Day 26

Today the only thing I bought was some donuts and milk for breakfast. Tax on that was 7 cents.

• Total Today: $0.07
• YTD Total: $393.75

Day 25

Well today I bought a couple things. I bought some soda, food, and Rolaids. The tax for all of those came out to $1.13. I noticed that I got my Rolaids from Target and there was no tax. I don't know why that is, but I'll have to look into that further.

• Total Today: $1.13
• YTD Total: $393.68

Day 24

Today, the only thing I bought was a bottle of Gatorade. So the tax on that was 6 cents.

• Total Today: $0.06
• YTD Total: $392.55

Day 23

Today all I bought were some dog treats. The tax on that was exactly 50 cents.

• Total Today: $0.50
• YTD Total: $392.49

Day 22

Well Today I managed to not buy anything so consequentially I didn't pay any taxes.

• Total Today: $0.00
• YTD Total: $391.99

Day 21

Today I picked up a bottle of sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings (it was great by the way), and the tax for that was 20 cents. I also filled my car up, at a "cheap" 3.86 a gallon. I got 10.079 gallons, so the total tax on that was $1.96.

• Total Today: $2.16
• YTD Total: $391.99

Day 20

Today I got a few things. I had to get gas (2.501 gallons) which was 49 cents. I got groceries at Wal-Mart (2.5%) which was 26 cents. Then I also had to ship some packages which came out to be 79 cents in taxes.

• Total Today: $1.54
• YTD Total: $389.83

Day 19

Today I went to DC and all I got was food and ice cream. The tax for both of those was 58 cents and 51 cents.

• Total Today: $1.09
• YTD Total: $388.29

Day 18

Today I bought Politics magazine which was 25 cents in tax. I then bought a sleeve of golf balls in which the tax came out to 28 cents. I also bought food and the tax for that came out to 26 cents.

• Total Today: $0.79
• YTD Total: $387.20

Day 17

Well today the only thing I bought was fireworks across state lines in West Virginia. The total tax for that was $3.67. So the new totals are below...

• Total Today: $3.67
• YTD Total: $386.41

Day 16

Today I bought gas and food (that's all I ever buy). Sales tax for food came out to $1.48 and tax on gas (10.003 gallons) was $1.96. I also got my paycheck so Federal Income tax was $29.21, Social Security was $18.27, Medicare was $4.27, and VA state tax was $9.35. So here are the totals...

• Total Today: $64.54
• YTD Total: $382.74

Day 15

Well today all I bought was gas and food. Food tax was 63 cents and I got 2.5 gallons of gas, so that was 49 cents.

• Total Today: $1.12
• YTD Total: $318.20

Day 14

Me and my fiance are getting married in August so I bought her wedding band today. The total tax on that was $5.36. That is all I paid for today.

• Total Today: $5.36
• YTD Total: $317.08

Day 13

Well today all I bought were a couple things at the grocery store. That came out to 28 cents in sales tax.

• Total Today: $0.28
• YTD Total: $311.72

Day 12

Today I bought a Whopper combo at Burger King, which was 32 cents and a soda from a vending machine, which was 8 cents. I also just realized that I didn't include my pay check on Friday. So I'll add that now. Federal income tax taken away was $41.49, Social Security was $23.35, Medicare was $5.46, and the state of Virginia took away $13.45. The totals are listed below.

• Total Today: $84.15
• YTD Total: $311.44

Day 11

Today I bought a couple cards for Father's Day. The total tax for those were 32 cents

• Total Today: $0.32
• YTD Total: $227.29

Day 10

Today, so far, I paid for lunch and had to give 63 cents to the state of West Virginia.

• Total Today: $0.63
• YTD Total: $226.97

Day 9

Well today I filled my gas tank which was 10.054 gallons. Gas tax in VA is .196 a gallon, so that comes out to $1.97. I also bought food which was an additional 38 cents.

• Total Today: $2.35
• YTD Total: $226.34

Day 8

Today, the only thing I bought was a couple sodas and a 6-pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade. The total sales tax for all of these were 44 cents.

• Total Today: $0.44
• YTD Total: $223.99

Day 7

Today I made my car payment, which is around $250. What I did was take the sales tax and government fees from when I bought the car and divided it by the number of payments (63). This came out to $7.19 per payment. I also paid for to Wendy's Frosties. The total sales tax for that came out to 54 cents. So the totals are...

