Stupid Tax: Car Inspection, Commute, and Margin Interest

By Pinyo, on February 13, 2008

It’s official, last week was my stupid tax week. I am not talking about the tax rebate, or tax refund. Basically, I did a couple of stupid things that cost me money.

Car Inspection

I look at the red safety inspection sticker every time I get into the car. For some reason, I never registered that mine has expired. My father in law was going back to Thailand on Sunday, so we went out to celebrate. That was the first time I parked on the street for a long while. I even made sure I overfed the meter to avoid getting a ticket. Sadly, when I got back to the car, I saw a bright orange NYC parking ticket.

The result? $65 for expired safety inspection sticker. Stupid.

Commute

Normally, I drive to my job in Brooklyn I know it’s bad for the environment and more expensive, but it does save me 2 hours a day. Last Thursday, I drove 30 minutes to work only to realize that I have a meeting in Manhattan. I ended up parking my car at work and took a 45 minutes train rider into the city. I could’ve taken the train directly from home in about 30 minutes.

The result? I wasted almost 2 hours plus the cost of gas. Stupid.

Margin Interest

I was working on my income taxes the other day and had to tally up my margin interest expenses. My brokerage account plays a central role in my finance, so I occasionally overdraw my cash fund and dip into the margin account — essentially borrowing from the brokerage firm. This way, I don’t have to liquidate my stocks knowing that my paycheck will be deposited into the account in a few days.

The result? I paid $69 in margin interest expenses in 2007. While this is not bad, I could have done a better job and avoid paying this altogether.

Well, I guess stuff happens. At least, I am not alone on stupid tax. It happens even to the best of us:

• I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…: Holding Pattern – Emergency Fund on Standby
• Working For Financial Freedom: Procrastination Is Expensive
• Finance and Fat: Saving Money on Car Insurance by Planning Ahead
• An English Major’s Money: We’re On the Move

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Pinyo is the brain behind Moolanomy personal finance blog and a few other web sites. If you like this article, please subscribe for free daily email updates.

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