5K Just Vanished From My Life

Dammit

No, I wasn’t playing blackjack. I didn’t crash my car.

I wasn’t being reckless. It wasn’t a result of some silly antics.

Everything went wrong all at once. On the same day.

F@ck.

Have you ever had one of those days?

I was doing some freelance work for a website that reported on cryptocurrency. I’d been picking up work there since January. The past couple of months were rocky.

The owners kept changing their minds about what they wanted, and we worked hard to deliver.

I got a tip over the weekend that they were out of money, so I stopped working.

Today I checked my email — gone. Slack group — gone. Vanished. The CEO took the money and left us all with nothing for our work for May.

They owed me about two thousand dollars.

I could use two thousand dollars.

Maybe my tax return came through.

I checked my bank account to see if my federal tax return had hit yet. I’d been waiting for it — it was taking forever.

What’s the deal?

I looked into it further, and there was a notice that it had arrived. Um…I was waiting for three thousand dollars and what I got was three hundred.

I remember getting something from the IRS in the mail about stimulus money that we were supposed to get but didn’t, so I thought that’s what the three hundred dollars was for.

I threw that paper away.

Today I’m trying to piece together why I got three hundred dollars and not three thousand. I still don’t know.

This was the notice:

“We changed the amount claimed as Recovery Rebate Credit on your tax return.”

The error was in one or more of the following — something about dependents which wouldn’t apply to me OR your adjusted gross income exceeds the amount for married people filing jointly.

“The amount was computed incorrectly.”

It wasn't.

Please don’t tell me I have to call the IRS. I would rather go to the DMV and then the dentist.

Well, I guess I have time now since I don’t have any freelance work. I am currently available to sit on hold all day — perfect.

I’m definitely not getting paid for my work, and the taxes? Doubtful, right? But why on the same day? Really?

I mean, five grand is a lot of money to be expecting and then not to get.

I’ll still be able to pay my bills, but this all pretty much sucks. I was going to use that money to cover vacation costs for a vacation that I already took.

Now, I’m running out of endurance for all of this.

I don’t know if I should keep writing, drink a bottle of wine, or do both simultaneously.

Some days the sh*t really hits the fan. There’s nothing you can do about it. People will cheat you out of money. The government will take more than it should, and you’ll have to grab your laptop and head back to square one.

That’s what I’m doing.

I made some great connections at my freelancing gig, and I know I’ll find work. Good people find good people.

The IRS, though? Who knows. I’ve never had my refund changed at the last minute, so this is new territory.

Do what you can do. Control what you can. Stay hydrated.

I’ll see you on the other side of this. In the meantime, I’m going to be saying f@ck a lot.

Kit Campoy is a freelance writer based in Southern California. She’s covered cryptocurrency, company & event profiles, and interview pieces for online publications. Connect with Kit on LinkedIn, DeSo, and Twitter. Give yourself a break, and join her weekly newsletter.