Teacher retirement

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Since 1937, the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (ATRS) has been providing retirement benefits to Arkansas's public school and education employees. ...

I work as a teacher and have a pension plan through the state, which has been underfunded in the past. To make up the difference, large pension contributions are deducted from my paycheck every two weeks. As a result, it's very difficult to have any money to save. I am barely making ends meet, as I am the sole provider for my wife and baby. In addition, I will need to start saving for my baby's future college costs. Even though I'm barely making it, should I open a retirement account or should my pension already be enough?

Teachers is the USA seam to care to much about how many holidays,sick time, vacation time,tax paid pensions,early retirement, etc..etc..etc..they can get... Teach a kid ....eh!

I was a teacher for 23 years until corrupt bureaucrats hung me up to dry after I was assaulted by a student and came away with a torn up back and PTS. Instead of helping me they tried to twist everything around and put me at the cause. The AFT steeped in it went to court my supervisors lied on the bible and I came away with over a year of salary signed a letter that I would never work for the district after 20 years and found out after several interviews that I was blackballed from ever teaching again. From 1998 to 2007 all I could do was sub, draw out all my retirement money to live on and worked for CompUSA from 10/03 to 06/07 as lead macintosh sales person and repair. Then in 10/07 I found a teaching job at a private school teaching science. I made a major and costly move to Conroe TX and 3 weeks into the job they laid me off due low student numbers. Since then I have been out of work the blackballing even reached 60 miles from Houston and all I could do is sub and struggle to pay my bills. Besides being a teacher I am highly proficient with the Macintosh computer. I was a member of the Houston Area Apple User Group for over 20 years were I did seminars on macgames utilities and how to care for your Mac. Around 2002 I tried my own Mac business but then Enron happened and I quickly went from a 40000 a year job to less than 10000 in 5 months and had to re-enter the work force. I nearly went bankrupt. Then I found CompUSA in 2003-2007 and the damn teaching job in 2007. Now I am looking for work in the Mac industry. If anyone wants a resume you can contact me at maclewconsultant@aol.com and I will email you a copy. All I can say is I am on SSDI Food Stamp and Gods hands.

and giving up your retirement... I'm considering it, because this is a hard job to do year in and year out. Mentally taxing.

I am a teacher in Florida and doing some retirement planning. I am trying to find out the long term return I can expect from the Florida pension.

Im organizing a performance and the last part involves dance for my teachers retirement but I cant think of anything. Can someone help me out?

I am worried that I will never make enough money to be comfortable when I near retirement age. I have recently left Uni and my degree has got me nowhere. I wanted to become a teacher but that fell by the wayside due to lack of neccessary qualifications. I temporarily live with my parents as I am unemployed and looking for work since leaving Uni but all the jobs I have found are minimum wage jobs with hardly enough money to keep for myself. My sister and her boyfriend have both secured a mortgage but as I am not in a relationship and/or likely to secure a job that pays well enough to get one. How am I ever going to have enough money to live into retirement? I worry about this because of the following reasons: 1. I don't want to live from pay check to pay check. I want to earn what I get and put the money to good use. 2. There is a history of arthritis and heart conditions in my family. What if I get sick or slowly become incapacitated and loose my job, I'll loose my home. 3. I don't want to be flat-sharing for ever and a day with strangers. I want to have my own space but i've just applied for a job earning £12,349. On that wage, it is impossible. 4. At some point I want a family, how can I possible support a family on a wage like that? Can someone advise me on how to manage my affairs wisely? or give me a heads up on what you did in a similar situation? HELP! I'm really dispairing.

Here is the situation, a lot of things have been happening fast, and I'm stuck at a crossroad. College is coming up real soon, and at this point I'm confused on what I should go in for. I'm constantly back and forth between teaching (always been what I wanted to do) and going into business (I studied this all throughout high school, and even a little bit on the college level). I under with teaching, it's low paying, but rewarding, and I have to complete anywhere from 4-6 years of school to find a job. With going into business, I can continue working for the company I do now and move up into management (making for $100,000 annually), I don't really have to go to college, but I think it would help me out to at least get a associate degree, or maybe even a bachelor's degree one day. I'm very conservative, so I don't really like taking risks, with going into teaching I consider that a risk, because 4-6 years of school can get expensive, and it's not promised I could get a job as a teacher, then I would be stuck. With staying where I am at now, I could retire 7-8 years before I could teaching, it's a secure job, and I believe I have what it takes to move up into the management position. What would you do in my situation? I know it's a weird question, and I know I'm too young to be thinking of retirement, but I've always been a planner, I can't stand doing something without a direction of which it might take me. I typically always have a back-up plan. One reason why I am more shifted to stay where I am at now is that I could maybe even go into some kind of business venture myself. I've done numerous projects in school where I had to write a business plan, or something of that nature. It's always been somewhat of a dream of mine to open a restaurant of my own (I love to grill, and I love bbq, so I would open a bbq restaurant). I'm not looking for a smart-a response, I am looking for some advice, maybe someone who has traveled down the path I am looking at now. Thank you in advance.

