Categories: taxes, goals
“I am favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it’s possible.”
Milton Friedman
All I can say about this quote is “ME TOO.” Yet I also really like some of the stuff taxes pay for, like roads, national parks, social security, education, etc. So I guess my recommendation on this matter would be to cut all taxes that I don’t like, and keep the ones I like!
Main Topic
I have a lot of taxes to complete; our personal family federal, state, and local, my daughter’s, and my corporation’s business tax preparation. I usually tackle this overwhelming annual project by breaking it down into bits. And I try to get the worst ones done first.
Additionally, this year I finally achieved something that I’ve wanted to do for several years. I passed the 2 qualifying exams to volunteer as a tax preparer for low income families. So, on top of all these personal tax returns I must do, I assist others a couple of hours per week with their taxes.
I like to give back, but I’m also pretty selfish, so I don’t want to do any volunteer work that isn’t interesting and fun for me! And that’s why I chose the tax prep.
So here’s the summation, I have a lot of tax returns to do!
I know that everyone reading this also has to do their own taxes or pay a professional to do them.
And most of us look at this annual ritual with disdain.
Practical Application
Aside from the benefit of doing something unselfish (for a change), the volunteer tax prep informed me of INCREDIBLE TAX CREDITS THIS YEAR. Because we are paying some college tuition for our daughter, we got to take advantage of the American Opportunity Grant and got a very nice TAX CREDIT! We also qualified for another credit called Making Work Pay! These credits made the tax preparation a little less painful this year.
A tax credit is the equivalent of FREE MONEY!
So, what is the personal finance task to do NOW in order to feel great?
DO YOUR TAXES NOW AND YOU WILL FEEL GREAT!
Here is why…… You will have gotten them out of the way and they won’t be hanging over your head. Thus, more time for other activities!
You’ll see that you probably qualify for some really cool tax credits this year. If you bought a house or new car, you will probably get even MORE CREDTS.
Action Step:
Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it for all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.
Start your tax prep today. Just do a bit today. And then do a bit more every day until you are finished!
Write and tell me if you started your tax prep and/or finished it. DID YOU FEEL GREAT OR NOT? If you finished and didn’t feel great, feel free to blame me!
