Payroll Tax Cut Savings Plan Fail

Back in January 2011, I planned to save the extra money I got in my paycheck from Bush's Payroll Tax Cut.  And I did -- I either deposited the extra $86/paycheck in my Roth or my savings account.  But from my accounting records, it looks like I stopped cold turkey in July 2011.  I recall that I started looking to buy a condo in July 2011 and I think I diverted the funds towards my "down payment fund."  In the interim, I'd completely forgotten that my paycheck was artificially inflated and I became accustomed to the extra money.

I'd already created my estimated monthly cashflow for 2013 and 2014.  But now that it looks like we're going off the fiscal cliff and the Bush tax cuts will expire, I have to re-jigger my cashflow.

I found this calculator on the Tax Foundation's website.  According to this calculator, I should expect my take-home pay to go down approximately $96 per paycheck.  Back to the drawing board.

I'm disappointed that I didn't have the will-power to follow through with my plan to prepare for this eventuality.  I've let lifestyle inflation take over.  *Sigh*