End of the Year
So each year, I do my taxes about six or seven times--dry runs, if you will, to see if I can shave anything off of my estimated tax payment that I make four times a year. If you think you hate seeing the number on your pay stub, try actually writing a very big check in April and then again just two months later in June. June is the month of my birthday, but for the past 15 or so years, it is my very poorest month of the year, because I don't have time to save up for my taxes. The government does this so that we don't have to make a payment in December--we have four months from September to January, so June has to bear the brunt. I think I am digressing.
So this year, I was very lazy. I didn't do my taxes at all until today. It is not that I haven't thought about it, but I was certain that I was underpaying my taxes, so there was no chance at trimming any off and I guess I was afraid to see how much I was going to owe. But today is the end of the year, so no more excuses. It's not so very bad--it's not good, mind you, but it's not so very bad.
This is a year in which I cut back a lot of expenses, including deductible expenses. That makes my taxes a little easier to figure out, but not nearly as much fun. I have a drawer that is just for deductible expense receipts. It is overflowing, so I was pleasantly surprised as I started to tally them up, until I looked at the dates. I hadn't cleaned out the drawer from last year. This years receipts were pitiful. Not a single .14 cent mile for charity. Pitiful.
Each morning as I plot my day, I try to find something to look forward to in the day. The other day when I plotted, I realized that it was the end of the year--I was so looking forward to the end of the year accountings that I do. But when I got into the office, I realized that taxes were more important than my end of the year accountings. That was almost as depressing as donuts (which, while I like them, I just don't eat them any more on principle) instead of chocolate chip cookies (which I love and no principle stands a change against) as the Friday goodies. Now that I have done the tax calculation, I just can't get excited about the accountings anymore. Math is not my friend. I'm mad at Math.
Existentially, as I get older, I realize that more and more of our everyday ups and downs are not logical, they are the ooze out of our subconscious morass--molasses if you will. Nope, no more math for me today. Except my banking. It is the end of the year. And maybe a little accounting on a report for a client--I've been promising and it is really fun. Ok, maybe I'll just take a peek at the accountings--they are chocolate chip afterall.
So this year, I was very lazy. I didn't do my taxes at all until today. It is not that I haven't thought about it, but I was certain that I was underpaying my taxes, so there was no chance at trimming any off and I guess I was afraid to see how much I was going to owe. But today is the end of the year, so no more excuses. It's not so very bad--it's not good, mind you, but it's not so very bad.
This is a year in which I cut back a lot of expenses, including deductible expenses. That makes my taxes a little easier to figure out, but not nearly as much fun. I have a drawer that is just for deductible expense receipts. It is overflowing, so I was pleasantly surprised as I started to tally them up, until I looked at the dates. I hadn't cleaned out the drawer from last year. This years receipts were pitiful. Not a single .14 cent mile for charity. Pitiful.
Each morning as I plot my day, I try to find something to look forward to in the day. The other day when I plotted, I realized that it was the end of the year--I was so looking forward to the end of the year accountings that I do. But when I got into the office, I realized that taxes were more important than my end of the year accountings. That was almost as depressing as donuts (which, while I like them, I just don't eat them any more on principle) instead of chocolate chip cookies (which I love and no principle stands a change against) as the Friday goodies. Now that I have done the tax calculation, I just can't get excited about the accountings anymore. Math is not my friend. I'm mad at Math.
Existentially, as I get older, I realize that more and more of our everyday ups and downs are not logical, they are the ooze out of our subconscious morass--molasses if you will. Nope, no more math for me today. Except my banking. It is the end of the year. And maybe a little accounting on a report for a client--I've been promising and it is really fun. Ok, maybe I'll just take a peek at the accountings--they are chocolate chip afterall.
posted by KathrynVH @ 9:20 AM
3 Comments:
At December 30, 2010 at 8:23 PM,
Sean M. said…
Aww, don't hate on Math. Math is fun. As Adrienne and I say, "I lurve Math."
At January 3, 2011 at 10:34 AM,
John Beauregard said…
We traveled by air in December and I was selected for pat-down in both directions. Strangely, I did not mind the TSA assault since I have become accustomed to being assaulted four times a year by the IRS and the California FTB.
Hope you and your readers have a happy and prosperous 2011.
At January 9, 2011 at 12:32 PM,
Marcel said…
This is a great time for me to push the Fair Tax. Just think, Kathy, no IRS to respond to, no government interest in what you make, you get to spend your whole paycheck, no concern that you did not make enough in a quarter, no records to keep, no waste of time doing things over six times, no math to do.
Yes, it can happen. Florida has no income tax, they have zero interest in what I make, no paper work for them. You owe it to yourself to understand the Fair Tax.
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