Taxes

I finally filed my income taxes for 2007 today. I'm getting $400 back from the IRS, but no stimulus check from President Bush.

Which means I made so little money last year that I don't even qualify for the president's lousy attempt to get me to buy stuff and prop up our failing economy.

Sad.

Well, not like I was going to do anything but pay down my debt with it anyway.

But it will be interesting to see what I get back this next year since now I'm just Miss Moneypenny. What a difference a year makes.

What's really weird is how pleasurable it was to PAY my property taxes, something I also did this morning.

Normally, the payment of my property taxes marks the beginning of the skinny months...the four months were all my big bills are due, conveniently overlapping with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah and New Years, in order to ensure that any gift of cash isn't enjoyed, but used rather to pay for things like my auto insurance.

Just being able to write out that property tax check without stressing about how that big check would negatively affect a host of smaller future purchases like Halloween candy for the trick or treaters, was a huge relief. It was sort of like the mental version of wearing uncomfortable shoes for years and finally getting to put on really squishy bunny slippers.

I've been smiling all day about this.

There was a huge line at the post office today when I went to mail off my property tax check. I let the mom with the two kids and the fussy baby--you know, her--cut in line in front of me. She was grateful for the gesture, but apparently not as grateful as the other people in line who thanked me after she'd left for saving them from listening to a screaming baby.