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Doing It Wrong Often Costs More Money than Paying Someone To Do It Right
I am about to rock your world with a startling confession. Alright, so this confession probably won't rock your world and it probably isn't all that startling... but it hurts my pride to speak of it, so please pretend you're rocked and startled since that will make the pain a little more bearable.
When it comes to taxes, I am like a clueless infant. Worse than that, I am like a weeping, clueless infant. I can read IRS code and understand it pretty well, but when it comes to figuring out which forms I need, filling out the forms, making decisions, and choosing which box to check I get so overwhelmed that my entire brain seems to shut down and I lose the ability to function.
Naturally, this aversion to tax-related rigmarole makes things really difficult around this time of year. I should point out that it was never this way when I was just a person with a 1040.It became this way when I turned into a business owner with a 941, a 1099, a 2553, an 1120S, W-2 obligations and unemployment tax responsibilities. Unemployment tax, you say? Well, yes. Apparently, I must pay a tax in the unlikely event that I lay myself off.
Of course, none of these forms or taxes would have been a problem if I had just hired a CPA from the beginning. But no, I had hubris. I over-estimated myself and I under-estimated the task ahead and now I have to pay someone to fix it. Woe is my wallet.
Luckily, I didn't do anything too wrong--nothing unfixable anyway. And really, it's not so much of a mess that I have to get a second mortgage on my home to pay someone to fix it--but if I hadn't identified in time that I was on the wrong track, it could have.
So what's the moral of the story? Well, I guess it's that saving money isn't always about NOT spending money. Sometimes, the best way to save is to pay someone else to complete those tasks that we are not qualified to do. Then, dry your tears and take yourself to Starbucks to congratulate yourself for being so smart. That's what I did.
When it comes to taxes, I am like a clueless infant. Worse than that, I am like a weeping, clueless infant. I can read IRS code and understand it pretty well, but when it comes to figuring out which forms I need, filling out the forms, making decisions, and choosing which box to check I get so overwhelmed that my entire brain seems to shut down and I lose the ability to function.
Naturally, this aversion to tax-related rigmarole makes things really difficult around this time of year. I should point out that it was never this way when I was just a person with a 1040.It became this way when I turned into a business owner with a 941, a 1099, a 2553, an 1120S, W-2 obligations and unemployment tax responsibilities. Unemployment tax, you say? Well, yes. Apparently, I must pay a tax in the unlikely event that I lay myself off.
Of course, none of these forms or taxes would have been a problem if I had just hired a CPA from the beginning. But no, I had hubris. I over-estimated myself and I under-estimated the task ahead and now I have to pay someone to fix it. Woe is my wallet.
Luckily, I didn't do anything too wrong--nothing unfixable anyway. And really, it's not so much of a mess that I have to get a second mortgage on my home to pay someone to fix it--but if I hadn't identified in time that I was on the wrong track, it could have.
So what's the moral of the story? Well, I guess it's that saving money isn't always about NOT spending money. Sometimes, the best way to save is to pay someone else to complete those tasks that we are not qualified to do. Then, dry your tears and take yourself to Starbucks to congratulate yourself for being so smart. That's what I did.
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