The Stupid Tax and other Stories

It's a gruesome tough world out there sometimes. A lot of times I feel a little victim-y--that I can't do what I want because I'm not rich. And then when I make a mistake and have to pay $ for it I feel even worse. Dave Ramsey who coined the term "Stupid Tax," meaning the things we waste money on because we don't plan ahead, we're thoughtless, we're lazy. Recently, I racked up $80 in stupid tax fines. Actually it was three parking tickets I had gotten in two days. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And geez, I need that money for so many other things. Then I did something I had never done before: I went to City Hall to fight them. I had never wanted to spend the time doing that. Plus, I was guilty and had no good excuses. Still I had to try.

I went and was the first one called to the bench in the morning. The judge, a real strict, old school kind of guy asked me what happened. I said I was busy at work (which was mostly true). In the end, the judge asked me to plead guilty and reduced my fines to $30 total. I left feeling so much better and a lot less hopeless about life.

(Now this was outside NYC. But if you get a parking ticket in NYC, I can't recommend this service enough: www.parkingticket.com. These professional ticket fighters get your fines reduced or dismissed for the half the cost of your fine.)