31 Days of Nothing-Day 3

Warning-this post contains what constitutes "strong language" in our house.

Yesterday would have been a good day...except for one thing. "Stupid tax". "Stupid tax" is money that you pay (or lose) because of something totally avoidable a.k.a. "stupid" that you did, or in some cases didn't do.
Stupid tax is paying a $99 fine on .01 of intangible tax that wasn't paid on time (true story). Stupid tax is finding an expired check you never cashed for over $100 that can't be reissued (also a true story).
Stupid tax is generally the type thing that makes you feel sick to your stomach when you realize what your lack of attentiveness has cost you.
Yesterday's stupid tax was a double whammy. See, our city library is not part of the county system, so they have their own rules and fees. In the County, when you check out a movie, you check it out for free and if you return it late it is .10 a day. In the city, if you check out a movie it costs you .25, and if you return it late it is $2 PER DAY PER MOVIE. We found that out the very first time we checked out movies there and returned them AFTER the library closed on the day they were due. The next time I went in to check something out, they said I owed $8. I thought I must have lost a book, but they said it was for 4 movies that had been returned late. I said they were returned on the date due, but they said it has to be before the library closes on that day to count (in the county, as long as they are in by the time the library opens the next day, you are safe from fines). ARGH! $8 for ridiculous children's movies-I vowed we would NEVER do that again.
Fast forward a few years to 2 weeks ago. We had gotten books and books on CD for our trip, and I needed to go into the city library to get the next book in a series I was reading. The kids went with me and BEGGED to get a movie. I said okay, since they are older now and I figured we could be sure to get it back on time. We did, and the next week when I went in to get another book in the series, I again let them pick out two movies. And then on that Friday, when I was in the library getting the last two books in the series, I let them get one more movie. Well, the hubs has this way of cleaning up the movies that involves putting anything he can't immediately put away up on a high shelf where it's out of sight...can you see where this is going???
The movie we had gotten on the Friday wasn't put up because it was in the DVD player. But it was returned at 8 PM that night, after the library closed, so there was $2 in stupid tax right there. I had totally forgotten about the other movies.
Yesterday I went to renew the last book on CD we have from that library, and I couldn't because I had a fine. I looked at my account, even though I thought I knew what the fine was. Sure enough, there was the $2...but also two other movies that each said, "as of now, you owe $10".
You know that sick-to-your-stomach feeling? Yep, I had it. $22 in library fines. And for what? What were the two movies that were up to a fine of $10 each? Air Buddies and Once Upon a Mattress (the princess and the pea story). Really. I mean, those are the type movie you can find in the Dollar Store. And I owed $10 on EACH ONE.
STUPID TAX is what that is.
I talked them down to half price...but my total for yesterday was $11 spent on STUPID TAX.
Remind me NEVER to check out movies from that library again!!!!!

Comments

Melissa said…
Here's my stupid tax for the day. At least a couple of weeks ago (maybe more) I received the renewal forms from FL Kidcare - my kid's insurance has to be renewed annually. The forms are due by Aug. 10. Because I never got around to filling them out until a few days ago, and Craig had to hunt out his income details, I finally mailed the forms today - payed for overnight shipping just in case regular mail was too slow. (If the forms don't arrive by Aug. 10, we lose the insurance.) My Stupid Tax for the day - $15 for overnight shipping. I WILL NOT be doing that again next year!!
Unknown said…
Sounds like you need to join Netflix! A LOT cheaper for sure! You'd have almost two months of unlimited 2 movies out a time for that price of $22!
oneblessedmamma said…
See Melissa-that's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. ARGH!
C-I'm hooked on Redbox, especially now that they have more than one location AND you can return them to any Redbox. But alas, even $1 is beyond the "nothing" I'm trying to spend-although I do have a free code to use.
Sonya said…
31 days of nothing? Seems like it's costing you.... Or does that count for July?
Leisa said…
Yikes, I really dislike that library. The are ridiculous. I call that the uppity library in the ghetto.

I mean I am a Eustis resident and I can't get a library card...

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