This is going to be lengthy. If you get to the end of this and proceed to give me some advice I would like to thank you all very much. So the story is I'm a 21 year old woman who's gone through some pretty tough times. I was the slightly chubby and extremely awkward girl who had a very difficult time going through puberty. I tried to get over that and spent 2 years of my life (from 14-16) devoted to school. I would call that period in my life achievement #1 . I am probably most proud of myself when considering ambition and drive. It was a thrilling intellectual journey although socially unfulfilling. Achievement #2 happened probably from when I was 15 to late 16. I gained more confidence about myself than I ever had before and I finally formed a social group. It was probably one of the happiest moments of my life, having friends and feeling at least comfortable with my looks and etc. The dark parts happened afterwards and since then I would relate that to being caught in a dark and turbulent tornado, excuse the dramatics but thats really how it was. The truth is I developed a very embarrassing condition in which I was unable to control my flatulence. I attribute all the misgivings from my depression to my suicidal thoughts to my anxiety attack and the pushing away of family, friends, and etc to this very problem. I would go deeper into my sob story but then that would require me to write a novel. I know that what I have gone through was necessary, but I do regret spending the those years in which I should've been crazy and living it up... 18, 19, 20, and 21...miserable, depressed, detached and etc etc etc. I have sought help and while I have not been able to figure out exactly what is medically wrong with me, I have somewhat sort of reclaimed enough control where I am able to go to school without too much fear again. Socially though, this mysterious medical problem has left me mentally very weak and worn. I have had to reclaim all those simple things I used to take for granted...like looking people in the eye, or looking your own mother in the eye or making casual conversation with the cashier...or enjoying outings with your friends. Or even feeling relaxed and safe in your own home. I feel tired and sorry that I had to spend all that time so tormented. My 22nd birthday is approaching and before I know it I'll be 30 and then i'll be 35, 40. I'll wake up one day and there it is. Retirement. I don't want to become an old lady who has spent the majority of her life awkward and miserable. Putting this strange medical problem of mine aside, I really just want a few suggestions on trying to prevent this regret that might creep up on me later in life. On a lighter note, there might be an achievement #3. I defied my parents and went to art school. It hasn't really given me or anyone else real fulfillment yet but it's a possibility. If I could take this further and make this a full fledged achievement I would try to create a story or a movie that would move or inspire people in a deep way. They say you can't have it all, so maybe I'm being greedy. What I want to happen before I turn too old for anything to happen is to be in a loving relationship a couple of times (I have not been in a relationship for obvious reasons), to help others, to be able to find those things I thought I lost...home, comfort, family, true friends.. And a curious thing I have not been able to do is enjoy my feminity. I have always been extremely embarassed about attracting attention whether good or bad, so I haven't been into shopping or having fun being a girl. A lot of times its a question of who I would be dressing up and feeling pretty for? And why. I once tried to dress up and embrace the girlier side in me last year but I got treated pretty horribly by one of my teachers who probably thought I was an airhead who wasn't serious about art school. It's a problem I'd like to fix as I know I won't be young forever and I want to be able to feel beautiful without having that be the only thing that comes across when I communicate with people.

A friend of mine is getting ready to retire but her house is upside down since the economy went bust. If she just walks away can the bank take any of her retirement?

I am a elementary teacher in NY, and was hired with my school district 30 years ago. I got ten year and was then laid off 2 years after I was given ten year. I came to find out that I was laid off because a new administrator and I got in a fight years earlier outside of work. Also, I was the first to be laid off and that shouldn't have been because I had seniority over 2 other teachers, who were never fired. In turn I hired a lawyer and got my job back 5 years after being fired. In that meeting about 15 years ago, promises were made by a judge that stated I wouldn't lose years in my retirement, social security, level of pay grade, and the school would have to pay me a settlement. The school paid me the settlement but now that I am looking into retirement I realized that the school didn't fulfill the court order regarding the other three issues. I went to my union president and they were not interested in what I had to say. I am wondering if I have waited to long, or if I should seek to hire a lawyer.

