Reflection: Getting Wound Up for Tax Season!

This is typically the time of the year when I start getting really busy, and end up working extremely long hours.

That is because this is also the time of the year when we approach our annual property tax payment deadline, which is March 31st. Although we have managed to qualify for a few exemptions and reductions because we are "getting up in years" so to speak, we still have to come up with a substantial amount of money to pay these taxes.

And I have to honestly admit that it has been a hardship to raise enough money for our taxes for several years now. The problem most people around here face is the fact that property values in the USA have gone up so quickly over the past decade that all things relating to homeownership such as taxes, insurance, and more has tripled in cost for many people at a time when people's incomes have maybe gone up 20%.

Earlier today, Mrs. Denmarkguy and I looked at each other and sadly came to the conclusion that in many cases life is simply getting too expensive for people to be able to afford to stay alive.

So what are we going to do? And I don't mean us, specifically, but people in general who are in a similar situation.

I have a sneaking suspicion that having multigenerational households is going to be on the rise. You might still have a nice house, but it's likely that you have grandparents, parents and children all living under the same roof.

It wasn't that unusual back in Europe when I was a kid, although it's something it seems people have gone away from. But it actually makes functional sense in that the parents have kids and they're out in the workforce... but if the grandparents are living at the house and they have built-in daycare and minders for the kids.

Might not sound very appealing, but sometimes we have to set egos and dreams aside and focus on practicality.

Of course, these days that might not be as relevant as it once was, because many people of "grandparenting age" are still in the workforce full-time. And nowadays it even holds true that many people who have retired have since been forced to return to work because otherwise they can't afford their lives.

I know there are "crypto maximalists" out there who hold that crypto is going to be the answer to all this and we're going to move into "an era of unparalleled prosperity", but I don't think that's going to happen quite as quickly as they think... although it might happen in the very long game.

On the shorter time horizon... which I would call the next 25 years... I think humanity will need to come up with a different solution, particularly in the industrialized West where material wealth has gone rather overboard as a measure of success.

It's really not that hard to live with less, but it is definitely an adjustment and the world is not designed for people who want to live with less.

In the meantime, it's up to me to put my nose to the grindstone and work hard for the next 8 to 10 weeks to raise that extra sum of money we need to get the taxes paid... because we do love our house and intend to stay here for at least five or six more years.

Onwards!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great remainder of your week!

How about you? Do you feel like the cost of life is slowing you down? Do you have any large annual expenses that require extra work? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2024.01.18 01:32 PST
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