Did You Owe Taxes This Year?

If you owed a lot in taxes this year, one of the most common reasons is that not enough was being withheld from your paychecks throughout the year.

Usually, the first step is updating your W-4 form through your employer. In most workplaces, this is handled through HR, payroll, or sometimes directly through your employee payroll portal like ADP, Workday, Paychex, etc.

A lot of people fill out their W-4 once when they start a job and never look at it again. But your withholding can get thrown off by things like:

One tool that can help is the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. It’s actually a pretty solid tool for W-2 employees with more straightforward situations.

But it’s important to know that it is only as accurate as the information you put into it. Before using the tool, the IRS recommends having:

If your financial life is more complicated, the estimator may not fully account for everything. I think the tool can fall short for people with multiple income streams, side businesses, bonuses, stock based compensation, rental income, and more.

So while the estimator can absolutely help point you in the right direction, it may not be enough for more complex tax situations.

Sometimes even adding an extra $20 to $50 per paycheck toward withholding can make a huge difference by the end of the year.

And one really important thing to remember:
Owing taxes does not automatically mean you did something wrong financially.

It often just means the amount being withheld from your paycheck did not match your actual tax situation closely enough throughout the year.

We are leaving on Monday for our first family of four vacation to Puerto Rico and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a lot of anxiety about it.

Not because I don’t want to go. I really do. I know the memories will be worth it. But I have honestly contemplated cancelling the trip a few times and just staying home.

Most of my anxiety is around the two travel days, especially with Dante. We have only flown with him once before and he was just 4 months old at the time. This feels completely different. Multiple plane rides, long travel days, waiting in airports, overstimulation, exhaustion. Honestly, the plane rides are what I worry about the most.

I think one of my biggest fears is feeling judged if he gets fussy or loud. I just hope people extend patience, kindness, and grace to parents traveling with little kids because we are trying our best too.

I’ve already decided there will be no screentime rules on this trip. Survival mode. Whatever helps everyone get through the travel days peacefully. Snacks they are familiar with, comfort foods, shows, all of it. I’m letting go of the pressure to make everything look a certain way and focusing more on getting everyone there feeling safe, loved, and okay.

I also know this feeling is probably more common than people talk about. Sometimes the hardest part of traveling with kids is not even the trip itself, it’s the anxiety leading up to it.

We are staying in Camino Las Picuas near Río Grande and I know once we finally get there, it’s going to be beautiful. Right now, I’m just reminding myself that hard travel days are temporary, but the memories we make together will last forever.

I’ll be sharing some moments from our trip over on my Instagram stories if you want to follow along and check it out.

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A few gems from the past to check out:

May is where spending starts to pick up, and life gets busy fast, so this checklist is meant to help you stay grounded in what actually matters right now. It’s about checking in, adjusting where needed, and staying intentional with your money as your routine shifts.

Until next time,