Tax Time...Or, Didn't I Have More Money This Morning?

Ever notice how when you're waiting for money that you know is on the way, time seems to dddrrraaaggg on way too slowly? Yeah, me, too.

I'd filed my taxes online at the beginning of February. The second, to be exact. I'd used one of the online filing sites that I'd used before. It seemed that in previous years, the money would show up maybe a week or so, so I figured that would be the scenario this year.

Actually, I'd filled out most of the online form a few days earlier and had been tempted to hit send. But I'd wanted to check on a couple of things, just to be on the safe side. The Pinellas Park Library usually has tax preparers from the AARP come in every tax season to help people fill out their tax forms, free. So, I called the library to find out when AARP would start doing taxes.

"Not until Thursday, the 6th. They'll be here Thursday and Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings."

I thanked them and hung up. I really didn't want to wait that long, figuring any delay filing would delay getting the refund. Makes sense, right?

So I called the local IRS office, and waited...and waited...punched "1" for the correct option...Finally, someone answered the phone. I asked the couple of pertinent questions, got decent answers, thanked the man for his time, then hung up.

Sunday morning, I glanced over the online forms one more time and hit send. The site mentioned sending along a text when the taxes were accepted. An hour later, the text arrived.

One little glitch: the site said it could take up to three weeks to get my return. It felt like three years.

By Friday, I started checking the bank to see if the money had been deposited. Of course, Friday was too soon. I lamented over this to my friend, Cookie.

"I did my taxes early last week. Got the money Wednesday."

"How'd you file?" I asked. Same online site I'd used. "So you saw the thing that it could take up to 21 days?"

"Yup," she answered. "I think they tell everyone that, no matter how long it takes. But it only took nine days for mine."

Great, I thought. At that rate, I figured mine would be in that Monday.

But Monday, the tenth arrived with no sign of the money. Okay, maybe Tuesday...

Monday afternoon, I spoke with my daughter, M.H. "Yeah, my refund came today," she told me. She'd filed her refund on February 3...the day after I filed!

Then my son M. went to the library that Saturday, almost two weeks after I filed, and got his taxes done by AARP. He was told to expect his money in 7 to 10 days. It had been almost two weeks since I'd filed mine.

I kept checking the site where I'd filed to see if there were any updates that I'd missed. It still showed that the refund had been accepted.

Earlier this week, I followed a link from the site to the IRS's site to see if I could figure out anything. Voila! It showed it should hit the bank this morning. M. then asked, "Hey, can you check mine?" Turns out his was scheduled for today, too.

This morning, I checked the bank. Money in. This afternoon, money spent. Bills, a case of cat food at the vet's office (Karma's still on a special diet...his special expensive diet), some kitty treats, and a trip to Publix.

I'm glad tomorrow is pay day because I'm now broke. Wouldn't bother me as much if it hadn't taken longer to get the money than to spend it!