self-employed and stimulus package?

[keziak]

I tried to look up whether we can get a stipend from the stimulus package. What I read seemed to be saying we need to file for unemployment. Is there something else we should be doing, do you know? Do we have to reach the point of no sales to be eligible?

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

The cheapest I’ve seen a house here in my town is $500k and it was in bad shape. People who don’t live in the coastal metro areas have no idea what living here is like. Food is more expensive along with everything else.

Fortunately the salaries compensate. For instance $75k is an engineering starting salary.  The point is that someone can be just as poor on $75k in areas of the country than they can be on $30-40k elsewhere.

[sin-n-dex]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@sin-n-dex wrote:

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@cynthealee2 wrote:

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@andrew547 wrote:

I believe every taxpayer is going to receive a check.

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Keep in mind the bill has not even been passed by the house yet. 

I believe the current version will pay $1200 per adult for those who had adjusted gross income of less than $75k on their last tax return (either 2018, or 2019 if they have already filed). 

It tapers gradually to zero from $75k to $99k; i.e. over $99k you get nothing. 

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From what I saw today.... it was 1200 for singles, 2400 for married, and 500 per kid.

On a side note, my 16 yr old had/has a job at a local pizza joint. It was a eat in place and they shut down and told every one to go home... Earlier this week the bosses sent out a message stating they were filing for unemployment for everyone that worked there and something about how they would have to keep it up each Sunday... I have a few issues with this, she's 16 she doesn't need the money, she  had the job for blow money... she can't blow it (as I'm not letting her out to roam then bring the nasties home to mom) so I see no reason for her to get it.  Do we have to go figure out unemployment to stop it? or can we just ignore it? Does she have to take it?

It would be different if she was working FOR something... ie college savings, a car, insurance, bills ect.

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If she had a paying job she paid into unemployment and is thus eligible for benefits. You can't just say that she's not entitled to it because you aren't letting her spend her "blow money" due to the lockdowns. If she gets unemployment, maybe it can be saved for later on.

C.

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That isn't how it works.  She is a young lady that was just working her first job.  She had only been working for two months.  

In their state they have the following requirement.

To be eligible for UI benefits, you must:

be unemployed or working part-time (less than 32 hours per week) through no fault of your own, have earned at least $780.01 in 2 quarters within the base period, and be physically able, available, and seeking work.

That "base period" would NOT be the last two months.  But likely the previous 2 quarters.  IDK for sure, I'd have to look it up.  But either way, she would not qualify.

@sin-n-dex 

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Thanks for explaining. The one thing I know I got wrong is that it's the employer who pays in. In Canada it's a source deduction which means if they pay me $10 an hour, they deduct a percentage of that for what we call "Employment Insurance".

C.

[whatnicestuff]

I'm in MI and I'm wondering what to do. I sell from my home but I also have office space  that is set up as a store  where I take appointments and sell. Its sitting idle and I am still paying rent plus the lease is going to be up and who knows what the owner is going to do if I can't go there and clean it out as there is alot of inventory there. The online site has crashed and I've not been able to get a call back. 

[mam98031]

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@whatnicestuff wrote:

I'm in MI and I'm wondering what to do. I sell from my home but I also have office space  that is set up as a store  where I take appointments and sell. Its sitting idle and I am still paying rent plus the lease is going to be up and who knows what the owner is going to do if I can't go there and clean it out as there is alot of inventory there. The online site has crashed and I've not been able to get a call back. 

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Why can't you go and clean out your inventory?

@whatnicestuff 

[whatnicestuff]

We are on lockdown in MI.  I"m not actually supposed to be going there.  I suppose I could go there in the middle of the night to take things out but others may have the same idea.   I would like to know if I can file or not for unemployment. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@atikovi wrote:

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@sin-n-dex wrote:

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@atikovi wrote:

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

BTW this threshold of $75k means a totally different thing if you live in LA or NYC vs living in GA. 

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Someone making $75K for last few years should have enough saved up for a 6 month emergency fund if they live within their means. 

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Not if you live in a city where your mortgage payment is over 2K a month. (Friends of mine bought a house for 400K and are paying 1900 a month for their mortgage with 5% down). They make 100K between the two of them, if either of them loses their job, the ship will sink.

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Could they have bought a $300K house instead? Or wasn't it nice enough, big enough or too far out?

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If it's anything like where I live, 400k just gets you IN to the housing market.  If you want something cheaper, have fun with the 100 mile round trip commute.

ETA:  My 1700 sqft split level, which is 10 miles north of town (Seattle) in an older area, is valued at $750,000.  It's really absurd.

[mam98031]

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@whatnicestuff wrote:

We are on lockdown in MI.  I"m not actually supposed to be going there.  I suppose I could go there in the middle of the night to take things out but others may have the same idea.   I would like to know if I can file or not for unemployment. 

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I read a little about what your state is doing and as I read it, it is to prevent gatherings or contact with others expect for essential reasons.  I'm not sure that "lockdown" is accurate.

Are you saying you aren't allowed to go to the grocery store, doctors, get prescriptions etc.?

