Kids, Parenting & Taxes

I kissed my daughter on the cheek just before bedtime and asked, “How does it feel being ten?”

She gave me a big smile and said, “Just like being nine.”

Apparently she was taking her birthday in stride. Not me. I was jelly. All day long. It doesn’t seem possible that I could have a child in double digits.

When you have a baby, people will tell you that the time will fly by. They will say this – you will be sleep deprived – and you will nod and think to yourself that they’re wrong. But here’s a quick secret: they’re totally right.

Ten years ago, I was staring at this tiny little pink bundle, wondering what I had been thinking, how could I possibly take care of this crazy little baby. Today, she’s at the top of her class (first honors!), planning her future (yes, already) and talking about boys (insert lots and lots of giggles here). And I’m not sure how it all happened.

I’d like to think that I had something to do with it – the good parts at least. But the truth is, most parents don’t have the first idea what they’re doing most of the time. Even the really cool ones that read all of the books and attend all of the classes? Mostly clueless in the beginning.

It’s pretty much the same when it comes to taxes. There’s a lot to sort out. Dependency, medical expenses, earned income tax credit… The list of new tax stuff to sort out can be tough. And worse? It changes all of the time.

Over the years, I’ve gotten a lot of questions from parents trying to make sense of things. I’ve answered a bunch of them on the blog as part of my “Ask the taxgirl” series.

A few months ago, I had a sit down with the folks at Forbes and later, a call with the folks at Hyperink. We talked about the possibility of my writing an ebook. I immediately knew what I wanted to do and the kind of focus I wanted to have: I wanted to write about tax and parenting. This week, that became a reality. My ebook, Ask the Taxgirl: Everything Parents Should Know About Filing Taxes (Including Child Care Expenses, Medical Costs, and the Earned Income Tax Credit), went live.

I’m really excited about the project. It’s been so much fun to do. I’ve loved going back through old posts and writing new, updated content to accompany it. And I’m not gonna lie: I totally squealed when I found out that I had an author page on Amazon.com (it’s here: http://www.amazon.com/author/taxgirl). The ebook is available on Amazon.com and also through Hyperink (psst, it’s cheaper on Hyperink).

A quick caveat: the book doesn’t include bits on education. When I was putting it together, I realized that there’s so much on education that it could merit its own book. So, er, I think that’s happening next (fingers crossed).

But for *this* book, I’m really excited for the launch. I plan to do a few fun giveaways this week so keep an eye out! And please feel free to drop me a line and let me know your feedback.

I don’t profess to know it all. I’m kind of figuring it all out as I go along, too, especially on the parenting side (boys already, really?). But I’m a big believer that it’s smart to read all that you can and surround yourself with smart people. I invite you to do the same – and pass your tips along to me!

So happy birthday to my smart, beautiful, kindhearted double-digit girl. She’s a writer, too. And someday, I’m fairly sure you’ll be buying her book…