How does my parents go about this? No attorney will take this cause or even touch it because they fear She will file bankruptcy , but she is a school teacher. She works for the school board which means she also works for the state of LOUISIANA!! There’s no way she wants to lose her retirement. Like OMG… Right? My mom and dad were rear-ended by a Lady School Teacher Driving H2 with a “2008 OUT OF DATE license plate” she was an uninsured motorist , but had no “INSURANCE OR COVERAGE“. My parents didn’t die, but suffered whip lash and horrible back pains. They are both disabled… My mom suffered a black out at the stirring wheel of her red 1990 Toyota Celica. She is diabetic , with heart failure ,and a pace maker on life support. If that had cut out she would have been dead. The ambulance was called , and she was taken to a near-by local hospital. My dad who was left with the car and watching the lady as she gave over her Insurance information to the police officer her , but when she tried handing over her coverage they were denied. She lied to a City Police Officer by handing her HOME OWNERS INSURANCE. My mom driving the car with my dad were just waiting at an intersection to turn on a green arrow at rush hour traffic was at a dead stop. THIS HAPPENED ON A PUBLIC ROAD!!!! She was not covered by any insurance she didn’t even carry anything with uninsured. MY parents carry insurance they are insured and carry liability which is what the State of Louisiana requires. The police officer did no ticket her , did not take her license plate , and did not impound her vehicle. The police officer did file the report that she is at fault. She is still at fault ,and has not paid anything not a damn dime its been drug out for 6 months now. So we filed a safety responsibility form from the DMV which is suppose to help us file for the claims. This lady did this with her home owners insurance? Can anyone believe this? If it had been anyone else they would be in JAIL right now. What kind of sick game is this? What can my parents do? I need help big time to help my parents someone to shine some light… The only thing left is that my parents file with all the evidence and proof that we have stacked to a roof, and personally sue her for everything she’s got. Is this what my parents should do?

i quit my job as a school teacher 8 years ago and stayed home to take care of the baby who only weighed 2 pounds. She is fine now and all caught up :) i lost all those years adding into my retirement so i would have to go back to school and catch up the degree then find a job and would end up retiring at least 10 years later than i would have. my husbands company "pays" him out of a supposed loan around 10,000.00 a month ...and it is not taxable income.. he is 100 percent owner in a cooperation..he says i will get only what his taxes says for child support/ alimony which is 28,000.00 a year. we are filing in Kentucky.. is it true i will not be compensated for all the years i stayed home and cared for the baby.. oh all he did was drink and the company just sent money..pm the "loan"... hey any lawyers out there wanna take a case where the wife has no money?? to pay lol whaaaaaa

New Jersey State Worker gets $3.8 MILLION Pension Benefit on a $124,000 Contribution "One state retiree, 49 years old, paid, over the course of his entire career, a total of $124,000 towards his retirement pension and health benefits. What will we pay him? $3.3 million in pension payments over his life and nearly $500,000 for health care benefits -- a total of $3.8m on a $120,000 investment. Is that fair? A retired teacher paid $62,000 towards her pension and nothing, yes nothing, for full family medical, dental and vision coverage over her entire career. What will we pay her? $1.4 million in pension benefits and another $215,000 in health care benefit premiums over her lifetime. Is it “fair” for all of us and our children to have to pay for this excess?" SOURCE: Governor Chris Christie's Budget Speech, Thursday, February 11, 2010 http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/021110_Full_Text_of_Governor_Chris_Christies_Budget_Speech.html?page=all

should I do? As the man of the house, I know I need to take care of this. I feel like I should stay with the state because of the benefits, but it's not enough income right now. My wife will be interning pretty soon bc she's going to be a teacher. Should I get a new job that pays more or work two different jobs. I am also a college student.

I'm currently taking some entry level Chemical Eng. classes and i'm finding myself struggling to find resources to learn from. I read the book of course, also search the the internet for more info on concepts that i'm not fully grasping. My current line of teachers are all near retirement and not very helpfu(no engineering tutors on campus either)l. I'm not blaming them, because i'm completely comfortable using the internet and other avenues to learn. Although, unlike my math and physics classes i'm having a hard time finding a good source to help me with my engineering courses. So, i'm looking for some suggestions on where I can get help and maybe what would help me in studying for engineering courses. Thank you

Hi My teacher is leaving tomorrow and I really need a really funny retirement joke! As funny as possible! As fast as possible please! Thanks Adam

Arent we gunna be paying taxes later on for their retirement? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will be leaving the arm, and plan on becoming a teacher, will I be able to transfer my thrift savings to my Teacher retirement

