So, for the record, the folks who say doing taxes are easy are not the same people who have five or six jobs in three or four states, some of which took out taxes, and most of which didn't. There are a lot of really good things about being a freelance, odd job type. Taxes are not one of them.
First of all, you need a table that's bigger than your whole apartment just to spread out all the forms. By the way, where did they come up with all those titles? 1099s, W-2s, C schedules or whatever they are. . . couldn't they at least name them something that relates to their purpose, like "Freelancer Form," "Normal People Form," "So Poor You're Trying to Count Your Toothpaste as a Write Off Form?" (Hey why not? Pleasant breath is essential for many jobs.)
Secondly, while everyone else is planning the trip to Hawaii they'll take as soon as they get their returns, you're filling out yet another 1099 and realizing that the rest of your pathetic savings will go to the government so they can afford to pay those people who come up with the bad names.
Anyway, my sanity saver has been http://www.taxact.com/. I won't say it makes taxes easy. But it helps. And it's cheap-- filing for federal is free and it's less than $15 to file for each state. Give it a try.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Curious?
Is there an unusual job you'd like to see profiled here? If so, let me know and I'll see what I can find out for you... it could become the next "Odd Job of the Week."
Friday, March 2, 2007
Odd Job of the Week
Private Investigator
You like to snoop. You're curious, even nosy. You're pretty sneaky, too, if you do say so yourself. Maybe you should be a P.I. You'll get paid to pry into peoples' family histories, spy on unsuspecting citizens, review their credit card bills, and perhaps find out how many speeding tickets they've received. If you live in one of the seven lucky states -- Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, and South Dakota -- there aren't even any licensing requirements. (For the other states you might need to be at least eighteen, have some experience in law enforcement, and/or pass a training course.) And, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, "Employment of private detectives and investigators is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2014."
What You Get: $25,000-$40,000/year, maybe more if you're highly experienced or embarking on a particularly difficult assignment.
Sites to Check Out
You like to snoop. You're curious, even nosy. You're pretty sneaky, too, if you do say so yourself. Maybe you should be a P.I. You'll get paid to pry into peoples' family histories, spy on unsuspecting citizens, review their credit card bills, and perhaps find out how many speeding tickets they've received. If you live in one of the seven lucky states -- Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, and South Dakota -- there aren't even any licensing requirements. (For the other states you might need to be at least eighteen, have some experience in law enforcement, and/or pass a training course.) And, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, "Employment of private detectives and investigators is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2014."
What You Get: $25,000-$40,000/year, maybe more if you're highly experienced or embarking on a particularly difficult assignment.
Sites to Check Out
- http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos157.htm - What the U.S. Department of Labor has to say about P.I.s
- http://www.indeed.com/q-Investigator-jobs.html has P.I. job listings.
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