Death and Taxes

In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes. -- Benjamin Franklin

This past week, I dealt with nearly both. I finally got around to visiting my accountant last Thursday. I had been putting it off for no real reason at all. My accountant is super quick on the turn-around. He also likes to enter everything while you're there and give you a tentative idea of what you either owe or are getting back. Last year, I got a hefty return from 2007. Earlier in 2008, I had decided to cash out my 401k because I wasn't technically employed and needed to have the mortgage covered for a few months. BIG MISTAKE. Listen now... do not do it. Beg, borrow, or steal before you cash it out. My federal taxes were withheld, but state was not. AND, the amount was added to income, and another 10% in penalty taxes were due. I knew the penalties, but I thought I would at least break even based on the past year's return. So... I waited patiently while my accountant worked his magic. He turned the screen toward me, and I nearly had a heart attack. It said I owed $3306. My first thought was that we'd have to call off the wedding. Our budget was so small to begin with, and there was no way I could come up with that money in two months unless I got my deposits back. My second thought was basically, "How am I going to tell J?" Then, he said, "Something doesn't seem right" and promptly realized that he left a 5 off of the front of my contribution, as in five THOUSAND! So, I didn't owe at all. I'm actually getting money back. Whew! I thought I was going to pass out right there in his office!

Then, on Saturday, I decided to take a little shopping trip. The nearest shopping center is about 90 miles away-- and it's an outlet. I picked up a few things that I will show you later. Unfortunately, I stayed a little late, and it was dark by the time I started the drive home. I hate driving at night. I have horrible night vision. I was within 20 miles of my house, when I realized that I suddenly didn't see the headlights coming toward me that were just there. My first thought was that there must be a hill up ahead. There was no hill. I'm not sure when I realized what was happening, but I was suddenly slamming on my brakes. I stopped literally 5 feet from slamming into the side of a tanker truck that was blocking the entire road. I'm not sure what made the trucker decide to back onto the road from a side street, but there were cars coming from both directions! I was this close to being decapitated. I had shaky leg syndrome the rest of the way home. Thankfully, I was being looked out for that night.