Taxes

Doing taxes involves mostly organizing. Even though I spent several months following the Fly Lady lifestyle, I am still not very organized. So the initial part of gathering everything together for taxes is hard. This year I'm back with TurboTax, which makes the math part and the forms issues much easier. Also, for the first time there's a program that calculates cost basis for stocks. Yeah! (my enthusiasm probably qualifies me for a finance geek...now I just need to make lots of money) Also, every time I open another one of the Important Tax Documents I am struck that the envelope has a direction on how to open it. Taxes are hard enough, so why do so many companies put extremely important information into oddly shaped envelopes which require a three-step process just to open them? I realize that these things save money and trees and are easier for printers. But who cares about the people who use the information? I am always terrified that I am going to tear a W-2 and have to send it in with lots of tape. Not red tape. Just tape, kind of like a Frankenstein W-2 with lots of seams that are fixed.

So I pull here, tear there, and then run my finger under another seam. Sometimes, then I cut myself and have to find a bandage. Who writes these directions? Who opens these things?