Background: married for 10 yrs, 2 kids. 8/10 yrs old. My wife cheated on me numerous times with many men. She left the kids with me. She drained my bank acct and cashed out her retirement prior to moving in with another man. After several months of not seeing the boys, she decided to play mom again. Nearly 2 yrs later, she has tried to come back numerous times but i have moved on. She refuses to sign divorce papers, so i am just waiting for the courts to rule on the divorce. I have agreed to shared parenting and it is now court ordered. My 10 yr old son has always been shunned by his mother. He had some medical issues when he was younger and is now unable to participate in sports. As a matter of fact, my ex wanted me to keep him and she wanted to take my youngest to live with her full time. She always bought my youngest boy things and left my oldest one out. She would make excuses to take my youngest over night and leave my oldest here. As a matter of fact, i have documented proof of her NOT taking my oldest son to the doctors for his check ups for 3 yrs, knowing he has a serious medical condition that needs constant supervison by a physician.( she lied and said she had taken him when we were together ) My son testified against his mother in court. She knows this. Now all of a sudden, she and her boyfriend have a special interest in him. My youngest is the one being shunned now. She constantly says horrible things to my kids about my girlfriend. She works him by telling him to spend extra time with her instead of coming to my house ( which i don't allow ) and she also questions everything that goes on over at my house. She has threatened my girlfriend to her face, she has went to my kids school and trash talked us to the teachers and she has even lowered herself to blantanly making things up. My girlfriend is a wonderful woman. She has put up with all of this and still sticks around. She and my kids had a wonderful relationship. My oldest son would tell her that he loves her, he would be excited to see her and now he is just plain mean to her. He tells her that he wants us to break up and he throws a fit to come over to my house. My youngest son even passed a note to a little girl in class, calling her a fat ho, because his mom said it in front of him about my girlfriend. My oldest son says now that he wants to live with his mom, whereas he always complained about having to go to her house. She is doing so much damage and i can not get her to understand this. The sad part is that she admits all of this. My girlfriend pays the bills that my ex refuses to pay for my son. She pays for his lunches, and bought all of his school clothes. She also goes to the school to take him medication because his mom will always say that she is too busy. My soon to be ex even dumped my son off to my girlfriend to take care of when he was sick, because he would have rather been with her than his own mom. My girlfriend is the one that got all the doctors looking into my sons medical condition and he's finally getting the correct medical care. My son is not stupid. He knows what is going on. His mom is using him and he's playing right into her hand. He is trying to play a game with both of us and she is just childish enough to push him along. She wants to gain full custody because she wants the money for me and that is all. I think she is working him so that she has a shot of getting him bak on the stand to change his mind about where he wants to be. I even told her this and she didn't disagree. How do i get him to understand what is going on here? Or do i just give up? *** I was not the one that requested my son talk to the judge. My ex and her attorney did. My ex refused to sign dissolution papers for over a yr so i filed for a divorce. In her answer to the divorce, she also filed for full custody of the kids. She thought that by putting my son in the hot seat, she would get her way. Fortunately, the judge ruled for the shared parenting that i asked for. And because of these issues, i do have my son in therapy. His mom is not happy about it.

I'm a teenager trying to figure out what I want to do for a living after high school. I'm trying to decide between a high school teacher and possible Track/Cross Country coach or a policeman. I plan on doing one of them up until retirement so I would like to know maybe some salary estimates or something and I would really like some input and opinions. Thanks!

I will be 55 when I do 20 yrs as a High School teacher can I draw retirement pay at that 20 year cap At the moment I have 6 yrs of Army service does that count towards anything?

my mom has been working for boston public schools as a kindergarten teacher for four years. If her retirement plan takes 11% of her paycheck of 2,000 which she gets every two weeks than how much money should she have in her retirement fund as of today?

I've been teaching for over 15 years. I'm divorced and pay child support. I can barely save 100.00/month and have wanted to return to school for the past 8 years. My divorce took everything I had; My home, savings, half of my retirement, and now almost half of my net income each month. Has anyone out there been in a similar circumstance and managed to change careers? I'm 38 and would like to work in design. I have skills as a 3D artist but I have only a few months of training with 3D art. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who taught at one time, found it to be as disappointing as I have and was successful changing to something more "rewarding".

Posted by: Wrestling-Radio.com Jake the Snake Roberts is set to retire in 2010 at the age of 54. He says that 2010 will be his last year in the ring: "Bottom line, it's time. There comes a moment and I regret that it has happened, but I simply am unable physically to perform at the level that I find acceptable. I cannot do what I did 30 years ago, and my God, am I glad that I can't. But my love for what I've done in the last 35 years deserves more than I am capable of doing. I cherish every moment that I've had, good or bad, bottom line is I never had a bad moment in the ring. Any moment was something to treasure, and I can only do so by stepping away. Although the cheers and support are still there from you, the fans, I would be a liar to say that it is not only painful physically, mentally, but worst of all, deep in my heart. It would be unfair to me not to have one more go around the horn. I will do a retirement tour that will last no more than to the end of the year. I honestly feel that it won't last that long, and I hope I am wrong. Regardless of the offers to continue I respect that lady in the ring enough to say "goodbye". I would really love to continue to contribute as a adviser, booker, teacher, etc., and perhaps that opportunity may present itself to me somewhere in the future. For those of you in our business, feel free to contact me for appearances for 2010. The open dates are limited. Thanks to all, here's to a safe and happy 2010. Jake."

