What I Wish I Was Taught: Taxes

The older I get the more I realize how useless school was past a certain point. I was a smart kid and peaked at 10. After that it was nothing but a series of nonsensical events that culminated with where I am now. Every year something will happen and I'll ask myself or a friend “Why didn't they teach this in school?!”

Did you learn how to do yours in school? I didn't! If you did then that is awesome. But I did not. It was never even brought up. You'd think that since taxes are something that you do every year (unless you like paying fines) that your teachers would stress its importance and teach it. Its not like taxes are optional. College is optional. Hell, even work is optional. But taxes are not and it is silly that I was never taught how to do this from the age of 5 to 18 where five days a week for eight hours a day I was sitting in uncomfortable chairs being paid by people that hated their jobs.

As recent as five years ago I was doing taxes myself. When I would get $300 I'd cheer...because I'm stupid. I thought that I was able to do it myself because I only had me to worry about when filing. Then I started going to H&R Block which was even worse. I would end up paying half of what I was getting just for them to push a few buttons and tell me a total. Then I had a distant relative do them and my mind was blown when for the first time ever I got thousands of dollars back.

I now use a tax agency to handle my taxes. There's no shadiness or high fees to pay for it. They also ask questions which is something H&R did not. Even though I get quite a bit back when I do my taxes now I really wish that during all that time in school I'd learned to do this myself. I know that there are people out there that still do their own taxes and think they are doing a good job. I hope you're right, otherwise you're losing a ton of money.