Super General Advice (the thread for advice without making a thread)

oh yeah, TurboTax has their free file option for anyone who makes under a certain amount (which you certainly will). it's really easy, you just copy information from your w2 to the online form. with some companies, it'll even do it for you automatically with a little identification information.

 

The IRS has a system to file online free on their website now, which is a little more work, but is guaranteed not to try to trick you into entering all your info and then trying to trap you into paying a fee at the last step, which is a problem I had with tax-prep companies multiple times.

Also re: temp agencies, if you're the kind of person who's comfortable doing boring mindless paperwork-type tasks, you might want to keep an eye out for openings in stuff like data entry and mailroom. Minimal human interaction, minimal heavy lifting, probably doesn't have bizarre hours, and if you're really lucky sometimes those kinds of places offer more permanent positions to temps if they like them.

 

Thank you everyone ❤️

Hopeful update: my aunt is helping me get a job as a bus monitor at her school, which I REALLY HOPE I GET, obviously

And my sister hooked me up with a really nice tax guy who only charges like sixty dollars, and also lets you pet his multiple cats while he does the taxes

So things look better than before!

 

I'm so glad you were able to get help! A big factor in Job Stuff that I didn't want to mention in case it wasn't available to you at all really is connections, alas.

 

do you know if the IRS system is able to help walk one through freelance income reporting (invoice/direct deposit type payments so i have literally no forms involved), and/or foreign earned income? Alas, my tax situation is complicated enough that even though i make less than 40k a year turbotax refuses to charge me less than $100 to help me so I'm thinking about switching this year if i can without risking, like, fucking it up real bad

 

The IRS system doesn't have automated walking through things, unfortunately. I had to actually keep links to the tax form instructions open to do mine. I did find out in the process that I think Turbotax et al had been trying to make me do tax fraud every year, though.

 

guhhhhh. the instructions are so dense that most the time i can't get through like three steps without feeling like i've almost certainly made a mistake >.< i literally couldn't get through the 1040es and i'm guessing how much i owe the gov't quarterly because after I'd already gone through like 3 or 4 steps where i was only 75% sure I was correct in what I was supposed to do, it asked me to estimate my income tax withheld and i have NO clue how to do that at all and when i tried to fill out a different websites withholding estimate it seemed to tell me that i had enough being withheld in my regular jobs this year to make up for what i would be paying quarterly for freelance and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

so i gave up, calculated 12% of my freelance income this year, and gave the government half of that (i only got a freelance gig that got me enough to have to report freelance income in august so there's only 2 quarters left so i???? assume????? that's what I'm supposed to do but i for the life of me could not figure out how to word 'how do you do quarterly freelance tax payments if you start mid-year' in a way that google understood and only got pages very broadly describing what quarterly payments even are) and i figure if i am overpaying them it'll come back in my return and i'd rather that than the fees that i also can't figure out how they work

 

I am perpetually in a state of simmering rage about US tax paperwork, because there is literally no reason for it to be like this, but every time someone tries to make it easier it gets blocked by the tax prep industry lobby.

Anyway all I know to do is maybe try asking at your local public library? That's the sort of thing where a librarian might know local resources to point you to or be able to help you find a print resource that sucks less.

 

Luckily, my best friend from childhood's mom is a retired tax person, so this year I'll probably push past the awkwardness and ask her for help

 

looks like they do self-employed which is my situation, even if I have to end up using their deluxe or pro support it looks like it'd be less than turbotax, which was charging me ~$120 the last few years. so. still an improvement!! thanks

 

So like. How do I stop the urge to date anyone who has been nice to me and easy to talk to over an extended period of time? Like I've done this song and dance before where I just wait it out, and my feelings fade into steady friendship (or separation) nearly every time but when I'm down in the trenches I want to be all romantical like burning. I don't wanna fuck this up just because someone I love is actually paying attention to me. Help???

 

Late here so you might already have gotten past this stage, but my way of handling it is honestly when it gets so bad it's distracting me from life, I just tell them I have a crush. I don't even ask the person out and I always specify that I am *not* seeking a relationship -- but just mentioning the occurrence usually resolves it faster, since they either (A) reciprocate some level of feelings and so we can move forward with that or (B) respectfully remind me that they do not reciprocate such emotions, and that typically reinforces for my brain to Stop Pining.

I do not have advice for the part where people are flustered and anxious about telling people they like them, alas. :(

 

Just Go For It (With Caveats) seems to be the best way to go here, thanks. I'm sure he'll understand