So basically the best teacher I ever had was my High School industrial arts teacher. He left my high school the end of my Sophmore year and I haven't seen him since then, and running into him at the State Fair (while he was in the beer tent-and for a Sophmore girl and her friend seeing any teacher drinking was reaaally funny lol.) This was about 5 years ago and have just wanted to get back in contact with him and see how his retirement was (found out from google) and tell him about what's going on with me. I feel slightly weird for saying this but I googled him and actually on the first link he's listed on a coach roster with his contact info and cell number. The other pages are about his retirement. I know almost everyone has googled somebody before, so I don't find it tooo weird. Lol Oh and no I'm not some random student he taught he won't remember, lol I was his favorite cuz he said he'd miss me most when he was left...basically I just need help on what to text! Just Hi? I knew a couple other people on that roster actually so I think I was going to mention that too? And even though he's old I'm pretty sure he texts and is up on technology cuz he taught my video making class too. Any help would be great! Thanks! Jelly_Beanzz- I asked for an opinion on what to text not your own personal opinion on my situation. Thanks. I'm sorry you've never experienced an awesome teacher that impacted your life, made school actually fun and such. And Georgina- good idea I'll probably just do something like that. :) I'm sorry but if you're a teacher your whole life you don't do it because it's your and job and it pays good. You teach to make a difference in kids lives. And if I was a teacher I would LOVE to hear from my past students to see how far they're coming in life and knowing that I slightly helped in their journey.

I am a teacher and have college loans and other various bills, but I want to start saving money for my future. I have a 403b and a retirement savings with ING as well. I don't have a savings account. There are so many different ways to save or invest, and I was wondering if there is something good to start with. Stock? CDs? What is something that I could realistically begin doing now to help myself later?

Can anyone help me out with the following sentences: 1. Because [we or us] students tended to procrastinate, the teacher tracked our progress closely 2.Wanting the victory as much as[me or I], Phil went all out in the fourth quarter. 3.Making fudge for the Smiths and [we or us] was an annual ritual for our neighbors. 4.Father decided to tell [us or we] kids about his retirement plan. 5.We really appreciated [your or you] dropping by this afternoon.

I am 26 and I spent 3 years substitute teaching full-time- thus paying into teacher's retirement. I have a little bit of outstanding debt that I would really like to wipe out. I have a $2500 balance on a credit line with high interest, about $600 in store credit that is already in collections, and about $300 in utilities that is very late. My retirement balance is about $5500 and if I withdrew from it, I would get close to $4000. I am no longer teaching and at the moment, I do not see myself going back to it. I know most people will say don't touch my retirement but I feel that wiping the slate clean would relieve a lot of stress. My current expenses are not what is the problem, I work full-time and make enough to pay rent, utilities, my small credit card balance, car payment, student loan payment- it's the past debt that I wracked up that I just can't seem to get a ahold on. I feel like being out of debt now, is more important than saving for retirement. I also want to start fixing my credit and I can't do that until I wipe out the things I am struggling to pay. Any thoughts would be great. I understand what you are saying- the thing is that I can't really get another job- I already work full-time. And I can't transfer the credit balance because it is line of credit, not a credit card. I can't transfer it and I can't set up a payment plan. My minimum payment is only paying the interest on the damn thing. I know how much I would lose if I withdrew, I am okay with that because then I could actually save extra money each month rather than using almost every penny to pay off old debt.

Have been a substitute teacher for over a year now and I looked at my paycheck stubs and it doesn't show any money was taken out for taxes (besides Disability and Teacher retirement). I make about $1000 a mth subbing for 2 different school districts 9 mths a yr. I also have 2 other part time jobs that clearly take taxes out. I will be filing as independent with no one to claim and no one claiming me. Does anyone know how much in taxes if any I may have to owe? I got $600 back last yr but I hadn't been subbing for a full year either. Thanks.

I don't completely understand exactly how they work at all, to be honest. But my math teacher recently showed us that contributing a couple thousand dollars a year every year for about 10 years at least 40 years before retiring could end up giving you over a million dollars upon retirement. Now, I see it's not quite so simple. I have several questions.... 1) Do taxes play any part in Roth IRAs? Or is it just you deposit, watch it grow by the rate, and then withdraw the exact amount? 2) Can a minor make an account? According to this - http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/drt/archive/2008/dt080130.html, it appears it is possible. However, it also seems that you need an income to put money into it. Would buying/selling misc. things (some virtual goods, others real goods) over the internet qualify as an income that I could cite if putting money into a Roth IRA? 3) How often is the interest compounded? Or does it vary? 4) What's the rate? Or does it vary? 5) Are you guaranteed anything, or is it possible your money will all disappear?

Especially when you have to fund your own? Yes, this includes teachers, fire-fighters, police - ALL public-union employees just punching the clock, awaiting early retirement. There is a showdown looming. I know which side I will be on.

This is a serious question. When have you experienced better service at a better price through the government? Its employees are universally rude and lazy due to unionization, its spending always comes in exponentially more than what was originally budgeted, and the quality of work is always crap. As a libertarian-leaning conservative, I'm not leaving anyone out here. Police? Many are thugs. The military? Remember $1000 hammers? Teachers? Most are clock-punchers on tenure just waiting for early retirement provided by the taxpayers. Roads? When has one ever come in on budget? I believe the more we entrust the government to provide services for our citizens, the further we slide into mediocrity. And worse.

