Can I get a (tax) break?

So, with DH's new job starting next week, we have been updating our budget in anticipation of the great wealth one would expect with my ginormous raise in taking this job, and his 50% raise over his last job back in Wichita.

Can any of you guess what the problem is with all these windfalls?????

We are now moving up a tax bracket. And not just a small move. A big one. The big one. 10% more of our income will now belong to the federal government. All my life I have felt like paying taxes is a small fee for the freedoms and infrastructure we have in the United States. It's a small fee. Until you lose an additional 10% of your income just because your husband got a job!

DH is so positive. He says we've just reached a new plateau and every increase in income over this will be gravy. I'm trying to knock things off of our monthly expenses. Car payments. Student loans. Daycare. Yes, the boys will start pre-school full time in one week, and I'm already counting down the months until they can participate in the local education system. Seriously, SO expensive! But worth it.

I am still in disbelief, and looking forward to talking to our accountant when we get our taxes done in hopes of something other than the standard deduction or our standard exemptions or some advice that can help us to decrease our taxable income. I fear it will just be the way it is for us for a few years. Stupid taxes.

We're looking for a new home. Somewhere closer to where my office will move next September. We're not serious about looking at homes, but just about neighborhoods and commute times right now. So far, nothing we absolutely love. In my exhuberance to take this job, one part I was really looking forward to was finally getting our dream home. Right now we life in a closet-sized condo which is VERY cost effective. The rent is low, the utilities are low, the internet and cable are free. But the finish work, ah the finish work, is GORGEOUS! Dark hardwood floors, travertine tile, granite countertops. But tiny. I want the same finish, but more spacious, with a yard for the boys. And a kitchen counter / island that opens to the living space. Oh, and a two-car garage. Staring down winter, I'm definitely going to miss that while living in this condo.

And so today, I am trying to be grateful that we're thinking of this tax bracket crap in advance and hopefully won't be surprised by a big bill come tax time for 2011. And grateful that we have plenty of time and options. I should be grateful for all the extra income, but right now, the net is a loss not a gain, so it doesn't feel very extra. And mostly I am just pouting.