I received my tax return last Friday, and I used the money to finally finish off a loan I took out two years ago to make a second trip to Japan - I'd do it again and would recommend the same to anyone. But it was nice to finally have the weight of the loan off me; I really should have paid it off much earlier, but it wasn't a very large monthly payment, so I let it linger.
The other thing good thing about a tax return is that it allows me to sort out my finances. Sadly enough, I'm not the type of person who saves money. But I'm working on it, using a device I've come up with called "separate temporary undercover pretend imaginary dividers" (STUPID), in which I set up imaginary separate checking accounts in Microsoft Money, and then make undercover imaginary money transfer into these accounts. Currently I've got accounts named Checking, Gina, and John Based Savings, aside from two real life checking accounts and a savings account with Regions.
I try to keep a balance of $1000 in the Gina account, though it's been running a lot closer to $400 as of late. But by eliminating the loan, and using the remainder of my tax return, the balance is back to $998. While this money actually exists in my regular checking account, I pretend it doesn't actually exist. This allows me to constantly overdraw my (once again, sort of imaginary) real checking account, and never really worry about it. Every time I recieve another paycheck the money goes toward paying the arrears overdraw. This served as a pretty good system when I had no money, but now that I'm finally starting to feel pretty stable, I think it's time to simplify.
Sorry if this is sounding like an accounting class. I hate accounting.
Anyway(!) - All this imaginary banking means that I haven't actually balanced my actual checking account in years. And now I'm not sure how I can ever get caught up, unless I just stop using my debit card for a couple weeks (and I use it constantly to pay for everything).
I guess this serves as a message to potential theives - I will be carrying cash soon, and a lot more than I probably should. All in the name of eliminating STUPID.
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First person to post something about how I'm giving the government an interest-free loan by getting a tax return gets a black eye.
2 comments:
Mike,I really appreciate that you took out a loan to come to Japan. I know I wasn't the reason, but I was a part of the reason, so, yeah. It was a good time. I'd like to sit down and chat with you about it sometime. Over beers. Not under mistletoe.
Jon, I really appreciate the opportunities presented to me by you going to Japan. My feelings of gratitude can hardly be conveyed in words.
They may be able to be conveyed in beer.
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