Ok, so I'm new to this all and just want to know what it is. I'm currently 30years old and I'm a high school counselor. Our system in California doesn't contribute to social security, but instead we have our own teacher/counselor retirement system. On top of this, I have a 457b retirement account which I currently have about $15,000 saved. I opened it in March of 2008 mainely for the tax savings. Currently, I'm looking on the best way to continue to save on taxes and wanted to know the benefits of an IRA and Roth. Please advise..... Thank you in advance....

I am a 56 year old Teacher with 37 years experience and my Practice is building every day. It appears the more mature the Teacher, the more they are sought by Parents and Students.

My wife is a teacher in Texas and may be disabled following a tragedy. She hasn't been a teacheer for 10 years and so I want to get a refund on the money she has put into her retirement for her expenses. Will having power of attorney be enough to terminate her employment, as that termination is what is needed to access her funds. Thanks in advance

Im supposed to do a finacial plan for a 25 year old 2nd grade teacher. her financial plans are to have a nice retirement and wants money for traveling. shes still young so she could get married and have kids.........any answers are appriciated :)

I went on to h & r block to estimate my refund. I worked as a teacher and made approx. gross $25000, got laid off, drawing unemployment and will have received $4900 (2400 is non taxable), drew out my retirement of $7300 and they took taxes out, so I only received $6100. I have approx Fed income tax taken out of teaching which is about $970 and taxes taken out of retirement before they sent it to me which was about $1200. I had job interviews all over the state which was about 890 miles. Not sure if I put this in all the right places, but it is not coming up with the earned income. It is only showing like $2800 or so I will get back. I understand the taxes on the early retirement money and unemployment, but I usually get back between 5100 or so with 2 kids age 6 and 15. Can anyone tell me if I might get the EIC added onto the $2800 or so I might get back?

I am still in my teens but have always considered myself to be wise beyond my years (as, also, I have heard from others). Truth is I've been thinking about my life in general and where to start heading and I honestly don't know what I should do. I have an idea of things that I want to do, but I know that in the eyes of others and my parents (more importantly) that it would be considered a disappointment. I feel like everyone my age has a certain, inevitable path they will take. Get a 3.5+ GPA in high school, go to a local UC or state college withing a 50 mile radius of where they attended HS, get their bachelor's in something that will have nothing to do with their future career, while screwing a couple of college guys along the way, meet their future husband while they are building their career, settle down, buy a house, buy a car, pop out a few kids, sell your previous car for a SUV/VAN, gain weight, raise kids, etc. then the process just repeats. I don't want that kind of life. Listen, there is no problem with that, I know I wrote it in a cynical way, but I can understand why the majority of people find happiness somewhere in the midst of all that. But I know that I can't. The other day in my Economy class, we had to write down our top 3 financial goals, then make a list from the top things the class agreed on. I wrote the following: own a GT250 red Vespa own a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom condo(or something similar) in lower pacific heights, san francisco and then I couldn't think of a third one that would be considered a big investment. after-wards my teacher went around the class and the majority of the answers that came from other students were of this in no particular order: have enough money for retirement save enough money for kids college own a house own a car pay off college debts become a millionaire these were the most common of the class. and all I could think is, 'wow...I desire none of those things' (with the exception of retirement). Truly, I know the last 4 years in high school have been a waste. But, where to go after, I'm not sure. I have no business going to a traditional college. What I like to do is compose/arrange music, play my instrument, listen to music, read, write (journal/short stories) attend SF symphony, ballet shows, have brunch at the french restaurant around the corner, take walks in the park with my dog and try to widen my palate by experiencing different cuisine. These are things that I enjoy the most. I've never cared for much of what other girls my age do. I like boys, but I've never had the immature boy troubles I've seen my friends experience again and again. I just don't care. If anything, I've found myself more attracted to older men. Not for prestige reasons but I just find them more interesting to listen/talk to. The other day I heard underclassmen talking about naming their future kids and one girl mentioned, "I can't wait to have kids" while the rest chatted with enthusiasm about the subject. I couldn't help but shudder at the thought of it. If there's one thing I'm certain of, it is that there will be NO kids in my future. I have an idea, that I want to play classical music or write screenplays but my family will be very disappointed that I do not major in a more "productive" and secure-income career. And what's worse, I don't know how to go about it. I've thought about going into the military as an enlisted musician...maybe give me a steady start on getting things in order, while still letting me have the ability to play. I've also thought about waiting a year after graduation, getting a job as a phlebotomist after doing the training this summer and save up to attend a music conservatory the following year and major in performance. I've thought of dropping out, and traveling while playing for a bit then, when I'm ready, go back to...whatever... I've also thought of going on a local religious missionary trip to another 3rd world country (BTW I am not a religious person what-so-ever, and I've been called selfish and egotistical many times before, and haven't attended church in years but I just thought maybe this will give me some perspective on what to do with myself after seeing the lifestyle of an entirely different culture). And I have pondered of moving to the city and attending an art school with the aid of FAFSA and just try out school in my whole screenwriting idea. Then there's what my parents want me to do which is go to community college, and transfer to a state school after 2 years and etc. I don't know.And I feel I should have a plan right now, but I don't. I don't know what to do with my life. Anyone else had similar woes and are/were concerned with an uncertain future?