• Total Today: $7.73
• YTD Total: $223.55

Day 6

Today I bought tacos from Taco Bell and the total sales tax for that was 63 cents. I had to get gas at a cheap $3.89 a gallon. So gas tax in Virginia is $0.196 a gallon and I bought 4.873 gallons. That comes out to roughly 96 cents. So the totals for today are...

• Total Today: $1.59
• YTD Total: $215.69

I went out late last night and got some Sun Chips and a Hungry Man dinner. The total sales tax was 13 cents. I have noticed that Wal-Mart has lower sales tax (2.5%). I'll have to investigate further. So the new totals ar below.

• Total Today: $1.72
• YTD Total: $215.82

Day 5

Today I bought a taco kit, lettuce, and a pound of beef. I was actually surprised that tax was only 2.5% (in VA). So the total taxes from that equaled 16 cents. Which brings me to something I've always believed. States should always strive to have lower taxes. That way, people end up spending more money in your state. People will go to the state that has lower taxes. Especially if they live on the border, believe me. A lot of people come from WV to VA to get gas because gas tax isn't as high in VA. The totals are listed below.

• Total Today: $0.16
• YTD Total: $214.10

Day 4

Today it looks like I escaped paying the government. Mainly because I didn't buy anything. I didn't really eat anything today either. All I had today was the leftover P'zone and one breadstick. I think my gas is looking good for tonight, so no tax there. I will have to get a county sticker for my car sometime in the near future. I've been driving without one for a couple months. Also, my car payment is due in a week. So I'll have to divide the total tax by the total payments and see how much I'm paying to the government that way. So the totals stand as...

• Total Today: $0
• YTD Total: $213.86

HOLD THE PRESSES! I bought a soda at the vending machine at work and wondered if there were taxes on soda bought in vending machines. I looked it up and according to WV's website, they do have a sales tax of 6% on vending machine purchases. That roughly comes out to 8 cents for a $1.25 bottle of soda. So... the NEW totals are as follows.

• Total Today: $0.08
• YTD Total: $213.94

Day 3

Let's see... I paid the government on two occassions today and that was getting gas and getting dinner. I bought gas in West Virginia, where it is currently $4.13 a gallon. Gas tax in WV is $0.315 a gallon, so I ended up getting a little under 5 gallons because the price is so much more than in Virginia (by at least 20 cents). So the total given to WV, to not even get my car half-way filled up, was $1.52. I also bought a P'zone and breadsticks from Pizza Hut for dinner. So the total sales tax for that was 70 cents. The totals are listed below.

• Total Today: $2.22
• YTD Total: $213.86

Day 2

Well I managed to not pay any taxes today. My friend offered to pay my lunch today (he ended up paying $1.43 in taxes) and I plan on having leftover pizza from last night for dinner. I don't think I need gas. Luckily I bought a Honda Civic Hybrid so I won't have to fill up as much. So, the government didn't get any money out of me today.

• Total Today: $0
• YTD Total: $211.64

PS- I won't be counting my paycheck today since my payweek runs from Thursday to Wednesday. So yesterday was the first day of my payweek. We won't know about Soc. Sec., Income Tax, Medicare, etc. until I get my check Friday.

Day 1

Well today, property taxes were due and I had to get my registration for my vehicle renewed. All of these taxes and fees are what sparked me to create this blog. So today I had to pay my real estate tax on my .5 acre lot which came out to $87.88. Then I had property tax due on my motorcycle (which is still inoperable, you'd think I wouldn't have to pay taxes on something I can't even drive). That came out to $57.55. I also had to get my vehicle registered, which was $64.50. This morning I had McDonald's for breakfast and paid 44 cents in sales tax (VA) and this evening I had pizza from a local pizza place and ended up paying 83 cents in sales tax (WV). The total for all of these taxes and fees came out to $211.64.

• Total Today: $211.64
• Year-to-Date (YTD) Total: $211.64

Today I was in the drive-thru at McDonald's and was contemplating why we have to pay so much to the government. I had to pay $65 for my license registration, and I still have to pay for property taxes today. I am a poor guy who just finished college and have no real job to speak of. So today I thought, I should track all the money I give to the government, because I'm sure it is a lot more than anyone would expect. In this blog, I am going to track everything that goes to the government out of my pocket for one year (June 5, 2008 to June 5, 2009). So I look forward to everyone that will join me on this endeavour. Please feel free to comment on anything. Thank you.