Things occur in bunches, sometimes in threes, like sneezes. This time, what occurred are bills. I am getting tons of them this spring and summer. Maybe there is a law of balance....a natural law. Checks come in. I put them in the bank, secretly gleeful to see the rising total. The little pleasure disappears the next month. The bills come in. I got bills I never got before.
I got tax bills, utility bills, house and car maintenance bills , insurance bills, food bills, licensing bills, estimated tax bills, medical bills. They all appeared at the same time. Hey! This isn't fair. I earned that money. May I please spend some of it on myself? For frivelous reasons? Quality of life and all that? OK to buy a new pair of sneakers?
The first hint that this was going to be an expensive summer, was the arrival of carpenter bees on Melba Street. Those little bastards are eating my house. They have to go. The exterminator gets rid of them....for this season. He explains that until all of my neighbors attack carpenter bees at the same time, I can kill them at my house, but they will just come in from my neighbor's house. They'll be back every year. He hands me the bill.
The first warm day, at the Park Circle house, on the livingroom floor are little flying insects .
I catch a few in a plastic bag. The exterminator says this house has termits. This is an old house, over 90 years old. The basement joists shows that in the past, there were termits, but my husband had exterminated them long ago...I thought. Apparantly He didn't get the nest in the ground outside. This is a problem that can't be ignored. The house is treated. While We're at it, We treat the garage. ...and here's another bill.
While driving around town doing the usual daily errends, my "check engine light" comes on. I ignore it as long as I can. It doesn't go out. My Ranger truck goes into the shop. For four days I have no transportation. I am like a cigarette smoker with no cigarettes...going nuts!!! I am addicted to the freedom of driving where I want to, when I want to. The only good thing about not having my truck, is I am forced to make meals around the staples in my pantry. I am not going to ask a neighbor to drive me to the grocery store...just stubburn. My pantry supplies go down. This is an opportunity to replace them with fresh supplies...the opportunity hidden in the crisis. I get a lot of painting woodwork done, since I can't get out easily. Oh well. This was a task I had put off for a rainy day. It's raining.
Finally my mechanic calls to say He has taken a test drive. My transmission is bad...shifting way too late...causing a strain on the engine. That's why the "check engine light" came on. Transmission problems can't be ignored. I've worked with this mechanic for over 10 years and trust that He is telling me the truth. The transmission (partial) is cheaper than burning out the engine. I tell the shop to go ahead and replace what needs replacement. He does. The truck runs noticably better. ..and here's another bill.
The rental house in Orange is up for sale. My accountant anticipates that I will be paying capital gains from the sale. This house is not my primary residence. I have no capital gains exemption on this house. He increases my estimated quarterly tax payments. Hey! I haven't got the money from the sale of the house. The house isn't sold. Where shall I get the money to pay this increase of estimated taxes? From my savings, of course. (sigh)
Then there is the property insurance bills I forgot come in every year, and the emmissions testing program that recently was re-started, the truck plates, my license renewal. You get the idea.
The water company sends me an estimated water bill for the empty house in Orange that is up for sale. They estimated my water use very high. No one is in the house. There is no water use. I pay just the base rate. The water company comes for the jugular. They want me to prove my water use. I countered that I already did that...read the meter last time and reported that the house is empty. A particularly nasty "no service" service representative gives me a hard time. She says I have to report that the house is empty every month. I counter that I will report when there is a change in this circumstance. We have a stand off on the telephone. Finally, she says she will send a meter reader to the house . I bite my tongue , trying to keep from telling her what I am thinking. A few weeks later, I get a corrected bill....for forty eight cents. I must have flushed.
I got tax bills, utility bills, house and car maintenance bills , insurance bills, food bills, licensing bills, estimated tax bills, medical bills. They all appeared at the same time. Hey! This isn't fair. I earned that money. May I please spend some of it on myself? For frivelous reasons? Quality of life and all that? OK to buy a new pair of sneakers?
