Budgets are not a set it and forget it kind of thing. I’m sure I’ll be tweaking my amounts throughout the year and I’m fine with that.

I’m just thankful that I was financially literate and financially stable enough to enter this new chapter. 5 years ago, I would’ve been dealing with a disaster.

If you need additional help creating a budget and debt payoff plan of your own, check out my free Getting Started – Basics series.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to know which of my expenses are higher of lower than yours <3.

Stay Wealthy Fam,

Dannie

Payment Priority Rankings

We put this list in order of what we think is most important – #1 is most important and the list goes on down to #6.

1. Pay your monthly bills.

You have to take care of your housing and living expenses before directing money to other places. If you are behind on a few bills, getting current should be your top payment priority after ensuring that you have food and shelter.

After living expenses are taken care of, pay your minimum debt payments. Doing so will at least keep you from accumulating late fees in addition to the interest that is already compounding.

2. Set aside $ for weekly expenses.

Weekly expenses can include a variety of things based on your family size, job, and values. These expenses include groceries, home expenses, entertainment, clothing, and other non-billable expenses.

Creating and following a budget will help you figure out how much money you need to set aside. Think of your budget as the spending plan that tells you where your money should go each month.

Read: How to create a budget (series)

3. Put $ into emergency savings.

Having an emergency fund will provide you with a little security when unexpected expenses occur or if there is a job loss or pay delay. Start small and work your way up to 3 – 6 months of expenses in emergency savings.

You just want to be sure that you actually have enough money to cover an emergency if one occurs. Read this article to determine how much money you should have in your emergency fund.

4. Plan for future large expenses.

Many people are thrown off course by irregular expenses that occur every year like car registration, car maintenance, birthdays, holidays and annual health checkups.

By setting aside money every month for known upcoming expenses, you transform from being reactive to proactive. Once the expense comes, you’ll have the money to cover it without needing to rob Peter to pay Paul.

Check out our post on sinking funds to learn how to make a better plan for these irregular expenses.

5. Make extra debt payments.

Once you have everything in your life covered, extra debt payments should be made to reduce the amount of time that you are paying interest and being tied to a creditor.

Like anything new, start small with whatever you can set aside after taking care of your obligations. Then, watch your debt decrease while your net worth and peace increase!

Just make sure you take care of your basic needs first before you think about putting extra money towards debt.

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A post shared by DJ & Dannie – Debt Free (@penniestowealth) on Nov 4, 2019 at 11:14am PST

6. Invest.

Investing may actually come in higher in the rankings depending on your financial situation and stability but I do believe that investing is important and should not be ignored.

• If you are paying off debt, invest up to your employer’s match and throw the rest to debt.
• If you are debt-free or have low to 0% interest debt, you can decide how much you want to invest to achieve your future goals.

Unsure of the requirements to successfully gain your employer’s match? Contact your HR representative or read the employee handbook. Sometimes there are tenure, vesting and other stipulations regarding the matching process.

***
At the end of the day, after you get paid, you have a lot of choices to make. I hope this list will help you prioritize your payments if you were having trouble deciding before.

If not, how would you improve this list? What things would you add or rearrange in the rankings? Let us know in the comments below!

$tay Wealthy Fam,
— Dannie

What my skin doesn’t know is that she belongs to a very frugal girl, but thankfully I’ve finally found some cheap skin care products that work for me (and Her Royal Highness).

My Cheap Skin Care Products:

I’ve learned that less is more and I’ve also learned that expensive does not equal cure. I hope these products help you as they’ve helped me and please keep in mind that these cheap skin care products do not keep that crazy pimple from popping up during your monthly visitor.

Makeup Remover Wipes

I’ve used so many makeup wipes but these get the job done and they take EVERYTHING off! These are very affordable and perfect for sensitive skin. They also don’t have a weird smell, which is a bonus since I’m extremely sensitive to fragrances.

These wipes are also super durable and the advertising is correct in saying that you only need one to get the job done. They’re big and you can use both sides to remove stubborn makeup.

Facial Cleanser

As soon as my adult acne started showing its face, I tried every “sensitive” salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide product on the market. Even using Clinique’s Acne Solutions didn’t help me, all it did was aggravate and make my skin even drier.

My grandmaw sent me this soap and I didn’t use it at first because it looked weird. What am I? A toddler? haha. When I was finally out of solutions (and money), I decided to try this black soap and it saved my skin overnight.

This soap helps with hyper-pigmentation and keeps my pimples away. I bought a huge pack from Amazon but you can also find it in your local beauty supply store, as well as some other health stores.

Facial Toner

I think I got amnesia after college because Witch Hazel is a family treasure and I definitely abandoned it. Once I kicked Clinique to the curb, I decided to use the Thayers brand of Witch Hazel since I was unable to find Dickinson’s in my area and the generic Target brand was irritating.

If you do miss a spot with your wipes or cleanser, this toner will let you know. Just use a cotton pad, swipe and see all of the dirty goodies on your skin. I’ve used the cucumber and lavender versions and loved both. Since I suffer from hyper-pigmentation EVERYWHERE I’ll probably try the lemon version next.

*Money tip: check Burlington Coat Factory, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Ross, and other discount stores for a deal.

Moisturizers

I currently only use the generic Target moisturizer at night after letting the witch hazel sit for 5 to 10 minutes. You can put your moisturizer on immediately but I like to wait a little between applying products.

I used to also use Rosehip oil but it expired and I didn’t want to spend $12.99 to buy another one since it has been 100 degrees every day. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Rosehip oil is said to help with discoloration so I’ll probably go back to it in the wintertime because my dry skin drank it up and glistened with gratefulness.

Make sure to get the pure, organic, cold-pressed kind.

Why? No clue, but that’s what all of the skin care professionals recommend.

Sunscreen

I decided to go back to what I used before my skin decided to betray me and Olay Sensitive SPF moisturizer truly does no wrong. I’ve also used the Alba Organic but it’s on the heavier side so I save it for the beach or no makeup days.

If you have brown or darker skin, neither of these leave a white cast – so yay for that.

Ultimately, you should use what works best for you. For some other cheap skin care tips, I also recommend that you change your sheets weekly, drink water and eat a more plant-based diet.

Drinking green tea also seems to contribute to the health of my skin. I hope that this shows you that you don’t always need super expensive products to find relief for your sensitive skin. I wish you all the best!

$tay Healthy fam,
— Dannie