The Economic Outlook for 2009

How did the economy end up in such turmoil? Fear. That’s right. Plain and simple,

The Audit is Over…

One thing I will say for the IRS is that they sure are nice when they are telling you how much you owe. I’m not sure why I draw audits, but

The Power is Out

I have a magazine article due and was diligently typing away when the power went out. It’s been off now for over an hour. How dependent we are on power. My desktop sits like a big boulder, taunting me

Honoring Death

The year 2007 was filled with many deaths. I lost my stepmother, a friend, my cat, and our rabbit. Every death came with its lessons, grief and celebration. Yesterday marked one year since my step mother passed away. It was interesting to see how differently each member of my family reacted — or purposely avoided the subject. In her last months, her slow death

The Nerve of Some People

Imagine my surprise when I ran across my blog about taxes used on a site as if the owner of that site had written it himself? To me this was unconscionable, but I am told it happens often. The nerve of some people!! It seems that some people — some nasty, low, simple-minded, unethical people — will ’steal’ blogs about different subjects, then post them as their own material without even blinking an eye as to how inappropriate their actions are. Half the time the stolen blogs aren’t even related to the title of their site, but simply harvested to drive more traffic to themselves by using a variety of subject matter. How pitifully cheap and low is that? To the person who did this…just please know what a sad, little person you must be to have to get your material in such a low, disgusting way…and, yes. I reported your unethical behavior to your web host.

The Audit That Won’T Go Away

Okay, I’m on a roll here. This is the 3rd blog in a row about my audit. Here’s the latest….Like the conformist we all know me to be (yeah, I know, I need to work on that), I sent in my proof before the deadline the IRS gave me. When I spoke with them on the phone, they assured me they were a bit behind in reviewing audit responses, so I probably wouldn’t hear from them for awhile. To me ‘awhile’ means weeks or months, especially since the IRS person I spoke with told me they were just now getting to the responses for audits from last August.

I fell into a comfort zone about the audit, particularly since I did not do anything wrong. Turns out the only thing I did wrong was to relax about it. Next thing I know I receive a certified letter telling me that I must respond, in court, or pay fines and taxes for my ‘mistake’. What up???  Back on the phone again — multiple times actually, since they left me on hold for over 30 minutes several times and I just couldn’t wait. When I finally reached the IRS, they had the audacity to tell me I didn’t understand the letter I had. Can they read it through the phone? Did I somehow forget how to read and interpret? Please, I think not. Anyway, turns out they only received 2 pages of the 50 I mailed them!! In my cover letter I had clearly listed all the pages I sent them, but instead of just asking me where the rest was, they sent me a scary and (in my opinion) threatening letter. I guess I can thank all the non-conforming, dishonest tax-cheaters that came before me for the distrust the IRS has for me – someone they do not even know!

Their solution? Please FAX all 50 pages. Didn’t they say they wouldn’t get to it for ‘awhile’ anyway? Why the sudden rush?
I’m done ranting…for now…until I see what comes next.

The Audit Saga Continues…

I have found myself having to use words that no American ever wants to have to pass over their lips, “I am being audited by the IRS”. It is hard for me to imagine myself in this position for the second time, especially because I’m one of those conservative, honest types. You know, the kind that wishes they could color outside of the lines, but their conforming nature would never allow such abandon. Yeah. Sad but true. I don’t color outside of the lines, and I don’t lie on my taxes.

Anyway, the first time I was audited was several years ago, and I must say it was not that unpleasant or difficult. They sent me a letter, I sent them a copy of my records to prove the deduction I’d taken was legitimate, and they sent me a nice letter saying they’d accepted the documents and that my taxes were deemed accurate.

This time the IRS is again questioning a deduction. Now that I found my records for 2006 (see my blog, ”The Audit”), it would seem an easy thing to send proof of the deduction in the nice-but-too-small envelope they provided. Oh, if it could only be so simple. The thing that would prove my deduction beyond a doubt requires a government agency to provide a letter stating that they paid money, on our behalf, to a particular individual. Due to the privacy laws, the government can only supply a letter stating the bank and account number they sent the funds to. Yeah. The government is auditing me on something I cannot get proof of because of the government’s privacy law. Yes, I know they are different agencies, factions… whatever…, but I still find it ironic.

Okay, so I called the IRS to solve this by asking a simple question: Can’t they just look at the other person’s tax return and see that they claimed the money as income? Uh…aren’t they the IRS and have access? You know, look at my tax return and see the deduction, look at the other person’s return and see the income….and viola! Proof positive. The guy at the IRS said, “Well, of course we will do that as part of our investigation.” So answer me this. Why not do that and avoid having to send an audit letter in the first place????