The first hint that this was going to be an expensive summer, was the arrival of carpenter bees on Melba Street. Those little bastards are eating my house. They have to go. The exterminator gets rid of them....for this season. He explains that until all of my neighbors attack carpenter bees at the same time, I can kill them at my house, but they will just come in from my neighbor's house. They'll be back every year. He hands me the bill.
The first warm day, at the Park Circle house, on the livingroom floor are little flying insects .
I catch a few in a plastic bag. The exterminator says this house has termits. This is an old house, over 90 years old. The basement joists shows that in the past, there were termits, but my husband had exterminated them long ago...I thought. Apparantly He didn't get the nest in the ground outside. This is a problem that can't be ignored. The house is treated. While We're at it, We treat the garage. ...and here's another bill.
While driving around town doing the usual daily errends, my "check engine light" comes on. I ignore it as long as I can. It doesn't go out. My Ranger truck goes into the shop. For four days I have no transportation. I am like a cigarette smoker with no cigarettes...going nuts!!! I am addicted to the freedom of driving where I want to, when I want to. The only good thing about not having my truck, is I am forced to make meals around the staples in my pantry. I am not going to ask a neighbor to drive me to the grocery store...just stubburn. My pantry supplies go down. This is an opportunity to replace them with fresh supplies...the opportunity hidden in the crisis. I get a lot of painting woodwork done, since I can't get out easily. Oh well. This was a task I had put off for a rainy day. It's raining.
Finally my mechanic calls to say He has taken a test drive. My transmission is bad...shifting way too late...causing a strain on the engine. That's why the "check engine light" came on. Transmission problems can't be ignored. I've worked with this mechanic for over 10 years and trust that He is telling me the truth. The transmission (partial) is cheaper than burning out the engine. I tell the shop to go ahead and replace what needs replacement. He does. The truck runs noticably better. ..and here's another bill.
The rental house in Orange is up for sale. My accountant anticipates that I will be paying capital gains from the sale. This house is not my primary residence. I have no capital gains exemption on this house. He increases my estimated quarterly tax payments. Hey! I haven't got the money from the sale of the house. The house isn't sold. Where shall I get the money to pay this increase of estimated taxes? From my savings, of course. (sigh)
Then there is the property insurance bills I forgot come in every year, and the emmissions testing program that recently was re-started, the truck plates, my license renewal. You get the idea.
The water company sends me an estimated water bill for the empty house in Orange that is up for sale. They estimated my water use very high. No one is in the house. There is no water use. I pay just the base rate. The water company comes for the jugular. They want me to prove my water use. I countered that I already did that...read the meter last time and reported that the house is empty. A particularly nasty "no service" service representative gives me a hard time. She says I have to report that the house is empty every month. I counter that I will report when there is a change in this circumstance. We have a stand off on the telephone. Finally, she says she will send a meter reader to the house . I bite my tongue , trying to keep from telling her what I am thinking. A few weeks later, I get a corrected bill....for forty eight cents. I must have flushed.
posted by gardenbug at Thursday, June 15, 2006
3 Comments:
Boy - I can totally relate to this! When it rains, it pours, it seems. No one can get ahead because the Tax Man wants his share. I figured out that I am taxed three times on my retirement savings: when I earn it, when I'm paid any interest, and when I remove it from my account. Aren't there supposed to be laws against this?
And incidentally, that was some expensive flush.
If your retirement is in a tax free account...it should be...it will grow without being taxed on the interest. In your ROTH IRA, you will not be taxed when you take the money out. Just pray that congress doesn't change the rules. Those greedy people in Washington are always looking for another way to get money to spend. I have the old fashioned IRA. I have to pay tax on what I withdraw from this account...starting when I am 72. I don't know what the laws in Australia are like...hope you're tax sheltered from the pirahanas..they eat you alive. As you can see, I hate government...am a closet Libertarian. Less government, the better...except where it is absolutely necessary. The government is not uncle daddy who takes care of us.
I've figured out that I'm a Libertarian at heart, too. Wish they'd come up with a presidential candidate who could kick butt!
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