Surprises

Most of the time I am all for surprises but I have to tell ya, I am not enjoying the surprises I’ve been receiving from the State of New Jersey this week.

The first surprise isn’t really a surprise at all. Fourth quarter sales taxes are supposed to be filed and paid by January 20th, not February. Totally my fault, lesson learned…again. Now I have all the quarterly deadlines written in my planner as well as a reminder at the end of each quarter. I’ll accept the late filing penalty and interest fees.

The second surprise is a monthly deduction of approximately $500 from hubby’s pay for NJ State Pension and Health Care Reform. That’s ALOT of freakin’ money and completely unexpected! A portion of that is to repay what is owed since the bill passed in June 2011 so we will be losing pay regardless. I’m hoping we can reduce this by declining his healthcare coverage. The only reason he elected for health insurance through his job was because it was free. I’m guessing there is no way to decline pension. This surprise is a huge problem!

The last surprise, please God let it be the final surprise NJ has for us this week, is from the DMV. The motor vehicle says I owe a ridiculous amount of tax on a vehicle that was valued much higher than what I really paid. Seriously, like $4,000+ more than we paid. Gut wrenching.

Here’s to a happy Saturday with NO MORE SURPRISES.