Would you need to be around anyone else to go and clean out your office before you lease is up?  Or need help from someone?

[mam98031]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@atikovi wrote:

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@sin-n-dex wrote:

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@atikovi wrote:

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

BTW this threshold of $75k means a totally different thing if you live in LA or NYC vs living in GA. 

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Someone making $75K for last few years should have enough saved up for a 6 month emergency fund if they live within their means. 

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Not if you live in a city where your mortgage payment is over 2K a month. (Friends of mine bought a house for 400K and are paying 1900 a month for their mortgage with 5% down). They make 100K between the two of them, if either of them loses their job, the ship will sink.

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Could they have bought a $300K house instead? Or wasn't it nice enough, big enough or too far out?

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If it's anything like where I live, 400k just gets you IN to the housing market.  If you want something cheaper, have fun with the 100 mile round trip commute.

ETA:  My 1700 sqft split level, which is 10 miles north of town (Seattle) in an older area, is valued at $750,000.  It's really absurd.

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The heart of Seattle has always been expensive.  Some years more so than others.    

I live about 60 miles south of Seattle and the median housing price here is around $350,000.  The median price in Seattle is about $755,000 according to Zillow.  

[atikovi]

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@whatnicestuff wrote:

We are on lockdown in MI.  I"m not actually supposed to be going there.  I suppose I could go there in the middle of the night to take things out but others may have the same idea.   I would like to know if I can file or not for unemployment. 

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Even with the lockdown around here, business owners are allowed to travel to their place of business to conduct minimal operations. Even then, the police can't stop you just to ask what you're doing out.

[bar-29368]

Yet

[mam98031]

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@atikovi wrote:

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@whatnicestuff wrote:

We are on lockdown in MI.  I"m not actually supposed to be going there.  I suppose I could go there in the middle of the night to take things out but others may have the same idea.   I would like to know if I can file or not for unemployment. 

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Even with the lockdown around here, business owners are allowed to travel to their place of business to conduct minimal operations. Even then, the police can't stop you just to ask what you're doing out.

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It would likely be far easier to understand if people didn't call it a "lockdown".  Which it is NOT anyway.  

[atikovi]

OK, call it lockup. No worse than the term, "social distancing" that all the media has been using which should instead be called physical distancing. 

[mam98031]

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@atikovi wrote:

OK, call it lockup. No worse than the term, "social distancing" that all the media has been using which should instead be called physical distancing. 

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That is inaccurate too and an exaggeration of what is actually going on.  IMHO typically when someone does this is because they feel one of three ways.  That there is an over-reaction to the situation going on, they are scared or there is nothing to be concerned about or any combination of the three.

I'm in a state that was the hottest area for this Pandemic a few weeks ago.  And we have NEVER been in a lockdown or lockup.  There are not police or military forcing me to stay home.  They are not arresting people for being out and about.

Now I am in a state that has issued stay at home orders with the hope of getting a better containment going on this virus.  But I can still go to the store, doctor, pharmacy, etc. as needed.  But it is great advice to stay home the vast majority of the time because it is our best tool to getting the curve to flatten.  And that is the path to getting this virus under control.

[namele365]

"BTW this threshold of $75k means a totally different thing if you live in LA or NYC vs living in GA. "

Of course.  People pay to live in those places for the perks.   For those making more than 75K in those perky places,  seems to me $1200 bucks isn't going to make a world of difference anyway.

[chapeau-noir]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@atikovi wrote:

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@sin-n-dex wrote:

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@atikovi wrote:

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

BTW this threshold of $75k means a totally different thing if you live in LA or NYC vs living in GA. 

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Someone making $75K for last few years should have enough saved up for a 6 month emergency fund if they live within their means. 

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Not if you live in a city where your mortgage payment is over 2K a month. (Friends of mine bought a house for 400K and are paying 1900 a month for their mortgage with 5% down). They make 100K between the two of them, if either of them loses their job, the ship will sink.

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Could they have bought a $300K house instead? Or wasn't it nice enough, big enough or too far out?

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If it's anything like where I live, 400k just gets you IN to the housing market.  If you want something cheaper, have fun with the 100 mile round trip commute.

ETA:  My 1700 sqft split level, which is 10 miles north of town (Seattle) in an older area, is valued at $750,000.  It's really absurd.

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The heart of Seattle has always been expensive.  Some years more so than others.    

I live about 60 miles south of Seattle and the median housing price here is around $350,000.  The median price in Seattle is about $755,000 according to Zillow.  

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Housing even in town didn't start getting ridiculous until the mid-90s (I lived downtown from about 1971 to 1979).  My house up here cost about $80k in 1990.  Now, just six months ago, a house slightly larger than mine, down the road from me went for over a million.  This is NOT a ritzy rich neighbourhood - it's full of people's cars up on blocks, old non-moving RVs with moss all over them, and the like, though I think the million dollar house didn't have any of that lol - it had a nice yard with a sunken garden (which is probably full of water most of the year).  People here just shake their heads it's so crazy.