Bills, bills, bills. Checks, checks, checks.
Where it stops, nobody knows.

Just for the record, I hate to pay bills. And I don't really buy that much. Okay, yes, I do waste a few dollars here and there on scrapping stuff, and sometimes I even buy a pocketbook or a blouse I really don't need, but when you consider my store of choice is usually a Wal-Mart, you gotta figure I'm not really breaking the bank, here!

Today I had to pay: American Express (work-related, they'll eventually reimburse me), Jersey Central Power & Light, Dr. C., Verizon Wireless, Discover and Costco. And let's not forget the estimated tax I had to send to Uncle Sam!

That's the one that did it.

Do you realize that you can pay Uncle Sam some estimated tax and he doesn't send you a receipt for it for you to put in your tax folder for next year? We paid 2 quarters' worth of estimated tax in 2007 and our accountant forgot to include it on our tax form because I didn't tell him because the IRS didn't send me a statement or anything at the end of the year. You know how when you earn interest, the bank sends you a statement. Or when you receive some dividends in the VERY teeny tiny amount of stock you owe, you get a statement. Well, not our favorite Uncle! When he got my money last year, he didn't send me a thing! He just cashed those checks, quick as can be!

Our accountant sent our tax return to us to sign and we owed thousands! HOW COULD THAT BE? We paid some estimated....

AHHH, said the blind man... So I called him, reminded him and he adjusted our return.

WHY should I have to remember this? WHY can't the government send me a statement of my estimated taxes paid?

I'm on this rampage today 'cause today I had to write out the check for the second estimated tax payment of 2008. Jack does one in April, and I do one in June. And it has left me penniless until my next paycheck, when I'll get a little bit of money for doing a great deal of work, and then our very nice mailman will bring me a bunch of bills, and this vicious cycle will start all over again...