Surviving Tax Season as a Crypto Couple
My job right now is to love and support my husband as he does our taxes. This is necessary if our marriage is to survive. I have been writing on Steemit actively since last July. We not only have Steem and SBD to track, we have Bitcoin and Etherium and the coin splits etc. And then there is the USD (my main form of income). This is not to say that it's a lot of money, but it is a lot of transactions.
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Fun fact: I can't read or use spreadsheets. This makes business accounting an extra special challenge. Ever looked at Bittrex or other trading platforms? Well, they all look like spreadsheets. Not only can I not accurately read and record a number from a slot, I can't be relied on to have the right slot when I've got the number correct. It's a minefield for my dyslexic brain. We got Quickbooks this year so I could at least track my USD income, but since I contract and every business uses their own invoicing system, I couldn't actually invoice with Quickbooks and that made tracking more of a headache.
Which is why I am now practicing belly breathing adjacent to @nat5an as he sighs deeply, taps his foot nervously and looks up every exchange rate for the date of every crypto penny I've made. Occasionally he takes off his headphones and asks, "Who was this payment from?" And if he tells me the amount, I know because I'm actually very good with numbers so long as I am not looking at them.
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I want to take this moment to say I am incredibly grateful to have a partner whose strengths complement my own. I love that I can support him in ways he may not excel at supporting himself and he can do the same for me. If this were not true, I would not have my writing and teaching business, and that would be a shame.
I don't know that anyone likes doing taxes. I know Nathan hates it. We paid an accountant for the last two years, but this time around we are doing it ourselves for one reason in particular: My income in 2016 allowed us to pay off our medical debts. In 2017, we were able to change our insurance plan to a less expensive one and put that monthly savings into a HSA. We also hacked our in-home health needs and chopped our medical expenses in half, meaning we are no longer spending enough out-of-pocket to claim in on taxes. That's actually a good thing because we are spending way less, period. In fact, we have been able to keep up with our medical bills month to month for the first time in nine years.
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It's exciting!
So a few hours of tracking publication, teaching, Steemit, coaching and editing payments from multiple sources is not nearly as anxiety-inducing as it might otherwise be. And a few hours of me sitting next to him ready to calmly answer any questions he might have . . .
Okay. Anxiety and calm. HAHAHAHAHA. I am on the verge of freaking out right now. If I hadn't used my CBD oil this morning, I couldn't be sitting this close to Nathan as he works with numbers because they have to do with money. Money stuff is kryptonite for me. I have been struggling with disordered eating and only realized this morning that part of the reason I'm not eating is because Steem is down so much and if I don't eat, food won't cost as much. (Thank you to the wonderful @sumayyahsaidso for an incredibly supportive Discord convo that let me reach that conclusion.)
This sitting here supporting my partner? It's me using up all my spoons for the day. Me writing about how money is stressful? It's me trying to generate more spoons. I think it's working. I am feeling a little less panicky and a little more hungry. Friends, thank you for hearing me. I'm guessing most of us are feeling this way right now.
Happy tax season!
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<3 We're in this together, right?
We so are.
It’s important to have a partner that compliments us in that way.
I wonder how I would survive without him, sometimes, even though I know I'm strong, smart and capable.
this next year is the first time that we will be counting Steem dollars as part of our income, I havent looked into the details yet but I am already a little intimidated lol!! good luck you two!
It's not that hard if you track your transactions/exchanges as you go. This year we will have a much better system, and if @nat5an doesn't write about it, I will.
coinbase tracks them, I am hoping I can just use that but I dont know for sure. Thanks for your input, its good to have these wheels turning early
My therapist (when I had one) were just starting conversations about this. This is a behavior I have noticed a lot in myself: when I am worried about money, or when I get shocked by a bill or forgotten payment or unexpected expense, my hunger levels drop, and I don't eat for hours, far longer than I should go between meals (being diabetic). It's partly controlling the one thing I can, partly ingrained fasting response to lack of food in the house, and partly intense stress. Not healthy, and not something I always catch myself doing until I'm sick and dizzy from low blood sugar. Not sure how to fix it in the long run, but I'm here with you, and just wanted to say: I see you. Your stress is valid. <3
Yes! My partner is my opposite, and although that's not always easy it does create an amazing base where I can live intuitively and he will be able to keep me grounded and realistic and open Excel docs for our finances ;-)
Keep breathing, taxes are shit. I only have to sent some files to my accountant and even that I postpone.