282 : Take Back Your Life

Well...the title might be slightly dramatic here, but the point remains the same.  Monday night of this week, I had a big moment.  I filed my taxes.  All by myself.  I know this might seem ridiculous to many as most people have already been doing this for years.  I, however, had not.  I was intimidated at the thought of doing my own taxes when I was younger, so my dad initially did them for me.  And then he did them with me.  But we are talking the old school way here, where you sit down together at the dining room table, use a pencil to fill out the work sheet and then go over the numbers with pen once you determine everything is right.  I eventually advanced to having a friend's boyfriend (now husband) do them for me.  He was an accountant looking for a little extra cash at the time and I graciously paid the money.  From my point of view, it was a win-win!  And then once I met my Ex, he assumed that responsibility.  It was nice because I didn't want to have to worry about them, other than when we were going to do them?  If it had been entirely my choice, I would've completed them the beginning of February every year.  My Ex always claimed he wanted to get them done right away, too, but this never happened.  It usually came down to the last week or two before they were due that he'd get to it.  Well, that in itself was liberating for me this year, in addition to completing the process on my own.  I received my W2 in the mail, and that evening I cranked it out.  Why wait?  I just wanted it done!  And amazingly enough, I was getting a little money back.  I wasn't even sure how, but I was getting a little back for the first time in a couple years.  It was such a relief.  My taxes were done and the refund was on it's way.  Not a bad way to start off February.  Not bad at all.