Death by Taxes

Steven and I have spent our married life proving to all those people who said we were too young when we got married, that we could still achieve our dreams. So, here we are 11 years later. I will earn a Master's Degree in Criminal Justice Administration this summer and Steven is almost 12 years into his Air Force career. Steven has been, and continues to be, very sucessful in his Air Force career. As retirement gets closer, he has set his sights on getting his education and becoming a teacher. We have a wonderful child, who has taught us soooo much! Colby is healthy, happy (most of the time), smart, and a wonderful little hockey player. So, why is it that we will not be getting a tax refund this year? We have tried to be responsible by saving money for our "golden years" but we don't qualify for the Savers Credit. We make "too much money". We no longer qualify for the Earned Income Credit. Again, we make "too much money". We know that owning a home would help tremendously but we were trying to be responsible by not purchasing a home. It is too risky for us to get saddled with a mortgage when we know we will be moving. All this time we thought we were being responsible. And yet, those who got themselves into mortgages they knew they could not afford, got bailed out by the government. Why can't hard working Americans get a break? We are a middle class family, who pays our debts on time, work hard, and try to plan for the future. And yet it seems that everyone in America is getting a bailout except Middle Class Americans!

It is not like we absolutely need a tax refund, but it is nice to get a refund and be able to do something fun with that money! I am just absolutely bummed about this situation and wonder where we went wrong?