I have a project to do whereas I must write a letter to my State senator(Sen. Gilda Jacobs) and my state representative(Rep. Vincent Gregory) stating my situation. So far, I have this: State Senator: Gilda Jacobs State Rep.: Vincent Gregory US Rep.: Sander Levin US Senator: Carl Levin Dear Rep. Gregory and Sen. Jacobs, I am a freshman at Southfield-Lathrup High School(SLHS), and I am not satisfied with the amount of money my school district is receiving/putting toward my education. By reading the summary of our SPS Board meeting of May 12, 2009, I have discovered that due to our financial situation, our school board has reduced staff this year by app. 155 positions, SPS is slated to see a per pupil allocation reduction of $59, and that the State Treasury has a deficit of over $1.5 billion. As our revenues fall and our deficit increases, the cost for health care, retirement, and utilities increase. Sooner or later, if not already, there will be no money left for the SPS, or any school in Michigan. Now, I must state what my senator and my representative can do to help me... any ideas on what they could do or what to write next? btw, I'm using a business format from this website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/Format.pdf

Hi Everyone, I live in Los Angeles, CA and I work for a large space (non military) company with a pretty stable and cushy job. Since my wife and I visited BC in 2005, we were really gungho about moving there. Since then, we started our residency application in the hopes of getting our permanent residence status. Last year 2008, we landed in BC but didn't stay...we had no jobs lined up. Immigration laws dictate that we have up to 3 years to move to BC after the landing date...which puts us at May 2011 to return permanently for AT LEAST 2 years of stay. We also visited this year and still loved it. Since 2006, I've been looking for work up there. I'm a mechanical engineer and as it turns out, this field is anything but abundant in BC. It's limited at best and several people have told me that it's not a strong field to be in....and I am finding this out. My wife is a school counselor...she applied to the BC School of Teachers and is awaiting a response from them as far as if work is available. Now fast forward to today...December 2009...4 years after our initial desire to go to BC. I recently got a call from a company in BC that would like to fly me up there. Don't ask me why but I'm having second thoughts now. Well, there are distinct reasons some of which are legitimate, some of which may seem silly. Now that the possibility of moving is becoming more of a reality, it's becoming tough to make the move for some reason. Here are some things that are running through my mind: 1) My wife and I are almost 40....don't have a home yet here in LA. But my wife is really wanting one badly. Me not so much...but she's been waiting for 9 years to get one. Were we to move to BC, it'd be easily another year or 2 before we bought something. 2) The job interview is with a start-up...it's possible the job won't even be around in two years....or perhaps I'll become a millionaire. I was hoping for more stability given the big change. 3) My friends and family are here in LA. I think the process of finding new friends can be exciting and getting to know a new city can be great...but for how long will the novelty last? 4) I have a stable job here already as does my wife. 5) I know for a fact that my pay will be lower in BC than in the States....my wife's....I'm not sure. 6) People in BC are much nicer than in LA 7) Less traffic in BC...although this last May's visit sure made it seem like traffic was getting quite bad in BC as well. 8) Cleaner air in BC. 9) Overall better quality of life in BC?? 10) Slower pace of life in BC??? 11) More varied weather...which I LOVE. My wife...not so much. 12) My folks are fast approaching an age where it's tough to leave them. We've lived in LA for about 20 some years. Frankly...I'm truly sick of it. The people, the place, the air quality. BUT...we're fast approaching an age (40) which....in my eyes...seems to feel like we should be putting our roots down solidly by purchasing a place and start enjoying our lives...where ever we are. I"m sure some of you may be confused by this post but I simply want feedback from some of you as to what you think might be a good recourse for us. Should we just wing it and go to BC and try and see what happens? OR should we stay put in LA where everything is pretty much established and we can purchase a home here for now....and perhaps 5-10 years down the road, we can purchase a second home/retirement place in BC?? I'd have to bear and grin it while in LA but a more positive attitude on my part would help me through I'm sure. Obviously, if we stay here in LA, we'll miss living in BC....and we'll also lose our residency (which would really...REALLY be painful for me because of the time, effort, and money spent getting it). If we move to BC, we'll be living in BC but chances are we'll be taking a step back financially. This is turning out to be a real dilemma for me...I didn't realize it'd be so hard and thought things would simply fall into place. Some may ask why I didn't ask these questions ahead of time...I can't give you a good answer to this....perhaps because I'm simply being stupid and nostalgic about a place I can't even stand (LA). I'd appreciate any feedback anyone can give. I'd like honest feedback with serious intent please....this is big time move for both myself and my wife. I appreciate your time. The job is potentially in Burnaby. Thank you all for your answers....it's been a tough thought process for me. For the last poster, you may be interested in the company that is asking me to come up and meet them...General Fusion.

