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Come back in time with me for a minute. I'm in fifth grade, sitting at the kitchen table after dinner, doing my homework. My mom is sitting next to me. And we're both crying.
For this particular project, my classmates and I had been assigned to spend exactly one million (imaginary) dollars exclusively on things we could find in the newspaper – ads, classifieds, whatever. I had thought it was going to be a piece of cake – fun, even! But as the clock inched closer to way-past-my-bedtime and my mother and I were having to find ways to fritter away mere dollars and cents, it became excruciating.
Math has never been my fave, and as an extension of that, finances have historically freaked me out. Now that I'm An Adult, I'm getting better at empowering myself to tackle our budget, and even get excited about things like clipping coupons. It's happening, slowly but surely.
A dependable source of number-related anxiety was, for a long time, doing taxes. While I'm lucky that I've almost always had full-time employment, I've also had at least one side hustle at a time since (and during) college. I need creative outlets – and often, we've needed the extra money.
That wasn't so bad when my side jobs were legit and provided their own W-9's. But when I started this blog four years ago, it didn't really occur to me at first that I was starting my own small business. It wasn't until last year (!) that I opened a separate checking account just for the blog. But it's a real business, and my wife Kristie and I count on the modest amount of money it brings in each year as part of our income.
Anyway, filing taxes as a small business owner was really intimidating to me. In the past, we usually paid someone to do our taxes, but as he's retiring soon (*sob*), it felt like time to figure out how to do this ourselves.
Enter TaxSlayer.
This company checked off everything on my list: They're reliable and have a good reputation (they've been around for 50 years); help is available if I need it (free live phone and e-mail support); and the process is simple and transparent. (Anything math-related with the word "simple" has my vested interest almost immediately.)
Plus it feels like my bases are extra-covered, because TaxSlayer offers guidance on deductions I might forget about but am still eligible for. Like, did you know that some states offer deductions to renters? (Because I didn't.)
Navigating this sometimes-scary stuff for the first time feels better when I know a company like TaxSlayer has my back.
(PS – See more of my craft room.)
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
