the stupid tax

i'm not the smartest of people. i don't mean that in a mean, self destructive way. i mean that in a "REALLY? DID I JUST DO THAT AGAIN?" kind of way. not always the sharpest crayon in the box, but damn it, i'm still fucking pretty!

the corporate world has a nifty thing built into it that i like to call the "stupid tax." it's also called the "too poor to be poor" tax, the "broke ass bitch" tax, and a million other things. these taxes come in the form of bank over draft fees, credit card over limit fees, late fees, disconnect/reconnect fees...you get the general idea.

i shudder to think how much money i've wasted on the "stupid tax" over the years. i would probably throw up if i ever saw the actual number in print in front of me.

i discovered another fee tonight- the READ THE FUCKING PAPERWORK YOU DUMBASS fee. this one is to the tune of over a thousand dollars. FUCK ME SIDEWAYS.

see. i bought a house last year. nifty and all, but there's this thing called property taxes- i ASSumed that all the taxes were paid for the year when i bought the house. i didn't receive a bill in the mail last year, so i didn't pay attention to it. i've never owned a house before. i've never had a mortgage. i've never had anything besides rent. property taxes are a new world for me. and i'm a fucking idiot. not only were the second half of last years taxes NOT paid, i didn't plan ahead to pay the ones for this year. WELL- not totally true. yes, i didn't plan ahead, but i also made the mistake of dumping ALL my savings into working on the house and didn't leave any set aside for the taxes. this year has been an adventure with jobs and paychecks and covering my ass- more than slightly humiliating to be broke as fuck but own my house and car outright. not sure how that works, but there's pretty but not sharp crayon thing kicking in again. so. i've been slightly back-burner stressed out all year about my property taxes. didn't pay the first half, and here it is october and the second half is due. FUCK ME RUNNING. i'm just now getting leveled out on paychecks and bills and things and not only do i owe property taxes for this year, i'm a fucking idiot that didn't read the paperwork and i owe the property taxes for LAST year (the second half) as well.

*sigh*

 somewhere out there my dad is shaking his head at me. and bailing my ass out one more time. somehow, some way a check came in the mail today. one more pay out from my dad's estate. it's been over two years. i have no fucking clue where this last check came from. and wouldn't you know it, it's enough to cover my property taxes.

 it's enough to make a girl cry while laughing while missing the fuck out of her daddy.

32 damn years old enough to know better, he's been gone 2 years, and he's still being patient and teaching me.

SO. i'm writing a fucking huge check to the county tomorrow and writing another check to my self to start saving up for NEXT year's taxes. here's what i've learned: even when you don't have rent or mortgage payments, you still have to pay yourself. and probably not just for property taxes. if i had any sense about me, there would be a house fund for when things eventually hit the fan like they do in every house- water heaters, roofing, electrical, etc.

thank you dad, for bailing me out once again. i'm still learning.