I have never professed to have an affinity for numbers, in fact, most things that have to do with numbers scare me to death. I panic when I have to calculate a tip at a restaurant. Who decided to make it 15% anyway?, 20% is so much easier to figure out. So the months leading up to April 15th are always stressful for me. I try all year to keep track of everything to make preparing for taxes easier, but it seems every year I forget something major. I'm no known for my organizational skills either. That's a big strike one. I'm a chronic procrastinator. Strike two. But I'm not afraid to get in there and work hard to make sure I don't have to pay any more than necessary. A swing, and a tip. Still in the game.
My goal this year was to have everything ready by March 1st and... I didn't make it. I started in February to get everything ready thinking I was allowing myself plenty of time. Ball one. One and two. I got all my monthly bank statements in order, made list after list of deductions for the business and personal stuff, and organized all my years worth of expenditures. Ball two. Two and two. I worked most every night after work to get everything done because I can never do it during the day; too busy. And once April 1st comes and goes everything is just a blur. I expect to hear a fat lady singing any second. But I did get everything turned in to the CPA by the last week of March this year. Ball three. Still alive. He called me once with some questions and needed some additional information, but not nearly as much as in years past.
I got a call two days before the deadline and everything is done. Wow. I made it. No extension this year. Yes I had to pay, but I have to pay every year and it wasn't as much, or at least I wasn't as surprised by how much as in years past. The CPA even complimented me on my organizational skills. He thought another accountant helped me get ready. Who'da thunk it. Oh well, not exactly a home run; more like a walk, but I'll take it. A score after a walk counts the same as a home run anyway.
See ya... gotta go to Jake's game.
