The Mortgage Tax Deduction Myth

I am so tired of hearing about how mortgages are "Good Debt". I have a few articles I wanted to point my readers toward in case anyone was interested in hearing the other argument, that the amount of interest paid to the lender far outweighs the tax deduction the borrower receives from the government.

The Simple Dollar

-Most people don't take deductions anyway! They use the standard deduction. He claims 70% of people use the 1040A to file.

This is on Yahoo

Also, let's explore the differences between a tax deduction and a tax credit. A tax deduction just reduces your tax liability. The TurboTax Blog (I have used Turbo Tax for 6 years to do our taxes myself and NO they are not paying me to say that!) specifices that "a tax credit is something that directly reduces the amount of taxes you owe".

So here's the deal. If you are in the 25% tax bracket and paid $100 of interest on your mortgage (remember, you can only deduct the money you paid in interest, NOT the full mortgage payment) then you can deduct $25 from your adjusted gross income (aka your taxable income). And remember, that's if you aren't part of the 70% of taxpayers who take the standard deduction. So you'll end up saving $6.25 (which is 25% of $25) on your taxes.

So here's the deal. I know most of us want a house. That means we likely need a mortgage. But I don't like when people call it "good debt" just because we have our taxes reduced by a tiny amount to keep paying money to a bank.

I'd rather put down a more substantial down payment so I can own more of my house and throw less of my money toward the bank for interest. This is the opposite of what our financial planner suggests we do. She uses the 'good debt' argument.

More Skirts!

I made two more little yoga skirts.
One of them is (possibly) for my cousin who is five. I'm not too sure of the fit.

We'll have to have a fitting session.
I put some elastic into the waist of both of these. I just did a fold-over waist and stuck the elastic in before I sewed the waistband to the skirt.

No applique on this one yet. I need some new ideas.

Coffee Cozy Tutorial

I love coffee. I don't go to coffee shops often enough to worry about unnecessarily using too many cardboard coffee cozies, but I thought it would be cute to make some anyway! This is a great way to use up scraps.

I used a pattern I found on a website here. I did not use the special heat/cold resistant insulating interfacing. I just used a piece of quilted fabric with batting in the middle (it is on the left, below). I cut two pieces of my outer fabric (pink fabric). I took a small piece of elastic and tied it into a loop.
Start by stacking your three pieces.
Note: My stacking of the pieces is incorrect here! I had to rip out my stitches. It should be right sides together with the batting on the bottom!

Place the elastic with the loop facing IN (so it ends up on the outside of the cozy after stitching and turning.)
Sew around the edges of the cozy. Make sure you catch both pink fabrics and leave a space for turning. (Note again that my fabrics are stacked in the wrong order.)
After stitching.Clip the edges and corners. After clipping:
Turn the whole piece right sides out. Then press it flat. Now go ahead and top stitch around the whole thing. Make sure you get the space that was left for turning sewn shut!Decide where you want the button. Try and sew it only onto the front layer (so the stitches don't show on the back). You're all done!

Note: You could also use felt and omit the steps for turning. The blue one in the background is felt (below). The batting sticks out at the edges.

Want to Make: Bags

Have I really not written a "Want to make: Bags" blog post yet??? How is this possible?? I adore bags.
I saw this at a nearby Farmer's Market. Love it. (http://joyofvintage.com)

cute tote bag

I still don't love bias tape, but I can use it now.

um yes, we needed a beach bag this summer!

bathtub bag

i have always wanted to make this! I just haven't bought the towels...but I did see some @ Pat Catan's that would be perfect

this says it is a 1-hour bag!

I especially like the picture of the baby @ the sewing machine halfway through this tutorial!

such a cute tote bag for library books!

I bought a diaper bag that does this. But I think I will make one, too.

backpack for a little boy.

so cute for traveling.

"Market Bag"

This is a great idea if you happen to hate doing lining...

reversible bag. cute.

Ways to Use Old T-Shirts!

We have so many t-shirts in our home! Here are some ideas to re-purpose them!

Make Yarn!
if I had a little girl, she'd be wearing this project!
i really love skirts
Make a fitted shirt out of a huge one.
Make a Maternity Shirt!!!
Ruffle t-shirts.
t-shirt aprons.
t-shirt bangles.