Thursday, February 18, 2010

Outsourcing

The other night, for the first time ever, I paid someone to prepare my income tax returns. And I can't even TELL you how this grieves me.

I've always done my own tax returns. Well, except for the year my sister Texas did them for me. Thanks, Texas! But this year, with the first-time-homebuyers' tax credit, and the credit I'll get for insulating the garage, and not knowing where to enter the mortgage interest and the property taxes and ........

.... I just was not up for it. But here's what kills me: I KNOW that if I just spent enough damn time reading through the instructions or using TurboTax or whatever, I could probably figure it out. I just didn't want to. It made me tired just thinking about it. STOP YELLING AT ME, okay? I don't like numbers. So sue me.

So the other night, I gathered up my paperwork and took it to an accountant and sat across the desk from her and let her figure it out.

And she saved me lots of money! At least seven hundred bucks that I know for a FACT I would not have figured out on my own. Which is way more than what she charged me to do the returns.

So it was worth the money. I just feel like a failure for not being able to do it myself. Which is ridonkulous, because there are lots of people (dentist, plumber, electrician) whom I pay for their knowledge without having a (major) cow over it.

Someday I've got to get over this fear of spending money. Oh wait, but that's how I was able to save up enough buy a house!

What about you? Are there some things you can spend money on, no problem, and other things you HATE to spend money on? Or is it just me?

8 comments:

inflammatory writ said...

Things I love to spend money on - shoes, food, booze, hair supplies, makeup

Things I hate to spend money on - clothes (I KNOW), theater/movie tickets (HORRIBLE!) and anything of the Not Fun variety.

Unknown said...

I hate to spend money on haircuts, movie tickets, "express" shipping (isn't that what the damn post office is supposed to do anyhow, get it to you as fast as it can?), and dentists. Also floral arrangements for dead people -- I'm much more likely to send the bereaved survivors flowers a couple weeks later, pretty much about the time that everyone goes away and all the flowers from the funeral die.

Fish Food said...

I hate paying for anything I think I can do myself. Just hate it. But anything to do with numbers - forget it.

I would pay the lady to get that sorted out!

Anonymous said...

I'd probably pay someone to do my taxes if Rich didn't do them most years. I hate paying for haircuts. I hate paying for gym memberships.

rockygrace said...

You know, I've come to the conclusion that everything should be free. For me. I mean, I work hard, I should be able to just walk into the store and get the groceries I need, right? Right. :)

Unknown said...

Let me know how that works out for you, 'kay?

~~Silk said...

I'll pay for things *I* want. I'll pay for convenience. I will not pay for things other people seem to think I need or should want, like beauty parlors, nail parlors, fancy cell phones, expensive shoes and purses, and other dohickies. I will pay nothing to keep judgmental people or advertisers happy.

Heather said...

Don't feel bad about not doing it yourself. I did our taxes, as I have always and this year with all the new things, I managed to mess them up. Thankfully the IRS found my mistake and corrected it for me. I shorted ourselves of 800 dollars!