Memory Bank

My taxes are almost finished. In the process of completing my return, I rid my desk (and other surfaces) of documents I no longer needed. I have a bit of sorting to do, but it will wait for tomorrow. I was absolutely merciless in tossing away papers that I knew I would never need. Not needing them doesn't always keep me from saving them -- which is how I end up with a paper mess. I try to manage the paperwork, with varying degrees of success. I got a little behind on my sorting and filing when my mom got sick, and after she died I took over managing her estate and accounts. It doesn't sound so difficult, but things need to be paid on the house until we sell it -- whether anyone lives there or not -- and combined with my own finances and other responsibilities, it can be overwhelming.

In my effort to make sure I didn't miss any potential deduction, I went through all my online bank statements for last year. It was like a trip down memory lane -- but more complete. From the charges on my account, I could determine where I had been and what I had been doing at any given time. I tend not to carry cash and generally depend on my debit card for purchases, and there it all was, my life laid out in columns on page after page of charges. It took forever because I had to open each statement individually (and back to that whole paper-saving thing, I do have the hard copies of those statements but it was easier to look them up online) and scroll through, scanning for tax-deductible charges. I didn't find many. However, I did enjoy the reminders of everything I did last year. I hadn't thought my year had been so full or interesting.

Tomorrow I will give my return a final look-over and send it off. One monkey off my back!