Tag Archives: hurry

I just wanted to go out…

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The plan was for me to leave work early enough to get home and have a bite before taking the boys to the 7pm movie.

They didn’t want to go. The Spongebob Sponge Bash is coming on and WE CAN’T MISS IT MOMMY!!!

The plan became: get the boys in bed, slip out and find something to do. Cruise around the town with my camera.

My phone rang. The Teen’s car is in her friend’s driveway – dead. Please come NOW and bring the battery charger NOW and oh by the way we jumped it off before we got here. I went through the storage, looking for our charger and decided that it’d be faster to just go buy one.

On the way from the store it started raining. Heavily.

She said left when she meant right, she left a window down in the rain, she just wanted me to plug the car in NOW and go.

I popped the hood and shined my flashlight to the left. “See that shiny black wheel there?”

“Yes, Mom. It’s RAINING and COLD hurry UP and plug it in!”

“Baby, there’s supposed to be a belt around that wheel. It’s called an alternator belt. Plugging the car to the charger is going to be useless until we get a belt put on that car. If they need it moved, those boys are going to have to push it out of the way, unless you want me to call for a tow right now.”

I did say I wanted to go out…

How I afford Health Insurance (as a part-time employee)

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Lifehacker.com recently posted an article titled How to Buy Your Own Health Insurance, which further links to their post asking How do you stay healthy without insurance?

I’m not self-employed anymore, but I am underemployed in the retail sector, and classified as part-time to boot. However, I do have health insurance. I have health insurance yet do not lose money every month paying insurance premiums and so can you (providing you qualify for the EITC).

Why does qualifying for the EITC matter? Because our lovely wonderful government allows you to get some of your EITC in your paycheck. It’s an easy way to increase your income without affecting your tax withholding.

What you need to do is:

  1. Read the IRS Q&A on the Advance EIC or if you’re in a hurry go straight to the Form W-5 EIC Advance Payment Certificate (PDF link)
  2. Fill out the form and turn it into your payroll department. The amount of money you get in your check is based on your wages, whether or not you’re married, and IF you are married whether your spouse also has a Form W-5 in effect.
  3. Sign up for health insurance through your employer. Just make sure your monthly premium does not exceed your AEITC.

For the record, I turned in my W-5 first and waited to see how much I actually got in my paycheck before opting-in to my employer’s health insurance plan. I was able to afford health insurance on myself AND to contribute to an HSA.

The Form W-5 does have to be renewed every year. I have the AEITC website bookmarked and when I fill out my preliminary tax forms using my last paystub of the year, I go ahead and fill out the new form.

One last thing: following these directions will reduce the amount of your April 15th refund, since you’re getting it in your paycheck. Personally, I think the peace of mind that comes with health insurance is worth it.