To my suprise...

I actually owed the IRS. A whole $4, actually. An epic feat for someone who happens to be in the 10% bracket or so I thought. Turns out I am in the 15% bracket with only the standard deduction (my donations=epic fail this year). The Barack Obama stimulus actually saved me money this year. I would have actually owed $4. All in all, I would have had written off my JLPT test if it was not for the fact the form cost $15 to just write off $4. not quite enough to fly a plane into a building over or is it? This year anything past 5,700 dollars will only count towards standard deduction. In 2011, it is expected (at least occurding to a reliable source at H and R Block), to increase to 6,000. So want an exemption? You have to donate pass 6,000 this coming up year.

Yeah like no one saw that one coming. But enough black humor for one day. Let me reiterate something: I am frugal for a reason. And that reason is to evade to the best of my ability, any suprise attacks on my banking account. While not everything can be evaded, one can at least shave off the unnessesary expenditures.