Alright so there comes a time in every young girls life when she needs to grow up and do big girl things all on her own. She must leave the nest, if you will…
Well – I haven’t left the nest. Basically because I can’t afford it. However, this week I have done two things that I consider “grown up” things. First – I filed my taxes, on my own, without anyone’s help. Second – I had major work done on my car (the car that I own – totally on my own!).
Filing the taxes wasn’t fun. It was tedious, but thanks to Turbo Tax I wasn’t completely lost. And – after I e-filed my federal return, I was rejected. No idea why – the IRS just decided they didn’t agree with something. Jerks. So whatever, I had to do it twice, and the second time seems to have worked (so far). I had to pay $40 to file in Rhode Island (b/c I also had to file in MA), and then they tried to get me to pay another $10/state to e-file, so those will be sent in the mail… I’ll get my refund 6-8 weeks after the IRS receives my return (ouch).
The car thing was even less fun. For a few months I had been hearing a squeaking noise… my dad and boyfriend both told me it was “nothing”, probably b/c I have this tendency to exaggerate, and they assumed I was making a huge deal out of nothing (oops). The squeak turned into a grinding noise, and after my dad took my car to the shop (he had to come get it in Boston in the middle of the afternoon so that it didn’t have to be driven all the way to Rhode Island during Friday rush hour traffic) it was determined that I had worn away the brake pads completely, and the rotors were also damaged… $369.40 later and my car is like new… ugh. My mechanic (and also, my uncle) sent my brake “pads” (now just a sheet of scrapped up metal) home with my dad so I could see the damage I inflicted on my poor car… where the 1/2 inch thick padding should be there is now a very smooth, shiny piece of metal – whoops.
They don’t TEACH you these things in high school or college, however (or even in Drivers Ed, which would have been a good time to bring up the brake thing!). If Turbo Tax hadn’t guided the way, I never would have known wtf I was doing. And since I had no idea that a squeaking noise means my brake pads are getting worn, I had no idea the damage I was inflicting. Had someone taught me this lesson PRIOR to ruining my brakes, it never would have happened.
SO! This is me, imparting my new found wisdom to the internet… use Turbo Tax & squeaking noises in your brakes are BAD. Very bad. And expensive.