Under Pressure

Dan Meyer of TickMarks pays me a huge honor in yesterday's post: Too Long Between Posts--Apologies ..

I look forward to seeing the posts of Robert Flach (Wandering Tax Pro), Monica Lavwer (Confessions of a CPA and the Tax CPA)and others as they return to blogging after their working hiatus. Major applause to Joe Kristan, Russ Fox and other working tax accountants (yes, and Peter Pappas, Kelly Erb and tax lawyers too) who were able to post in the midst of the maelstrom.

First off, I've got to agree 100% that the practitioners who blogged through the season quite simply rock. They are definitely in a league of their own. And in this league we can't forget Trish McIntire, who's April 14 "A Little Rant" made me smile. Stacie Clifford also managed to keep posting throughout, though she admits most were borrowed from the IRS.

Second, I must say I am pleasantly surprised that Dan would look forward to my writing. Few things feel as marvelous as respect from one's mentors and peers.

Last, but not least, to have my name even listed in such an impressive group, I feel like I better step up my game! It would sure be a shame if, a year from now, bloggers wrote: "Remember that blog that seemed to have good stuff, then completely choked?"

So with that classic CPA perfectionist thought in mind, I thought I'd share one of my favorite songs.

Tax in real life

We signed the papers to sell our house on Monday, April 19, to our tremendous relief. They had talked about closing on April 15, but fortunately we got an extra couple of days.

While going through the papers, I of course perked up at the tax related stuff, whereas my husband's eyes glazed over. On the form related to the 1099-S (which reports the proceeds), we had to indicate whether we met the qualifications for exclusion of gain on the sale of a principal residence. I admit, I felt very smart when I said to my husband, "This is to determine whether gain qualifies for exclusion under section 121."

I like that, having seen hundreds of escrow statements over the years, I know exactly what I'm looking at when it's my escrow statement. This was one of the many times I'm grateful to know what I do.

The world, especially the world of tax and finance, is a complicated place. Last night, I taught a group of Boy Scouts a little about finance and tax. It was fun, and the kids really responded to it. As many leading thinkers have said before, most young people are not taught about tax and finance. (See James Maule, Marjorie Kornhauser, Taxgirl to name just a few.)

I believe that technology is helping with education, though I don't know if we'll see real progress until society as a whole makes financial education a priority. For my part, I'll just keep teaching small groups where I can, and hopefully spread some financial know-how along the way.

In the end, I think Schoolhouse Rock said it best. Knowledge is power.