Are you stimulating?

[Daehawk]

Im surprised anyone is in the office at the IRS. My local Social Security office has had them work from home for 2 years now. They have someone go in once a day to gather up all the printouts and mail them out. Took them 3 weeks and 2 phone calls to get me my proof of income letter I need. Usually I just walk in and they print it out and hand it to me. Very frustrating when everything else is open but an overworked SS office.

I could really use another stimulus or two.

[Brian]

We just received a $1200 Stimulus deposit.

Not sure if that's for round 2 or round 3 at this point.

Still waiting on the tax return.

[Daehawk]

[Blackhawk]

We just received a $1200 Stimulus deposit.

Not sure if that's for round 2 or round 3 at this point.

Still waiting on the tax return.

That's round 4. You're so far behind that you've looped around to the future.

[Brian]

Correction to my previous post.

It turns out that the payment we just received was, in fact, our tax return and not a stimulus check.

The amount deposited was less than the $3280 payout we were expecting (which also included the 2nd stimulus round) but rather was reduced from that amount down to $1200 after paying off the balance of my owed taxes from 2018.

Which is fine as that's what I was going to use it for anyway.

So now we have to wait and see if we will be getting the third round stimulus.

[naednek]

yep. I told my kids, they paid for it with the child tax credit

https://www.costco.com/samsung-75%22-cl ... 55672.html

[Brian]

Aaaaaaand..... Received.

So now stimulus and tax return have been received and deposited.
Tax bill from 2018 has been paid off.

Time to start paying down the remaining debt I still have and maybe, just maybe, put a little some aside to take the wife somewhere since we haven't had a vacation since 2018.

[Isgrimnur]

I don't think I've ever taken a trip that wasn't for business or family obligations.

[Brian]

That's....kinda sad, really.

I mean, it's your life to live and I'm not one to tell you how to .... but that said, I recommend getting out there, someplace you haven't been to and just...experience.

[Isgrimnur]

I did extend the work trip to San Diego and brought the wife out.

I now recall one trip that was strictly personal. Denver some ten years ago.

[Madmarcus]

I don't think I've ever taken a trip that wasn't for business or family obligations.

Weird leap of logic but does a trip with family members count as a family obligation? I've taken many family vacations that aren't to visit even more family but short of one road trip right after college I have never travelled with just me or with friends unless it was business or the trips associated with my two year long distance relationship between college and getting married.

I suppose getting married to someone you met in college does that.

[Isgrimnur]

Given that there's always at least one screaming match or meltdown, family vacations are always a mixed bag.

[Zarathud]

That settles it. You need to meet us again at Origins.

[noxiousdog]

I did extend the work trip to San Diego and brought the wife out.

I now recall one trip that was strictly personal. Denver some ten years ago.

You came to Houston once.

[Isgrimnur]

I'm on the hook for next May to go to Columbus, OH. I might be able to swing Gencon with some planning.

You came to Houston once.

At least three times, but those were overnights for your parties, which I miss.

[LordMortis]

That settles it. You need to meet us again at Origins.

Wherein a screaming match or virtual meltdown is virtually guaranteed?

No. Wait. Never mind. Those are reserved for dedicated gaming days limited to 3-6 people.

Origins sounds nice but I sincerely doubt my tolerance for that sort of thing will be elevated to in the realm of possibility by May. That virtually guarantee that if it is, I won't have booked a room in time.

[noxiousdog]

I'm on the hook for next May to go to Columbus, OH. I might be able to swing Gencon with some planning.

You came to Houston once.

At least three times, but those were overnights for your parties, which I miss.

Indeed. Maybe one day we'll see Rock Band again.

[coopasonic]

Vacation: spending money to go to a place I don't want to be to do stuff I don't want to do

My wife loves beaches. The sun loves creating blisters on my skin. I have no attraction to the water or beach. Snowboarding and hiking are my top choices and wife hates the cold and doesn't do snow sports. The time I spent in the Army Reserves ruined any enjoyment I got from actual camping which dampens interest in hiking. Also my wife and I have a very different... uhhh, cardio profiles.

I think I would say 5 actual vacations in the 22 years we've been married, 3 of the 5 being cruises.

[LawBeefaroni]

Vacation: spending money to go to a place I don't want to be to do stuff I don't want to do

My wife loves beaches. The sun loves creating blisters on my skin. I have no attraction to the water or beach. Snowboarding and hiking are my top choices and wife hates the cold and doesn't do snow sports. The time I spent in the Army Reserves ruined any enjoyment I got from actual camping which dampens interest in hiking. Also my wife and I have a very different... uhhh, cardio profiles.

I think I would say 5 actual vacations in the 22 years we've been married, 3 of the 5 being cruises.

Amen.

No one ever got killed by a shark while snowboarding. OTOH, the only time I ever got sunburned was on A-Basin at like 12,000 feet.

[Blackhawk]

I don't enjoy enjoy the beach* much, either.

*Qualification - I really love the ocean. And I love the area where they land and the ocean meet, which is... the beach. What I don't enjoy is the beach 'experience', which involves plopping on a towel in the sun shoulder to shoulder with gazillions of loud strangers. Give me the a beach with fewer people for the purpose of walking along, preferably with many rocks and tidal pools and I'll have fun.

[Jaymon]

taxes eh? I have an agreement in place with the EX, so we claim the child on alternating years. But now the government has sent me money, in anticipation of me claiming that child on the taxes. So I have got to figure out how to sort that, if I don't claim the child.

I assume there is some sort of explanation online that tells me, I haven't looked yet. I just wanted to complain about it first.

AND, my spouse also has the same agreement with her EX, so after I figure it out, I have to explain it to somebody who may in fact be the reason crayons have warning labels.

[Grifman]

I had my first real trip this part summer at the NC beaches when my family (my brothers, their wives and kids, and my mother) got together for the first time in over a year. It was great to see everyone. We had previously met in smaller groups for a few hours, doing some picnics together where we could feel safe.

However, even since September, I've been getting out once or twice a week to go hiking and I am loving it. I've been using my All Trails app to find a lot of interesting trails. I usually try to hit a local trail (within about 30 minutes of where I live) once a week, and then a trail further away (the NC mountains are between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 hours away). Since normal vacations for me are sort of out of limits, I'm thinking of taking some of my travel money and going up into the mountains and spending 3 or 4 days at a time, and hitting a group of trails in whatever particular area I choose. The side benefit is that this morning, I hit a weight that I had not been at since probably 10 years ago or more. I only wish I had started this earlier at the beginning of the pandemic.

Oh, and yes, I spent my stimulus money on a new PC

[Isgrimnur]

All $1,400 stimulus checks have been issued. Here’s what to do if you didn’t get one