The Audit

It all started when I was shredding old papers, including out-of-date taxes. I admit that I try to do too many things and once and may have been a little distracted during the shredding process, since I was also rearranging the files in the filing cabinet, cleaning out the closet in the den and having a conversation with my father at the same time. It was near the end of last year, and I had set an appointment to go to my CPA to get a preliminary look at our 2007 taxes. When I went to the filing cabinet to get the 2006 taxes to take along…they, along with every year but 2005, were missing! You can only imagine my panic as I thought back to the evil shredding day. Could I possibly have been so distracted in my multi-tasking that I shredded them all by mistake? The next thought to cross my mind was, “Oh no. Please don’t let me get audited.” As soon as I had the thought, I knew I needed to get it out of my mind or all I would do is draw that nasty reality to myself, but I just couldn’t stop thinking how horrible it would be to get audited on tax records I couldn’t find — or even worse, may have shredded! Sure enough — one month later I got notified I was being audited for 2006, and those papers were at large. I panicked, cried, screamed, and said some words that I didn’t even know I knew. Time passed and the tears subsided. That’s when I went on my mission to find the dang dawg things. There is no way I’m a bad multi-tasker. I’m too practiced at it. However, I am also practiced at being distracted — and am a little too good at that. Turns out I had put all the tax records, except for 2005, into a separate file box. I didn’t put the 2005 records in there because they were in a legal size folder and it was too long to fit!!! I barely remember doing any of this, but what a relief! Now I have my records and just have to prove to the government that I did nothing wrong. I wonder how that will go?? I think I’ll forego multi-tasking when I put together my response.

Clutter, Clutter, Everywhere….

I’ve never liked clutter, but it seems that it likes me. I find myself blaming my family for the clutter in my home because surely I couldn’t produce such a horrific sight. Then I look at my office, which is always a disaster, and no one else works in here but me. How could they? There’s no room. So, I’m on a mission to eliminate the clutter in both my home and office.

Clutter does more than just make my environment look messy and disorganized. It also affects my ability to think, act and be clear. Practitioners of Feng Shui believe that the location of your clutter has a dramatic effect on the area of your life that location represents. Although I’m not a practitioner of Feng Shui, I have certainly found that clearing clutter in my home and office in the areas that relate to money and relationships has had a profound effect on those areas of my life. Whether that occurred because I imagined it would or if there is really something behind the practice is immaterial. The results were tangible.

When I have clutter in my house, it makes me feel heavy, encumbered and even lethargic or depressed. Clutter in my office can be distracting — both to me and anyone who visits me here — and it definitely slows productivity.

To help me get rid of clutter, I went on a mission I call “A Bag A Day”. I used a 12-gallon kitchen trash bag and forced myself to fill it with trash or with items to donate. I committed to filling one bag and remove it from the house each day. At first this didn’t seem to make much of a difference, but after 2 weeks, I was amazed at how much less cluttered the house appeared. In fact it inspired me to take on the garage and then the den. It feels good to clear the place of the unnecessary stuff that was only serving to bog me down. Granted, the clutter always threatens to invade again, but I’m now armed with a 12-gallon bag and a desire to fight back.

The Need to Be Right

The need to be right or to win is a “need” I’ve had for a long time. Some of this perceived need probably stems from an innate sense of survival, but it also is a result of what I’ve have been exposed to throughout my life. I think the same is true for everyone. The best performers in school get the better jobs. The winners of the baseball game get the prize. The best grades get the higher income. The examples are numerous and supported by the commercials we see, the recognition we receive when we win, and often even the children’s stories we read as kids. Being right often becomes more important than anything else. For me it has come close to costing relationships I really do not want to end.

Sparring is a part of my martial arts training. When I spar, my Type A personality often shows up and fights to win. It is humbling for me to remember that I fight better when I’m trying to do my best and not when I’m trying to win.

Knowing why I need to be right has helped me to begin to make a change in this not-always-wanted behavior. When I recognize that I am acting or reacting a certain way simply because I am driven to be right, I try to ask myself what is driving the behavior and why I believe I absolutely must be right. Am I afraid of the consequences of being wrong? Am I concerned I might be ridiculed, teased or rejected? Am I worried that I will leave myself vulnerable for attack? Actually, I guess all of these are reasons behind my behavior. The ironic thing is that acting like I’m right causes these things I fear.

Not proving I am correct does not mean I am not right. It just means that I don’t have to engage in a debate about it. Instead I’m trying harder to save the need to defend my position for the really important issues.