It Bothers Me that It Bothered Me
The first Saturday of each February is when we have our taxes done. That statement makes us sound like we have everything in our life very planned...but maybe that may be the only regularly planned thing in our lives!
Financial experts say that you shouldn't use the government as your banker and let them hold onto much of your taxes so that you get a rebate. Well, we have always used the government as that bank. We use that "extra money" then to give to various needs at church, the kids school, ob kids, household things that need to get done, etc. For us, it has worked fine.
I knew we would not be getting as much back this year as last. But I was more than a little shocked when I was told that instead of GETTING money from Uncle Sam, we were going to OWE him $1800 for 2008. Wow. Knock me over with a feather.
If there is good news, it is that I didn't kick anything, yell and scream, or swear at anyone. But this news bothered me all day. We aren't big spenders--we are more savers. It isn't that we couldn't come up with $1800--even though that would be a huge amount. But there are a lot of people who would have struggle with this amount more than us --and it made me feel for them.
We have never made our lives about money. I hope we never will. I had friend right out of school making over six figures--but they didn't get to be in ministry. I learned from my dad that when you are asked to speak for a church/retreat/youth group--whatever, and they ask you how much you charge, the answer is "whatever you want to give." And God has always provided and then some.
But what bothers me is that it bugged me all day that we owed this money. How much emphasis do I put on the almighty dollar? Should it impact me that way--that it bothered me for so long?
Well, the end of the story: Got home from taking my son and his friend to a funny movie ( I am sure the Pink Panther II was really a good film, but my disposition only allowed me to think it was okay) to hear a voice mail from our tax preparer: She had forgotten to include a form and now we were going to be getting money BACK instead of paying the government more money. Whew.
Maybe the lesson I need to learn is that I still care too much about money. All of it is going to burn in the long run anyway. I still have a ways to go.
Financial experts say that you shouldn't use the government as your banker and let them hold onto much of your taxes so that you get a rebate. Well, we have always used the government as that bank. We use that "extra money" then to give to various needs at church, the kids school, ob kids, household things that need to get done, etc. For us, it has worked fine.
I knew we would not be getting as much back this year as last. But I was more than a little shocked when I was told that instead of GETTING money from Uncle Sam, we were going to OWE him $1800 for 2008. Wow. Knock me over with a feather.
If there is good news, it is that I didn't kick anything, yell and scream, or swear at anyone. But this news bothered me all day. We aren't big spenders--we are more savers. It isn't that we couldn't come up with $1800--even though that would be a huge amount. But there are a lot of people who would have struggle with this amount more than us --and it made me feel for them.
We have never made our lives about money. I hope we never will. I had friend right out of school making over six figures--but they didn't get to be in ministry. I learned from my dad that when you are asked to speak for a church/retreat/youth group--whatever, and they ask you how much you charge, the answer is "whatever you want to give." And God has always provided and then some.
But what bothers me is that it bugged me all day that we owed this money. How much emphasis do I put on the almighty dollar? Should it impact me that way--that it bothered me for so long?
Well, the end of the story: Got home from taking my son and his friend to a funny movie ( I am sure the Pink Panther II was really a good film, but my disposition only allowed me to think it was okay) to hear a voice mail from our tax preparer: She had forgotten to include a form and now we were going to be getting money BACK instead of paying the government more money. Whew.
Maybe the lesson I need to learn is that I still care too much about money. All of it is going to burn in the long run anyway. I still have a ways to go.
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