I have a testimony of the emergency fund.

I just completed the tax-form-filling-out process through good ol' Turbotax. I have not hit "submit," however, because I'm waiting for a few last statements to arrive and also because I'm in a coma in the hospital after seeing how much I'm about to owe the government. It's a lot. Like, over $1,500 a lot.

I suspect the culprit is partially my paycheck (maybe I put down 1 exemption instead of 0?) but I also know I'm not the only person in this boat. Turbotax knew it too, because right after I screamed and passed out (knocking myself on the head in the process and coming up with the idea for a time travel device shaped like an IUD) I saw a little link on the screen that said something like "Did you just scream and pass out? Please click here." Turbotax went on to explain that for some tax payers, the discomfort they may be feeling right now is brought to us by the letters E-C-O-N-O-M-I-C S-T-I-M-U-L . . . anyway, you get where I'm going with this.

I know that it's ideal to work out your W-4s so that you break even each year. Because you don't want to owe money, nor do you want to give the government an interest-free loan. Since we see how great they are at money management. So I was just hoping to break even. And in the event that we had received a big refund, I would have gone in and adjusted our W-4s accordingly. And then fielded GH's pleas for a new television. (Looks like I'll be doing some W-4 adjusting anyway now, though. Go me!)

It does stink to discover that we will need to pay a big chunk of taxes right now. But last year, you'll remember, my goal was to get an emergency fund going. We did it, and now that's where this tax money is going to come from. And then I'll work on putting that money back the fund. Because of the emergency fund, this unexpected ginormous bill is not putting me into a panic. Other than being an annoyance (and a dasher of GH's tender television-related dreams), it isn't actually going to change my life all that much.

I chatted with a lady at work, though, who had the same thing happen to her. Usually she and her husband receive a significant refund. This year, like me, they owe money. Only, see, my friend is used to getting the refund--she was actually depending on it. They had planned a long-overdue family vacation, one involving their out-of-state children as well. Now, the trip will have to be canceled. Not only that, but they are scrambling to figure out where this tax money is going to come from. Maybe they'll have to put it on a credit card, and then they'll have the interest to deal with. This situation is causing their family disappointment, stress, and financial strain.

I feel terrible for my coworker. And even though I know that for many of us now is not the easiest time to be trying to put money aside, this has shown me that it's very much worth the sacrifice.

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