Financial questions (and possibly answers)

[Jonathan]

Amber ~Geektastic~ wrote: "...and possibly study library science..."

Are you thinking about maybe trying to work in a library as a career in the future? It could be a nice way to go, if you can get all the other parts of the equation--financial especially--to make sense.

[~Geektastic~]

Jonathan wrote: "Amber ~Geektastic~ wrote: "...and possibly study library science..."

Are you thinking about maybe trying to work in a library as a career in the future? It could be a nice way to go, if you can ge..."

I think so. The more I think about it, the more I would like to be a part of the group working to preserve printed media and non-digital art. Starting in library science, you can branch out into full-on archiving, which would allow me to work with both books/documents and art. I want to work with the things that I love, and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I do not have the discipline to be a working artist, unless I could find work doing cover design or illustration. But I would have to get my portfolio back into shape for that.

[Sarah]

Amber, there's a good library science/information science program at the University of Maryland. It's at the College Park & Bethesda campuses near DC. I've considered that program off and on, and I have a number of friends who have done it.

[~Geektastic~]

My biggest issue is the finances. Getting rid of 1/6 of my debt to take on more school debt seems like trying to kill a fly with a shotgun. But you never know if a risk is worth taking til you try. My mom and husband are behind me, but I don't want to screw them over by piling debt up even more either.

[evie]

Find a job , reduce debt until it's manageable.

[~Geektastic~]

evie wrote: "Find a job , reduce debt until it's manageable."

Have a job, getting debt in order. If I could find a different job, the school thing would just have to wait, but I can't spend another year in this place. If I had kids, I would probably be more willing to put up with it, but as I don't have that responsibility, I'm just trying to figure out all my options. Like I said, it's not a good plan, just something I'm bouncing around that makes me feel a little better about the future.

[Scout]

I own 8.5 acres in a rural area. In January, I received a notice that the property was being reappraised for taxes. This week, I contracted to have timber cut, for which I'll be paid. When I receive my next tax invoice, should I appeal on the grounds that the property has decreased in value because the timber has been harvested?

[Phil]

Are you planning to report the income from the sale of the timber as taxable?

[Scout]

Yes. Will that affect property value?

[Phil]

Unfortunately I don't believe it does. But if you do end up challenging the valuation, you would want to make sure you did report the sale.

My mom owns 40 forested acres in Oregon. They will occasionally have someone come in and clear a few trees out, from which they collect a few dollars. It does NOT affect the value of the property; the assessment is on the value of the underlying land, not what is on it.

[Cheri]

Scout wrote: "I own 8.5 acres in a rural area. In January, I received a notice that the property was being reappraised for taxes. This week, I contracted to have timber cut, for which I'll be paid. When I rec..."

With property values going down, your tax bill may be less. Have you made improvements in the last year (well, roads, house, outbuildings, etc)? That would make your taxes go up.

[Scout]

Cheri, no, no improvements, except for running an electric line to a pole.

Thanks, Phil. It's good to know that the value is based on the underlying land. I now have another question you might be able to answer. Does the company that cuts the timber report the payment to an agency?

[Phil]

In my mom's case they do not. Your mileage may vary.

[Scout]

Thanks. I'll check it out.

Another unrelated question: I have a credit card I no longer use. As far as my credit score is concerned, would it be better to cancel it or to let it ride?

[Phil]

Doesn't really matter. A cancellation may make a temporary blip to the downside to your credit score. However, if you're looking for a loan anytime soon, having it open could make it tougher for you. Lenders will look at ALL of your available credit, and figure that into their calculations of how much they could safely loan to you.

[Phil]

I would cancel it and eliminate one possible avenue of identity theft.

[Scout]

What do you think about freezing one's credit? I'm thinking about doing this in case of identity theft, especially since I'm not planning to borrow money any time soon.