Each quarter, my English teacher has us write a speech. The speech for the quarter is a two minute retirement, set around 2058. How could I start my speech in a humorous (and appropriate) way, while still acknowledging who would have attended (sort of like the traditional "I would like to thank my sister...", but a bit more fun)?

I'm writing an research paper in my English class on this career (ESL teacher) and I need a personal interview. If anyone who was or currently is an ESL teacher willing to answer these questions, I'll be grateful! 1. Describe a typical day from the moment you wake up to the time you go to bed. 2. Are there any benefits (salary, retirement, health/life insurance)? 3. What is the training that's needed to become an ESL teacher? 4. What is the best part of your job? 5. What is the worst? 6. If you had to do all over again, what would you have done differently? 7. Is there any opportunity for advancement? 8. What are your stress levels? 9. Why did you choose this career? 10. When did you choose to pursue this career? 11. What are your working hours? 12. What impact has teaching ESL had on your life overall? 13. What are your goals that you have for your students? 14. How long have you been teaching? 15. What skills do you need? 16. How do you plan your lessons? 17. Do you think it is a good idea to learn a 2nd language? 18. What courses did you take when you were in college? 19. Are you satisfied with your current salary? 20. Is there any advice you would like to give to those who wants to pursue this career? Thanks in advance!

First of all: I believe in what I say completely, though I am always in search of debate. If you have something that makes better sense then please contact me. I am not infallible. I am just another human that is a fool. I believe that we all have an opinion that is valid. Please send me every email you can. If I think you are right then I’ll even change my manifesto for you. I have already heard the national socialism idea. I think it is flawed though I may be similar. Please don’t send me nazi idealism, nor am I a communist, a right wing or left wing. I believe that we have been wrong so far so everything prior is incorrect. Education: Education should be required to continue for a lifetime. This doesn’t mean a full 8 hour school day but certainly some kind of programs that can be attended at least several hours a week. All members of our society should receive political and economic education so that they can make a knowledgeable decision when they vote. Current schools should be changed a lot also. First change that should be implemented is security. Security is necessary at least right now because of the lack of reasoning in our culture today. Every child and teacher should be completely safe when receiving an education. Uniforms should also be implemented for complete integration of all students no matter color or class. Politics, economics, culture, diet and physical education should all be required classes in schools. All higher education should be based on income for how much if any is paid. Higher education should be a right to any individual that desires it. Economics, Taxation and Employment: I would like to see every single able bodied American with a job. How can this be achieved? All companies that operate in this country should have tax benefits for staying here. All companies that send their work else where should have huge tariffs imposed. These companies that sell in the U.S. should be almost forced to employ in the U.S. There should be an income cap on individuals and companies. Heads of these companies can only make a certain amount and the companies themselves having extra profits will be required to use the extra money to invest and expand or have the remaining profits trickle down to the other employees. This trickle should be based on time with the company not necessarily position within said company. We should have government run work based education centers that based on income will train people to be quality employees in fields that are needed, for a reasonable price. All people will be treated equally. All jobs will have a specific wage with raises based on years there or in a comparable position. If you are qualified to get a job then you should get the same pay for it. Every member of society must be productive if it is possible with reasonable accommodation until the age of 55, unless able to retire without the assistance of the government. Anyone unemployed will be required to find work and will go to government education and work institutions to learn skills and acquire a position. Anyone that is homeless and jobless, will be provided with temporary shelter and job assignments. During this time they will be required to find work and take classes on how to budget an income. After having completed the classes and finding employment they will be required to seek permanent housing. All private farming should have tax benefits. There should also be public funded farming in which people can work and provide food to benefit their area. Every member of society will continue to pay taxes but they will be based solely on income. Every citizen of the U.S. should have the right to healthcare. There will be a tax that every citizen will pay to receive this. This tax will also help cover the education and training of qualified healthcare workers. Places of employment will be required to have retirement investment for employees in which employers and employees a like will pay into. There should be large tax benefits to anyone that starts new companies making “green” technologies, especially technologies that replace oil consumption. There should also be huge tax benefits to any person or company buying and installing green technologies, such as solar panels. This tax benefit will not only support a move from foreign oil but also a boost to job creation and continuation, being the need for workers to build, install and maintain these technologies. Culture: We need to integrate our culture. We are supposed to be a melting pot, but in our culture today we have to tip toe around how we talk about culture. We are Americans first., no matter what color, class, or religion. Cultural integration should be a goal of our society. Bringing every one in, without alienating people based on culture, religion or class. There should be parenting classes that are required by all parents to attend a

I have this thing at my school called "service hours". Basically you have to do 25 hours by the end of May.. If you don't you don't get your diploma until you have completed them.. So I was wondering if any of you have ideas of what I can do.. I barely have 5 1/2 hours... P.S. You can do things like help at the library, tutor students (elementary), help at the hospital or retirement center, or help teachers at school (organizing papers, help decorate the classroom etc. ) But some things you can't do are doing chores, or help your neighbor mow the lawn... yea so I need an answer quick! Thanks -- jbfan153