Rules, Regulations, Laws, and the Likes

Contrary to what seems like popular belief these days, rules, regulations, laws, and the likes were not made to be broken. They were put into place for a reason. I'm pretty sure that the person that thought up stop signs had a good reason for doing so, just like teachers have a good reason for not wanting students to talk during class.
The IRS has its own rules and regulations, too. We may not understand everyone of them, or even why they are in place, but I can tell you that the best thing to do is to follow them. When the IRS says you have thirty days to respond, they really do mean thirty days (maybe thirty-five if they are feeling generous). I can assure you they don't mean thirty days, plus another month for you to ponder your problem, plus another month for you to actually gather the confidence to contact them, and then another month for you to actually contact them. So when you get a letter from the IRS, and it says please respond in thirty days-just do it. I promise you that the IRS does not make empty threats. When they send you an L1058 (Intent to Levy), they really do intend to levy whatever accounts or wages they can get their hands on. When they send you an L2566 or L1862 (Proposed Income Tax Assessment), they really are going to file a return on your behalf-and the results aren't going to be pretty.
So go ahead and save yourself a lot of trouble (and most likely a lot of pain). Just respond-give the IRS a reason to think that you are at least willing to try and work with them. Follow the rules the IRS wants you to, and you won't be sitting in time out (or worse!) anytime soon.

I'm Lovin' It

No, I'm not lovin' McDonalds-you won't see any Super Size Me going on here. I'm lovin' my life. For the longest time, I thought I had the short end of the stick when it came to life. I couldn't drive until I was a junior in high school. I graduated from high school when I was seventeen. I couldn't drink until I was a senior in college. I graduated from college when I was twenty-one. You know, all the stuff that you think is really important.

At the age of seventeen I had great plans for my future. I was going to go into medicine while at school. And not just any medicine-but pediatric oncology-the type of medicine that keeps you in school and residency until you are like a dinosaur. Then something happened-Organic Chemistry happened. I decided to downgrade the medical dream-now at nineteen, I wanted to be a nurse anesthetist. Then I remembered the time my sister had knee surgery and that when they inserted the IV, I saw the blood and *literally* saw stars. By this time, I was well into the Biology program, so I thought that teaching might be for me. Then I remembered what grade I was in when I took Biology in high school and what I was like at that age-no thanks! By the time I was twenty-one, I was nine months away from graduation, and had no idea what to do with my $128,000 college degree (thanks Mom and Dad!). I couldn't figure any of it out...

I graduated on May 5, 2007. To show you how excited I was, I should just post the picture my uncle took of me during the commencement speaker where I am totally and obviously asleep. I had accepted a job as a preschool teacher, and was moving back in with my parents. After three months, I could tell it just wasn't going to work. Not the living-with-the-parents thing-the preschool thing. There are only so many times that I can get peed on, pooped on, and told about how wonderful Sally Sue is (when in reality, Sally Sue is the demon child and I totally expect her head to start spinning around like in the Exorcist) before I just lose it.

I was saved, however, two weeks and one day before my twenty-second birthday. I was offered a job that, if you had told me this is what I would be doing for a career (and LOVING it) five years ago, I might have gone into seizures from laughing so hard. I hate sitting still. I hate taking my time on things. I hate listening to people's millions excuses for anything and everything. I hate numbers (and they hate me back-ask my Calculus teacher). But I love my job. My job at Effectur has probably been the best thing that has happened to me in a while. I love the people I work with. I love the work that we do. I love that we get to help people. I love that I get to tell my Dad things about taxes now, instead of the other way around. I love that I wake up in the morning and don't have to talk myself into going to work-I want to go. I love that my Personal Finance professor would probably laugh in my face if I told him that I, the student who had never even filled out a real 1040 (only the 1040EZ), now helped people with their taxes and the IRS. I love that I'm finally lovin' all of it.