This is no longer funny. I still am doing things and needing to do them over again.
I have to file a form with IRS for our reenacting unit (since I am treasurer and also an accountant, it is my job). This is an annual form for small tax-exempt, not for profits organizations and can only be filed online - no paper copy. It takes less than 15 minutes and consists of how to contact the group, who is charge of it, what is its website (if it has one) and is its income and assets each under $25,000 for the year. I actually have to do 2 of these forms as the unit was not a corporation when we joined and over the years some other members and us decided it should be, so we incorporated, but we have never shut down the original organization, so both have to file the form. If we don’t file it we lose our tax exempt/not for profit status. I have now tried to file the form three times. It is not due until May, but I like to get it done with so I don’t forget. Each time I get a message after I sign in that there is maintenance going on - sorry - and it refers me to another page that will explain - which it does not and has nothing to do with same. At this point I have decided that this site is not working due to the government shut down and put this aside until late next month - or I hear the government has reopened. I hope this does not mean that I will not get the forms I ordered for client - should be here tomorrow as that is 10 days - I am guessing that at the least it will take longer.
We get for Christmas every year a general gift card from a family member of in-law, We tell her not to give it to us. She is extremely short on money and cannot afford to give it to us. We don’t reciprocate as we hope this makes her stop. We always have problems using gift cards - something goes wrong. We appreciate the thought, but just a card would be more appropriate. To make it easier to use the card ($25) and not need to keep track of how much is left on it and not buy something that we later need to return and have tossed out the empty card, we use it for prescriptions. So, we had to renew an expensive prescription (due to it being pay the deductible time of year) and when we picked up the prescription I handed the pharmacy employee the gift card to use first - it got rejected! Now I do this every year, I hand the gift card, it gets processed and subtracted from what we owe for the prescriptions and I pay the difference on our credit cards and it works every year. When we got home I telephoned the gift card company and sat on hold. While on same I heard about how now they were set up for split purchases and just use the card first and then pay the difference afterwards as most companies will accept it. When I finally reached an employee she told me that I had done this wrong (remember the message I had heard 4 times told me I had done it right). I have to pay the rest of the purchase amount and THEN have them process the card or it will not go through!! So next month when husband needs another expensive medication, since he still has more of his deductible, I will have to do it that it way! Oh, and she wastes another $5 buying the card as that is what she is charged to do so.
And - You may remember in December 2017 we bought husband’s niece (then 7 years old, now 8) a gift card for Best Buy for her to use for a computer game. I misplaced the card and it took until I set up the Christmas trees this year to find it. We gave her cash instead. We found out then how bad her computer game habit is. She plays constantly and if she loses she hits herself in the head with the game (a handheld). We decided that we would not give her anything towards the games again as she is an addict and it is the same as buying a bottle of liquor for an alcoholic. So we were stuck with the Best Buy card as we don’t really shop there. I need a software program to use for taxes and normally buy it at Walmart. I looked and Best Buy had it for the same price, so I figured I would buy it there instead and use up the blankety- blank card. We went in a week ago - after just about every employee on the floor in the Best Buy store had spoken to each other on their earphones - they still did not know if they carried it or if it was in stock. We left. The following weekend I checked and their website said they had it, so I printed same and went in to get it. (So this is my second trip in for the program.) I found it. We walked around a bit just because we were there and then I went to pay for it. I handed the cashier the card and the $25 was applied to the cost and I paid the balance. The cashier handed me the bag and the receipt and I turned to walk away. The cashier said “Wait! This says I am suppose to give you a $5 gift card.” So, now I have another card in my wallet and it will probably be there until next year’s software!
Yes, I know it is very nice of the in-law to give us something - but she REALLY needs the money herself. It is nice that we got the $5 card from Best Buy - but when one does not shop there, it is a problem.
On to what actually got done. (Laundry always done of course.) I packed up our every day Christmas season dishes and glasses and put them away in the basement until next year. I have started putting needed software in my new - new laptop (as I did with the original new laptop). At some time I will get around to transferring my word processing software to it and will no longer be using my old s - l - o - w laptop to write and post my posts to you.
I have to fill in a form with the income and expenses and bank accounts (also other assets if we had any) for my embroidery chapter to send to our national office so they can do their tax return which includes us. (Remember back in the second paragraph I said I do a form for our reenactment unit - well instead of filing that form for our chapter, we are included in the return of the national organization due to a different setup. BUT - every year we (I) receive a notice that we have not filed that - same as our reenactment unit files - form, although we are not suppose to, and end up filling in a longer paper form explaining why we don’t need to fill the form - another repeat of work.) So I filed in the form for national - all the numbers worked as I set up the file in my accounting software to match what national wants/needs and I just have to copy each item to national’s form. I added up the numbers on the form - best way to make sure I copied them correctly - and then filled in the other form - how many primary members other than officers volunteer for the chapter? That is the hard form to fill in. We have 2 committee chairs - that’s 2. We had some members teach stitching so they are volunteers - but 3 of them were officers, so they don’t get counted again, one is a committee chair - ditto, and one is a plural member - that means she belongs to national through a different chapter and also belongs to our chapter so I guess she is counted as volunteering for the other chapter. I had to go through all of last year’s newsletters to figure this out. I emailed out the form and they will let me know if there any problems - I am guessing there will not be.
I have cleared all the walkways through the house as we are expecting 2 snow storms over the next few days. I have explained before that 18th century homes were “put to rest” with the furniture against the wall when a room was not being used (and the furniture needed was put out in the middle to use when it was needed). This allowed people to walk around in dim light without needing a candle to avoid tripping over or walking into things. I started long ago making sure that we could walk around the house the same way when there was a possibility of a black out so we can safely walk around. I am currently doing the laundry. As long as it is all washed and dried I don’t have to worry, again, if there is a black out. I can always fold it without electricity.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK-
Frustrations will eventually end - I know I will reach point when I only have to things once - again. Being prepared in advance makes life easier if there is black out - and it doesn’t hurt if one is lucky and there isn’t one. I hope that any of you in the path of any storms from the past week or upcoming week make it through as easily as possible.
Non-political statement - If you work for the U.S. Federal government, I hope that you are working and getting paid. If not I hope that you are able to get by until this mess is over and that ends quickly. If you are in the U.S. and are not in this position - if you can, please give to one of the drives which are helping those who working and not being paid or not working at all due to the mess.
No comments:
Post a Comment