Raining All Over My Parade...

First let me make this perfectly clear... I've been a 'Homemaker' aka 'Domestic Goddess' well over 18 yrs. now with little or no personal income... Well, there was that 8 1/2 yrs. of teaching scrapbooking classes, but most every penny I made from that went directly back into building the business or buying more scrapbooking toys for my customers and myself. I never really had enough to call 'disposable income.'

So here I am, ready to collect on my decorating job and greedily rubbing my hands together, imagining ALL of the wonderful things I can buy, when my husband says, "Don't forget to subtract from your total the taxes we're going to have to pay." Wha? Huh?

I mean yeah, I knew we were going to have to pay taxes on my decorating pay, but I didn't think it was going to have to come out of MY mad money... Isn't that something WE can just have deducted from our return?

I know, I'm being greedy and it's horrible of me to think that I shouldn't immediately own up to my responsibility but holy crap! 40%!!! That's like almost half of my money! (My math genius shows, doesn't it?) Is that really what WE pay in taxes? Half of our income? Or very nearly half? Oh the pain and angst this is causing me... Makes me want to wail and gnash my teeth.

Back in the olden days when I worked my 8-4pm photo-typesetting gig, my taxes were taken directly out of my paycheck. I made it a habit never to look at the deductions side of my pay stub. It's far to painful to know what I've lost, only what I've gained... And now, here I am face to face with the ugly reality and it's biting me in the butt REALLY hard! OUCH!

I've already downgraded my lust for a laptop to settling for a flat panel screen monitor and my husbands unused computer since the 'Company' furnished him with a laptop of his very own. I purchased a desk and a new chair for the main floor of our house so I could have a pleasant retreat in which to pay bills and peruse the net instead of always having to resort to my little dark corner in the basement. I've also rearranged all the furniture to accomodate said desk and chair... But I want to buy a sleek flat panel screen t.v. too-ooo-oooooo! I'm spoiled and I'm selfish and I just want all the money to be mine, Mine, MINE! And it's not like I'm buying it JUST for me, but for the family! It's something that will not only look nice in the room, because it'll be mounted to the wall with a kick-ass adjustable bracket but it'll also make movie time SPECTACULAR! I ask you, is that selfish or even greedy?

So go ahead, shame me into feeling guilty about not stepping up to the plate and offering to pay my taxes with a happy heart. I SO hate it when my husband gets immense pleasure out of teaching me these stinking lessons in economics!